Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
Practical calculation, not abstract number theory, is the purpose of mathematics: every problem exists to answer a real question about bread, beer, land, or grain.
- mathematics presented entirely through worked practical problems
- unit-fraction arithmetic as the era's dominant technique
- geometry applied to pyramids, fields, and granaries
- the most complete surviving Egyptian mathematical text
A scribal copy by Ahmes of an earlier Twelfth Dynasty text, containing 84 worked problems in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, including methods for computing the areas of fields, the volumes of granaries, the slope of pyramids, and a table converting fractions with numerator 2 into sums of distinct unit fractions. Purchased in Thebes by Alexander Henry Rhind in 1858 and now in the British Museum, it is the single most complete surviving witness to Egyptian mathematical method.
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