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The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (i.e. papyrus British Museum 10057 and pBM 10058), is named after Alexander Henry Rhind, a Scottish antiquarian, who purchased the papyrus in 1858 in Luxor, Egypt; it was apparently found during illegal excavations in or near the Ramesseum. The British Museum, where the papyrus is now kept, acquired it in 1865; there are a few small fragments held by the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus dates to the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt. It was copied by the scribe Ahmes (i.e., Ahmose; Ahmes is an older transcription favoured by historians of mathematics), from a now-lost text from the reign of king Amenemhat III (12th dynasty). Written in the hieratic script, this Egyptian manuscript is 33 cm tall and over 5 meters long, and was first translated in the late 19th century.

The papyrus has 84 problems with worked examples, written on both sides. Taking up roughly one third of the manuscript is a <math>2/n</math> table which expresses 2 divided by the odd numbers from 5 to 101 in terms only of unit fractions. Other topics covered include what we today recognise as algebra, geometry and trigonometry. In the opening paragraphs of the papyrus, Ahmes presents the papyrus as giving “Accurate reckoning for inquiring into things, and the knowledge of all things, mysteries...all secrets”.

For example, considering simple algebra Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (or RMP) 24 asked to find unknown x and 1/7th of x to equal a fixed number, in this case 19. Ahmes, the Egyptian scribe, worked the problem this way:

(8/7)x = 19, or x = 133/8 = 16 + 5/8,

with 133/8 being the initial vulgar fraction and 5/8 being the remainder vulgar fraction term. Ahmes converted 5/8 to an Egyptian fraction series by (4 + 1)/8 = 1/2 + 1/8, making his final quotient plus remainder based answer x = 16 + 1/2 + 1/8. The RMP includes 15 algebra problems of this type, with #24 being the easiest. Each of the RMP's other 14 algebra problems produced increasingly difficult vulgar fractions. Yet, all were easily converted to an optimal (short and small last term) Egyptian fraction series.

[edit] See also

• Papyrus Harris I
• Rollin Papyrus

[edit] References

• O'Connor and Robertson, 2000. Mathematics in Egyptian Papyri.
• Williams, Scott W. Mathematicians of the African Diaspora, containing a page on Egyptian Mathematics Papyri.
• Imhausen, A., Ägyptische Algorithmen. Eine Untersuchung zu den mittelägyptischen mathematischen Aufgabentexten, Wiesbaden 2003.
• Gardner, Milo, Egyptian math (blog).
• Clagett, Marshall. 1999. Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book. Volume 3: Ancient Egyptian Mathematics. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society 232. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0-87169-232-5
• Allen, Don. April 2001. The Ahmes Papyrus and Summary of Egyptian Mathematics.
• Chace, Arnold Buffum. 1927-1929. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus: Free Translation and Commentary with Selected Photographs, Translations, Transliterations and Literal Translations. Classics in Mathematics Education 8. 2 vols. Oberlin: Mathematical Association of America. (Reprinted Reston: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1979). ISBN 0-87353-133-7
• Peet, Thomas Eric. 1923. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, British Museum 10057 and 10058. London: The University Press of Liverpool limited and Hodder & Stoughton limited
• Robins, R. Gay, and Charles C. D. Shute. 1987. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus: An Ancient Egyptian Text. London: British Museum Publications Limited. ISBN 0-7141-0944-4
• Truman State University, Math and Computer Science Division. Mathematics and the Liberal Arts: The Rhind/Ahmes Papyrus.sr:Ахмесов папирус