the Roman Empire. Until the 19th century the tablets, pa-
pyri, and inscriptions of ancient Egypt were undeciphered,
and Egypt’s medicine, astronomy, and technology were lost
to the world.
By the time of the pharaohs the Egyptians were making
various household utensils, building clay vessels on a wheel,
forging bronze weapons, weaving cotton, and controlling the
fl ood of the Nile to the fi elds that bordered the river. Most im-
portantly for scientifi c knowledge, the predynastic Egyptians
developed a system of writing and record keeping.
Absent, however, was a tradition of experimentation,
theory, and proof by empirical observation. Egyptian science
was hidden knowledge, revealed to a select few among the
priestly caste, who placed their skill and research at the ser-
vice of the pharaohs. Th eir patron god was Th oth, the deity of
knowledge and wisdom, represented by the fi gure of a human
bearing the head of an ibis. Th e knowledge of Th oth was set
down by scribes on papyrus rolls that were privileged read-
ing for the few. In a broad sense, nearly every ancient Egyp-
tian text exhibits some aspect, however minimal, of scientifi c
thought. Th ere were mathematical texts and medical texts, as
well as astronomical texts and texts related to the reckoning
of time and the calendar. Other genres include classifi cations
of reality (as in onomastika, or name books) and explanations
of dreams as well as texts on geography, botany, chemistry,
metrology, mineralogy, pharmacology, philosophy, physics,
and technology.MEDICINE
Works of medicine and mathematics show that these were
the most advanced scientifi c endeavors in ancient Egypt.
Only one cluster of sources rivals mathematical texts in size,
the medical texts. Th ese include the Edwin Smith Papyrus,
the Ebers Papyrus, and the Kahun Papyrus. Within these
documents are spells and incantations, diagnoses of various
diseases, and anatomy. Th e Kahun Papyrus focuses on the re-productive system, the mechanisms of conception and preg-
nancy, and the complications of birth.
Th e various papyri reveal that medical science in ancient
Egypt was bound closely to religious belief and ritual. All in
all, Egyptian medicine is perhaps better known as systematic
observation of disease and anatomy rather than medicine.
For the Egyptians, disease was the manifestation of evil and
malevolent spirits, and curing disease was the work of priests
skilled in the use of incantation, ritual, talismans, and spells.
Along with this magical approach came practical knowledge
closer to the modern conception of medical science.
Without the benefi ts of sanitation and the knowledge
of bacteria, viruses, and the nature of contagious illness, the
Egyptian physician had a limited arsenal with which to treat a
host of mysterious ailments. Egypt was home to endemic ma-
laria, tuberculosis, measles, smallpox, cholera, and bubonic
plague; waterborne illnesses included schistosomiasis (an
infection of the blood caused by a parasite). Eye diseases, in-
cluding trachoma, were common, as were malnutrition; neu-
ral diseases like epilepsy; hazards of the natural world such
as snakebite, insect stings, and poisonous fi sh and vegetation;
and digestive ailments caused by poor food preservation.
Ancient Egyptians classifi ed affl ictions and had an inti-
mate knowledge of organs and their function. Th e practice
of mummifi cation contributed greatly to that knowledge.
Th e fi rst mummies were created naturally, by preservation of
the human body by the dry heat of the Egyptian desert. Th e
preservation of natural mummies led the ancient Egyptians
to the conclusion that artifi cial mummifi cation could ren-
der a body impervious to the forces of time and decay. Th e
process of mummifying a body took as long as 70 days, with
each step a ritual presided over by priests trained and expert
in the art. Th e brain, lungs, pancreas, liver, spleen, heart, and
intestines were removed with various instruments, and the
body was placed on a bed of natron, a mineral salt that dried
the skin and tissue. Once the body was dried, the priestsUnwrapped mummy of a woman, perhaps from Th ebes, Egypt, Late Period, aft er 600 b.c.e.; the process of mummifi cation contributed to the
Egyptians’ knowledge of anatomy and disease. (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)926 science: Egypt0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i926 926 10/10/07 2:30:27 PM