In this carefully researched study, the author examines Egyptian mathematics, demonstrating that although operations were limited in number, they were remarkably adaptable to a great many applications: solution of problems in direct and inverse proportion, linear equations of the first degree, and arithmetical and geometrical progressions.

A lively collection of fun and challenging problems in ancient Egyptian math The mathematics of ancient Egypt was fundamentally different from our math today. Contrary to what people might think, it wasn't a primitive forerunner of modern mathematics. In fact, it can’t be understood using our current computational methods. Count Like an Egyptian provides a fun, hands-on introduction to the intuitive and often-surprising art of ancient Egyptian math. David Reimer guides you step-by-step through addition, subtraction, multiplication, and more. He even shows you how fractions and decimals may have been calculated—they technically didn’t exist in the land of the pharaohs. You’ll be counting like an Egyptian in no time, and along the way you’ll learn firsthand how mathematics is an expression of the culture that uses it, and why there’s more to math than rote memorization and bewildering abstraction. Reimer takes you on a lively and entertaining tour of the ancient Egyptian world, providing rich historical details and amusing anecdotes as he presents a host of mathematical problems drawn from different eras of the Egyptian past. Each of these problems is like a tantalizing puzzle, often with a beautiful and elegant solution. As you solve them, you’ll be immersed in many facets of Egyptian life, from hieroglyphs and pyramid building to agriculture, religion, and even bread baking and beer brewing. Fully illustrated in color throughout, Count Like an Egyptian also teaches you some Babylonian computation—the precursor to our modern system—and compares ancient Egyptian mathematics to today’s math, letting you decide for yourself which is better.

A survey of ancient Egyptian mathematics across three thousand years Mathematics in Ancient Egypt traces the development of Egyptian mathematics, from the end of the fourth millennium BC—and the earliest hints of writing and number notation—to the end of the pharaonic period in Greco-Roman times. Drawing from mathematical texts, architectural drawings, administrative documents, and other sources, Annette Imhausen surveys three thousand years of Egyptian history to present an integrated picture of theoretical mathematics in relation to the daily practices of Egyptian life and social structures. Imhausen shows that from the earliest beginnings, pharaonic civilization used numerical techniques to efficiently control and use their material resources and labor. Even during the Old Kingdom, a variety of metrological systems had already been devised. By the Middle Kingdom, procedures had been established to teach mathematical techniques to scribes in order to make them proficient administrators for their king. Imhausen looks at counterparts to the notation of zero, suggests an explanation for the evolution of unit fractions, and analyzes concepts of arithmetic techniques. She draws connections and comparisons to Mesopotamian mathematics, examines which individuals in Egyptian society held mathematical knowledge, and considers which scribes were trained in mathematical ideas and why. Of interest to historians of mathematics, mathematicians, Egyptologists, and all those curious about Egyptian culture, Mathematics in Ancient Egypt sheds new light on a civilization's unique mathematical evolution.

The author "explains the properties of gnomons [self-repeating shapes], traces their long and colorful history in human thought, and explores the mathematical and geometrical marvels they make possible."--Jacket.

The land and people -- Egypt during the Old Kingdom -- The Middle and New Kingdoms -- Nubians, Greeks, and Romans, circa 1200 BCE-632 CE -- Christian Egypt -- Egypt within Islamic empires, 639-969 -- Fatimids, Ayyubids, and Mamluks, 969-1517 -- Ottoman Egypt, 1517-1798 -- Napoleon Bonaparte, Muhammad Ali, and Ismail : Egypt in the nineteenth century -- The British period, 1882-1952 -- Egypt for the Egyptians, 1952-1981 : Nasser and Sadat -- Mubarak's Egypt -- Conclusion: Egypt through the millennia

In "Ancient Egypt, " eminent Egyptologist Silverman and a team of leading scholars explore the cultural wealth of this civilization in a series of intriguing and authoritative essays based on the latest theories and discoveries. 200+ color photos, maps, and charts.