Rhind Papyrus
The oldest known mathematical text is a document usually referred to as the Rhind Papyrus, written sometime around 1650 BC. It is named for the Egyptologist Alexander Rhind who purchased it in Luxor in 1858. It was not deciphered until 1877, when its formal title was discovered to be, "Accurate Reckoning of Entering into Things, Knowledge of Existing Things, Knowledge of All Obscure Secrets." The author, a scribe called Ahmes the Moonborn, stated that the mathematical problems set forth were not of his own devising, that he was in fact transcribing another text that was hundreds of years old even in his time. The Rhind Papyrus is a collection of 85 mathematical word problems written in a cursive form of hieroglyphics called hieratic, on a parchment measuring 18' long by 13" wide.
The Rhind Papyrus appears to be a practical instructional tool, its purpose might have been to train government officials in agrarian administration.
Many of its problems deal directly with the harvesting and storing of grain or with the division of food and other resources. And though it does not directly address the processes of calculation, instead merely showing problems and solutions, the Papyrus clearly shows a knowledge of additive arithmetic, multiplication and division, plane geometry and volumes of cylinders and prisms. There is at least one problem that suggests geometric progression, which reads in part, "In one woman's house there are seven store rooms, each has 7 cats; each catches 7 mice, each of which has eaten 7 ears of barley, which each grew 7 measures of grain." Another problem shows how much barley is needed to distribute among a number of people, when each person's share is increased by 1/8 more than the last.
The ancient Egyptians did not recognize mathematics as an academic discipline in of itself; indeed, their language had no word for "mathematician." Instead, mathematics was one of the many domains of the priestly caste, which served as a tool to allow them to pursue their numerous "mysterious" interests, such as astronomy. Since the priests were expected to train the aristocracy in the arts and sciences of administration, texts such as the Rhind Papyrus became integral instructional devices in demonstrating how limited resources might best be distributed among the populus. Their success in this shows in the longevity of the many Egyptian dynasties, and their advances in mathematically based enterprises like astronomy and architecture. More important to us, though, more than three millennia later, is this vital evidence of the long tradition of practical applied mathematics.
This is the complete article, containing 421 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
