Rhind Mathematical Papyrus copied by the scribe Ahmes
- Date
- c. 1650 BCE
- Category
- Science, technology & invention
- Region
- Egypt (Nile Valley)
- Era
- Ancient Civilizations
- Significance
Around 1650 BCE the scribe Ahmes copied the document now known as the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, stating that he was reproducing an older text that may date to roughly 2000 BCE during the Middle Kingdom.
The most complete surviving source for ancient Egyptian mathematics, it contains some 84 to 87 problems with their solutions, covering multiplication and division, the handling of unit fractions, linear equations, and the calculation of areas and volumes, including practical geometry for grain stores and land. The papyrus reveals a sophisticated, problem-based mathematical tradition tied to administration, construction, and accounting, and includes an approximation of pi used in computing the area of a circle. Acquired by Alexander Henry Rhind in 1858 and now in the British Museum, it is a cornerstone for understanding the history of mathematics and demonstrates the practical numeracy underpinning Egypt's monumental building and bureaucratic record-keeping.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in c. 1650 BCE
- Old Babylonian Empire1894 BCE – 1595 BCE
- Hittite Empire1650 BCE – 1178 BCE
- Elamite Kingdom2700 BCE – 539 BCE
- Xia Dynasty2070 BCE – 1600 BCE
Related science, technology & invention events
- Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, earliest known treatise on traumac. 1600 BCE
- Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions: the first alphabetic writingc. 1850 BCE
- Old Babylonian mathematics: base-60 and Plimpton 322c. 1800–1600 BCE
- Development of the Linear A Script in Minoan Cretec. 1800 BCE
- The Taung Child and the naming of Australopithecus africanus1924–1925 CE (fossil c. 2.8 million years old)
- The Bronze-to-Iron transition and the early Iron Agec. 1200 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
A Little History of Science
Warm, jargon-free tour of discovery from Babylonian stargazers to the genome.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.