For great Egyptians Prof. Mokhtar Elnomrossy VISIONEERING:: Enabling Technologies Consulting Engineers http://www.visioneering-etce.com/

1. EGYPTOLOGY EGYPTIAN MATHEMATICS MOKHTAR ELNOMROSSY

3. Egyptian Mathematics Timeline of Ancient Egyptian Civilization

4. Early Human

5. Timeline of Ancient Egyptian Civilization Prehistoric Era Lower Paleolithic Age 200000 – 90000 B.C. Middle Paleolithic Age 90000 – 30000 B.C. Late Paleolithic Age 30000 - 7000 B.C. Neolithic Age 7000 - 4800 B.C.

6. Egypt Egyptian civilization begins more than 6000 years ago, with the largest pyramids built around 2600 B.C.

7. Timeline of Ancient Egyptian Civilization Predynastic Period Upper Egypt Badarian Culture 4800 – 4200 B.C. Amratian Culture (Al Amrah) 4200 – 3700 B.C. Gersean Cultures A & B (Al Girza) 3700 – 3150 B.C. * 365 day Calendar by 4200 B.C. * From 3100 B.C exhibited numbers in millions Lower Egypt Fayum A Culture (Hawara) 4800 – 4250 B.C. Merimda Culture 4500 – 3500 B.C. (Merimda Bani Salamah)

9. Timeline of Ancient Egyptian Civilization Dynastic Period Early dynastic period 3150 – 2685 B.C. (Dynasties 1 & 2) Old Kingdom 2685 – 2160 B.C. (Dynasties 3 to 8) In about 2600 B.C, the Great Pyramid at Giza is constructed First Intermediate Period 2160 – 2040 B.C. (Dynasties 9 to 11) Middle Kingdom 1991 – 1668 B.C. (Dynasties 12 & 13) 1850 BC “Moscow Papyrus” contains 25 mathematical problems

10. Pyramid from Space

11. Timeline of Ancient Egyptian Civilization Dynastic Period Second Intermediate Period 1668 - 1570 B.C. (Dynasties 14 to 17) 1650 BC “Ahmes Papyrus’ contains 85 mathematical problems New Kingdom 1570 - 1070 B.C. (Dynasties 18 to 20) Late Period 1070 - 712 B.C. (Dynasties 21 to 24) Dynasty 25 (Kushite domination) 712 – 671 B.C. Assyrian Domination Saite Period (Dynasty 26) 671 - 525 B.C. Dynasties 27 to 31 525 – 332 B.C Persian Period

12. Ahmes Papyrus (Rhind) Part of the Rhind papyrus written in hieratic script about 1650 B.C. It is currently in the British Museum. It started with a premise of “ a thorough study of all things, insight into all that exists, knowledge of all obscure secrets. ” It turns out that the script contains method of multiply and divide, including handling of fractions, together with 85 problems and their solutions .

13. Egyptian Mathematics Egyptian Numerals

14. Rosetta Stone & Egyptian Language The stone of Rosette is a basalt slab (114x72x28cm) that was found in 1799 in the Egyptian village of Rosette (Rashid). Today the stone is kept at the British Museum in London. It contains three inscriptions that represent a single text in three different variants of script, a decree of the priests of Memphis in honor of Ptolemalos V (196 BC). The text appears in form of hieroglyphs (script of the official and religious texts), of Demotic (everyday Egyptian script), and in Greek. The representation of a single text of the three script variants enabled the French scholar Jean Francois Champollion in 1822 to basically to decipher the hieroglyphs. Furthermore, with the aid of the Coptic language, he succeeded to realize the phonetic value of the hieroglyphs. This proved the fact that hieroglyphs do not have only symbolic meaning, but that they also served as a “spoken language”.

15. Egyptian Hieroglyphs This is the hieroglyphic inscription above the Great pyramid’s entrance. Egyptian written language evolved in three stages: Hieroglyphs Hieratic Coptic (spoken only)

16. Egyptian Numbers The knob of King Narmer, 3000BC The numerals occupy the center of the lower register. Four tadpoles below the ox, each meaning 100,000 record 400,000 oxen. The sky-lifting-god behind the goat was the hieroglyph for “one million”; together with the four tadpoles and the two “10,000” fingers below the goat, and the double “1,000” lotus-stalk below the god, this makes 1,422,000 goats. To the right of these animal quantities, one tadpole and two fingers below the captive with his arms tied behind his back count 120,000 prisoners. These quantities makes Narmer’s mace the earliest surviving document with numbers from Egypt, and the earliest surviving document with such large numbers from anywhere on the planet.

17. Egyptian Numerals Egyptian number system is additive.

18. Egyptian Mathematics Egyptian Arithmetic

19. Addition in Egyptian Numerals 365 + 257 = 622

20. Multiply 23 х 13 1 √ 2 4 √ 8 √ 1 + 4 + 8 = 13 23 √ 46 92 √ 184 √ 23+92+184 = 299 multiplier 13 Result: multiplicand

24. Division, 23 х ? = 299 1 √ 2 4 √ 8 √ 23 √ 46 92 √ 184 √ Result: 23+92+184=299 Dividend: 1+4+8= 13

25. Numbers that cannot divide evenly e.g.: 35 divide by 8 8 1 16 2 √ 32 4 4 1/2 √ 2 1/4 √ 1 1/8 35 4 + 1/4 + 1/8 doubling half

26. Unit Fractions One part in 10, i.e., 1/10 One part in 123, i.e., 1/123

27. Egyptian Fractions 1/2 + 1/4 = 3/4 1/2 + 1/8 = 5/8 1/3 + 1/18 = 7/18 The Egyptians have no notations for general rational numbers like n / m , and insisted that fractions be written as a sum of non-repeating unit fractions (1/ m ). Instead of writing ¾ as ¼ three times, they will decompose it as sum of ½ and ¼.

28. Practical Use of Egyptian Fraction Divide 5 pies equally to 8 workers. Each get a half slice plus a 1/8 slice. 5/8 = 1/2 + 1/8

30. Egyptian Mathematics Egyptian Algebra

42. Egyptian Mathematics Egyptian Geometry

43. Egyptian Triangle Surveyors in ancient Egypt has a simple tool for making near-perfect right triangle: a loop rope divided by knots into twelve sections. When they stretched the rope to make a triangle whose sides were in the ratio 3:4:5, they knew that the largest angle was a right angle. The upright may be linked to the male, the base to the female and the hypotheses to the child of both. So Ausar (Osiris) may be regarded as the origin, Auset (Isis) as the recipient, and Heru (Horus) as perfected result.

44. Area of Rectangle The scribes found the areas of rectangles by multiplying length and breadth as we do today. Problem : 49 of RMP The area of a rectangle of length 10 khet (1000 cubits) and breadth 1 khet (100 cubits) is to be found 1000x100= 100,000 square cubits. The area was given by the scribe as 1000 cubits strips, which are rectangles of land, 1 khet by 1 cubit.

47. Area of triangle For the area of a triangle, ancient Egyptian used the equivalent of the formula A = 1/2bh. Problem : 51 of RMP The scribe shows how to find the area of a triangle of land of side 10 khet and of base 4 khet. The scribe took the half of 4, then multiplied 10 by 2 obtaining the area as 20 setats of land. Problem : 4 of MMP The same problem was stated as finding the area of a triangle of height (meret) 10 and base (teper) 4. No units such as khets or setats were mentioned.

48. Area of Circle Computing π Archimedes of Syracuse (250BC) was known as the first person to calculate π to some accuracy; however, the Egyptians already knew Archimedes value of π = 256/81 = 3 + 1/9 + 1/27 + 1/81 Problem : 50 of RMP A circular field has diameter 9 khet. What is its area? The written solution says, subtract 1/9 of the diameter which leaves 8 khet. The area is 8 multiplied by 8 or 64 khet. This will lead us to the value of π = 256/81 = 3 + 1/9 + 1/27 + 1/81 = 3.1605 But the suggestion that the Egyptian used is π = 3 = 1/13 + 1/17 + 1/160 = 3.1415