Final answer:
Hieroglyphs were so important to the early Egyptians that they used them for communication, ranging from sacred to commercial purposes, and ensured cultural continuity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the student's question is 'b) Hieroglyphs, communication'. Egyptian writing developed out of practical needs for record-keeping and evolved over time. The term 'hieroglyphs' signifies this ancient writing system which started as pictographs and transformed into a more complex system comprising thousands of symbols that depicted both sounds and ideas. Initially, these were used for communication purposes ranging from sacred inscriptions in tombs to mundane commercial transactions, ensuring continuity across generations in terms of culture and administration.