Final answer:
Option (C), The discovery of the Rosetta Stone is the reason modern historians can read hieroglyphics, an ancient Egyptian script that had been undecipherable for centuries until the stone's inscription, which included Greek and Demotic scripts, provided the needed parallel texts to decode the hieroglyphs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Modern historians are able to read hieroglyphics due to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. This artifact, found in 1799, was crucial in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs, which had been a mystery since the script fell out of use around the fourth century CE. The Rosetta Stone featured a royal proclamation inscribed in three scripts: ancient Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphic, which allowed scholars such as Thomas Young and Jean-François Champollion to unlock the language of ancient Egypt.
The Rosetta Stone is not just a significant historical discovery; it represents a breakthrough in Egyptology and linguistics. Before the stone's decipherment, understanding of ancient Egyptian writing, culture, and history was minimal and speculative. Moreover, the stone carries inscriptions that highlight the continuity of Egyptian history, politics, and cultural practices, solidified through the work of scribes over thousands of years.
With its trilingual inscriptions, the Rosetta Stone served as the key that allowed historians and Egyptologists to connect with an ancient civilization that hitherto spoke in an indecipherable tongue, furnishing them with a profound comprehension of Egyptian rituals, political events, and cultural evolution.