Question

For many years Champollion’s progress was blocked because, like de Sacy and earlier scholars, he believed the hieroglyphs represented things, not sounds. Then, in 1822, he reversed his position. Some of Champollion’s rivals sug­gested that he had gotten the idea from Thomas Young’s Encyclopedia Britannica article. There the English scholar explained how the hiero­glyphs in Ptolemy’s name stood for sounds. Champollion hotly denied these suggestions, claiming that he had arrived at his new position entirely on his own.
—The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone,

James Cross Giblin


How was Champollion’s early work similar to the work of de Sacy?


Both men thought that hieroglyphs stood for things rather than sounds.

Both men believed that hieroglyphs stood for sounds rather than things.

Both men used Akerblad’s demotic alphabet.

Both men discussed their ideas about the stone with Thomas Young.

Answer 1

Answer:

Champollion's early work was similar to the work of de Sacy because:

A) Both men thought that hieroglyphs stood for things rather than sounds.

Explanation:

The excerpt clearly states the similarity between Champollion and de Sacy in their studies of hieroglyphs. As a matter of fact, according to the passage, that similarity is exactly what prevented Champollion's work from flowing and progressing at first:

For many years Champollion’s progress was blocked because, like de Sacy and earlier scholars, he believed the hieroglyphs represented things, not sounds.

As we can see above, both Champollion and de Sacy thought hieroglyphs stood for things, not sounds. Only when Champollion realized he was mistaken was he able to move with his study and make progress in translating the symbols.

Answer 2

Answer:

A

Explanation: