EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS

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 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1

1. NUMBERS IN EGYPT ..................................................................................................................... 2

1.1. Egyptian hieroglyphic display of numbers............................................................................... 2

1.2. Egyptian hieratic (“sacred”) numerals ..................................................................................... 3

2. EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS ........................................................................................................ 5

2.1. Two main sources of Egyptian mathematics............................................................................ 5

2.1.1. Rhind's Papyrus ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.1.2. Moscow Papyrus ................................................................................................................... 6

2.2. Egyptian arithmetic .................................................................................................................... 7

2.2.1. Multiplication ........................................................................................................................ 7

2.2.2. Division ................................................................................................................................. 9

2.2.3. Fractions ............................................................................................................................... 9

CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 12

LITERATURE..................................................................................................................................... 13
INTRODUCTION

This essay studies mathematics of ancient Egypt. The main line of math development comes
from the numerical system of Middle Eastern civilizations, the Egyptians. Their use of symbols
and numbers represented a huge turning point in the history of civilization.

The subject, the content and the structure of this paper are described in the introductory part.

In the first chapter, we will describe the reasons for the emergence and development of
mathematics and the way of writing and the purpose of numbers in Egypt.

The second chapter is divided into twoo subchapters. First, I will write about Egyptian
mathematics, spoken of by two main historical sources, Rhind's Papyrus and the Moscow
Papyrus. We will see how the Egyptians wrote the numbers and that they had a developed
decimal number system. Then we will outline the methods by which they were multiplied,
shared, and how they wrote the fractions.

The last part of the paper presents a conclusion in which the most important findings of this
paper were derived.

1
1. NUMBERS IN EGYPT

1.1. Egyptian hieroglyphic display of numbers

After the unification of Egypt with a single government, a population census, taxes, and the
maintenance of the army were required, which required large numbers. Although already 3500
BC they had a developed number system that allowed them to count continuously, with time
they introduced new symbols.

A caption in a picture in which each character represents a particular object is a hieroglyphic

writing system. It was found in one of the tombs near the pyramid in Giza. In this hieroglyphic
system number 1 was a vertical move or a picture of a stick, and a sign similar to the horseshoe
served as a symbol replacing 10 separated moves. In fact, the Egyptian numeral system was
decimal, and counting used the potency of number 10. The base of the numerical system was
most often 10, especially in ancient civilizations, which connects with ten fingers on the human
hand and the habit of counting on the fingers.

For each new potency of number 10, special pictograms were used (Figure 1): the curved wire
was 100, the lotus flower 1000, the vertical bent finger 10000, plumhead 100000, person
holding hands up, in wonderment 1000000 and 10000000 symbol that looks like like the rising
sun.1

Figure 1. Egyptian hieroglyphic numbers

Source: D. Burton, The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, 6th Edition

1
Burton, D. (2007) The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Sixth Edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies
2
Each symbol is repeated up to 9 times. Most often it was written from right to left, and larger
units were written first, but sometimes they were also written on the right. Since there was a
different symbol for each potential of number 10, the value of the number was preserved and
was not compromised by the order of the hieroglyph within the group. Therefore, we can
conclude that the Egyptian method of writing numbers was not positional.

Since the Egyptian language can be written in all directions, usually the orientation of animals
and people gives us a sign that we read the text in the direction in which they watch, and this is
true for mathematical texts.

In Egyptian texts, usually used sign for subtracton was , which would turn on the other
side in the case of addition.2

1.2. Egyptian hieratic (“sacred”) numerals

Thanks to the Egyptians and their invention of papyrus, the letter was simplified. Among the
first who simplified the letter were Egyptian priests. They developed a less picturesque style to
better adapt it to pen and ink writing. In this so-called hieratic „sacred“ letter, the symbols were
written in italics in a manuscript and at first glance it seemed that they did not have much to do
with the old hieroglyphs. In fact, it could be said that the hieratic letter looked a lot like our
handwriting. In the hieroglyphic and hieratic letters, the numerical representation is additive
and based on the potentials of number 10. In the hieratic letter, the repetition of the hieroglyphic
principle is replaced by the use of one sign representing more similar symbols.3 The hieratic
system displayed numbers as in figure 2.

2
Burton, D. M. (1985). The history of mathematics: An introduction. Group, 3(3), 35.

3
V. J. Katz (2009). The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Third Edition, University of the District of
Columbia
3
 Figure 2. Hieratic display of numbers

Source: D. Burton, The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, 6th Edition

In hieratic system, it was difficult to remember a larger number of symbols, but such writing
was faster and more concise, and the writers of the Egyptians justified such writing.

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2. EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS

2.1. Two main sources of Egyptian mathematics

Most of our knowledge about the development of Egyptian mathematics is derived from two
papyrus, each named after the former owner of Rhind papyrus and Goleinshchiev papyrus. The
latter is often called the Moscow Papyrus as it is located in the Moscow Museum.

2.1.1. Rhind's Papyrus

Rhind's papyrus was purchased in Luxor, Egypt in 1858, by Scotman A. Henry Rhind and after
that, he was in the British Museum. Rhind's papyrus was written in hieratic letter about 1650
BC, by Ahmes, who was convinced that the work dates back to the 12th dynasty of 1849-1801.
BC. Although the original papyrus scroll was nearly 5.5 meters long and 50 cm tall, he came to
the British Museum in two parts, with the central part missing. It was assumed that the
incomplete development of such a sensitive document was interrupted or that there were two
inventors and each took part. Anyway it was believed that the key part of the papyrus was lost.
That's how it was until, four years after Rhind bought papyrus, the American Egyptian Edwin
Smith sold something that he thought was a medical papyrus. This papyrus proved to be a
deception because it was made by gluing the fragments onto the scroll. After Smith's death in
1906, his collection of Egyptian antiquities was presented in New York in 1922. And then it
was discovered that the parts of the scroll are actually parts of Rhind's papyrus. Decryption of
papyrus was completed when the fragments were brought to the British Museum and placed in
appropriate places. Rhind also purchased a short leather handwriting, however, due to the
fragile condition, he remained unsettled for more than 60 years.4

4
Newman, J. R. (1952). The Rhind Papyrus. Scientific American, 187(2), 24-27.
5
 Picture 1. Rhinds papyrus

Source: https://micromath.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/math-puzzles%E2%80%99-oldest-ancestors-
took-form-on-egyptian-papyrus/

2.1.2. Moscow Papyrus

The Moscow Papyrus was founded around 1850 before the new era. The author of this papyrus
is unknown, and is often referred to as Golenschiev's papyrus, according to Russian researcher
V. S. Goleshchiev who discovered it in the middle of the 19th century and in 1893 brought him
to Moscow. It was translated by B. B. Struve, and the translation was published in 1930. A
better understanding of the mathematics of ancient Egypt enabled us to translate the Moscow
Papyrus. Many historians see this papyrus as the most impressive achievement of Egyptian
mathematics. Struve thinks that Papyrus discovers that "the beginning of scientific observation
of mathematical questions is not in Greece, but in Egypt." Tasks, like in Rhind's Papyrus, were
written in short, and so solved. Tasks here are also related to practical problems. The Moscow
Papyrus consists of 25 tasks, of which the most important are those from geometry, because
they give a great deal of knowledge about Egyptian geometry, but many tasks are arithmetic.5

5
Radojčić, M. (2010). Opšta matematika. Belgrade.
6
2.2. Egyptian arithmetic

Rhind's papyrus begins with bold assumptions that his content has to do with thorough study of
all things, insight into everything that exists, knowledge of all obscure secrets. Soon it becomes
clear that this is actually a manual in math, and the only secrets it contains are how to multiply
and share. Still, the 87 issues they contain give a fairly clear picture of the character of Egyptian
mathematics. Egyptian arithmetic was based on addiction. Its tendency was to reduce
multiplication and division on repeated summation.

2.2.1. Multiplication

Since Egyptian arithmetic was based on summation, one can conclude that the tendency was to
facilitate multiplication and division. Thanks to Rhind's papyrus, we find out that the Egyptians
were doing multiplication and division operations. Multiplication was carried out by doubling
and adding, so that the multiplication of the two numbers was obtained by continuously
doubling one of the numbers and adding the corresponding doubles to obtain the desired
product.6

Example 1. Multiplication of numbers 19 and 71.

In order to multiply numbers 19 and 71, we first write the number 1 in the first column, and in
the second, 71. The numbers are doubled in parallel until the first column gets a number greater
than 19.

1 71
2 142
4 284
8 568
16 1136

6
The Mac Tutor History of Mathematics archive, available at: http://www-history.mcs.st-
andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Egyptian_papyri.html
7
Then the doubling stops, because by further doubling in the first column we get a number 32
that is greater than the number 19. The numbers 1, 2 and 16 from the first column are added
and we get the number 19, i.e. 19 = 1 + 2 + 16.

1 71
2 142
4 248
8 568
16 1136
total: 19 1349

Then adding the corresponding numbers in the right column, the Egyptian mathematician would
get the required solution 1349, that is, 1349 = 71 + 142 + 1136 = (1 + 2 + 16) · 71 = 19 · 71.

This multiplication and addition method is always applicable, because each positive integer can
be written as a sum of different potentials of number 2, that is, the sum of expressions 1, 2, 4,
8, 16, 32,. . . The Egyptians probably did not prove this fact, although their reliability in the
validity of this process was probably based on numerous examples. The advantage of this
multiplication mode is the unnecessary memory of the tables.7

Since this kind of multiplication by doubling and adding is often used among Russian peasants,
it can also be called the Russian multiplication.8

7
Burton, D. M. (1985). The history of mathematics: An introduction. Group, 3(3), 35.
8
West, L., & Bellevue, N. E. (2011). An introduction to various multiplication strategies (Doctoral dissertation,
Masters Thesis), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bellevue, NE).

8
2.2.2. Division

In Egyptian sharing, which we describe as a reverse multiplication, the divisor is doubled until
the result of doubling becomes smaller than the dividend.9

Example 2. Sharing numbers 91 and 7.

In order to divide 91 with 7 it is necessary to find x such that 7 · x = 91. Since number 7 is a
divisor, we double it until we reach the number 91, which in this case is dividend.

1 7+
2 14
4 28 +
8 56 +
total: 13 91

We have to stop here, because by further doubling we would exceed 91. We should note that
91 = 7 + 28 + 56, so our searched x = 1 + 4 + 8 = 13, i.e. 91 ÷ 7 = 13.

Egyptian sharing has a pedagogical advantage as no new operation occurs, but the action is
reduced to already known operations. Of course, sharing is not always that simple, because we
often have to introduce fractions.

2.2.3. Fractions

The Egyptians labeled the fractions in a way that has no similarity to any other culture. Each
fragment was written with a unit number, and if it was not possible, then it was displayed as a
sum of such. So, they knew only the unit fractions, that is, the fractions with the numerator 1.

9
The Mac Tutor History of Mathematics archive, available at: http://www-history.mcs.st-
andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Egyptian_papyri.html
9
Such a record of a fragment is called a record in the Egyptian form, that is, the Egyptian
fraction.10

The Egyptians displayed unit fractions by placing the elongated oval shape over the hieroglyph
for the whole number that was supposed to appear in the denominator, as shown in Picture 2.

Picture 2. Egyptian symbols for fractions 1/3 and 1/10

Source: https://discoveringegypt.com/egyptian-hieroglyphic-writing/egyptian-mathematics-numbers-
hieroglyphs/

The exception was the fraction 2/3 shown in Picture 3. The ancient Egyptians knew and used
the fact that 2/3 of 1 / n can be counted as 2/3 · 1 / n = 1 / 2n + 1 / 6n, so they did not divide 2/3
into single fractions and they used it very often in accounts.11

Picture 3. Symbol for 2/3

Source: https://discoveringegypt.com/egyptian-hieroglyphic-writing/egyptian-mathematics-numbers-
hieroglyphs/

All other breaks had to be represented as sum of unit divides each of which had a different
denominator. So, for example, 6/7 would be written as follows: 6/7 = 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/14 + 1/28,

10
Bleicher, M. N., & Erdős, P. (1976). Denominators of Egyptian fractions II. Illinois J. Math, 20, 598-613.
11
Weisstein, E. W. (2002). Egyptian Fraction.
10
of course this could have been written as 6/7 = 1/7 + 1 / 7 + 1/7 + 1/7 + 1/7 + 1/7, but the
Egyptians would consider such a record absurd and contradictory.

11
CONCLUSION

Egyptian mathematics has a remarkable historical significance in arithmetics. Most of our

knowledge about the development of Egyptian mathematics is derived from two papyrus:
Rhind's and Moscow Papyrus. Looking at the existing Egyptian mathematical writings as a
whole, we can see that they are nothing more than a collection of practical problems. Learning
how to calculate something was the main element of the problem. Although the deductive
method can be found in traces to help where the intuition ceases, there is nowhere to be found
any reference to something that could be called the theorem or general rule of procedure. It is
highly probable that the Egyptians did not develop the arithmetic above this primitive level
because they had a natural, but unfortunately not a very good idea of recognizing only fractions
with the number one. That is why even the simplest calculation has become slow and painful.
It is difficult to say whether the symbolism prevented the use of fractions with another numeral,
or the exclusive use of unit fractions was the reason for their symbolism. What is beyond doubt
is that handling single fractions has always remained a special art in Egyptian mathematics.

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LITERATURE

1. Bleicher, M. N., & Erdős, P. (1976). Denominators of Egyptian fractions II. Illinois J.
Math, 20, 598-613

2. Burton, D. M. (1985). The history of mathematics: An introduction. Group, 3(3), 35.

3. Burton, D. (2007). The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Sixth Edition, The

McGraw-Hill Companies

4. Newman, J. R. (1952). The Rhind Papyrus. Scientific American, 187(2), 24-27.

5. Radojčić, M. (2010). Opšta matematika. Belgrade

6. The Mac Tutor History of Mathematics archive, available at: http://www-

history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Egyptian_papyri.html

7. V. J. Katz (2009). The History of Mathematics: An Introduction, Third Edition,

University of the District of Columbia

8. Weisstein, E. W. (2002). Egyptian Fraction

9. West, L., & Bellevue, N. E. (2011). An introduction to various multiplication

strategies (Doctoral dissertation, Masters Thesis), University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Bellevue, NE).

13