Hieratic writing developed in Egypt contemporaneously with Egyptian hieroglyphics. Unlike hieroglyphs, which are a series of pictograms and symbols representing differing things and ideas, Hieratic writing is a more flowing, cursive style. It was therefore much more efficient and less time consuming and was used widely by Egyptian scribes.

The Story of Sinuhe is one of the most celebrated works of Egyptian literature. It was probably written in the nineteenth century BCE. It was written in Hieratic, which was the cursive language used by scribes and intellectuals throughout much of ancient Egyptian history. The invention of Hieratic was instrumental to the development of Egyptian literature, because hieroglyphs do not lend themselves to efficient or colorful written communication.

The Kahun Medical Papyrus dates from approximately 1,800 BCE, at the height of the power of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt. The Kahun Medical Papyrus is primarily concerned with female reproductive health, and is probably the earliest known work on female sexual health in human history. It deals with fertility, pregnancy, contraception, and sexually transmitted diseases.

The Story of Sinuhe is probably the most esteemed piece of ancient Egyptian literature. It was most likely written in the 19th century BCE. It tells the story of an individual, called Sinuhe, who flees Egypt in the immediate aftermath of the death of Amenemhat I. Sinuhe flees to Canaan, but longs to return to Egypt. As an old man he asks movingly that God allow him to return home and he is subsequently invited home by the Egyptian Pharaoh to live in peace and opulence. Most historians agree that The Story of Sinuhe is a fictional tale.

The iconic blue and white headcloth, that so often features in modern artistic renderings of the Egyptian Pharaohs, was most commonly worn by the rulers of the Middle Kingdom.

In ancient Egyptian art, royal scribes and government officials are often depicted as being extremely fat. This was done to demonstrate the scribe’s wealth (he was evidently well-fed) and his exemption from manual labor (he did not work with his hands). This may be understood as related to the way in which ancient Egyptian rulers used art and iconography to control their population and create certain images of authority.

A shawabti is a small figurine of a servant. They were generally buried with a deceased ruler (often in large numbers) to serve him in the afterlife. It was expected that the Shawabti would spring to life in the underworld and serve the Pharaoh for eternity. Most Shawabtis were made of wood beginning in the Middle Kingdom (earlier Shawabtis had been made of stone).

A sistrum is a musical instrument specific to ancient Egypt. It is best described as a rattle. The ancient Egyptians shook sistrums during religious rituals to provide musical accompaniment to the proceedings. Music was an important component of Egyptian communal worship, especially during the New Kingdom and later.

The Egyptians believed that disease was caused by malignant spirits. Specifically, they believed that deceased people could be hostile to the living and that these dead spirits punished the living by spreading disease. The Egyptians conceived of protection against disease as like warding off evil spirits.

Depictions of pregnant women are almost completely absent from the record of ancient Egyptian art. Women in ancient Egypt were universally depicted as young and fertile and were never shown to be pregnant or middle aged. This was probably done as a form of social control, to emphasize the significance of women of childbearing age and to diminish the importance of older women.