Egyptian unit fractions and Rhind papyrus
Fracciones unitarias egipcias y papiro de Rhind
- Date
- c. 1650 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Thebes, Egypt
- Credited to
- Scribe Ahmes (copy of a Middle Kingdom original)
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What was discovered
The Egyptians expressed every fraction as a sum of fractions with numerator 1 and had 2/n tables. The Rhind Papyrus contains 84 problems with rules of three, areas, volumes and an approximation of pi (256/81).
The Moscow Papyrus (c. 1850 BCE) contains the calculation of the volume of a truncated pyramid, considered the gem of Egyptian mathematics.
What it led to
- fraction arithmetic
- false-position algebra
- practical geometry
Built on
- additive decimal hieroglyphic numerals
Made possible
- distribution of rations and wages
- measurement of granaries