These were arranged side by side and crosswise in two layers and were then beaten into sheets. In the first stage, the stalk of the plant was sliced into pieces and the pith was cut out and beaten with a hammer to produce wafers. (201)Įgyptologist Rosalie David adds to the description, detailing the stages of this process of forming the plants into sheets: The recto was preferred but the verso was used for documents as well, allowing two separate texts to be included on a single papyrus. Immense rolls of papyrus could be made by joining the single sheets.The sides of a papyrus where the fibers run horizontally are the recto and, where the fibers run vertically, the verso. The two layers were then pressed and allowed to dry. A solution of resin from the plant was laid down and a second layer of papyrus was put into place, horizontally. The stem of the papyrus plant was cut into thin strips which were laid side by side in perpendicular fashion. This symbol is a bouquet of papyrus (associated with the Delta of Lower Egypt) bound with a lotus (the symbol of Upper Egypt). Papyrus also served as a political symbol through its use in the Sma-Tawy, the insignia of the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt. It also played a part in religious devotion as it was often bound together to form the symbol of the ankh and offered to the gods as a gift. Papyrus was used as a food source, to make rope, for sandals, for boxes and baskets and mats, as window shades, material for toys such as dolls, as amulets to ward off throat diseases, and even to make small fishing boats. The papyrus of Egypt is most closely associated with writing - in fact, the English word 'paper' comes from the word 'papyrus' - but the Egyptians found many uses for the plant other than a writing surface for documents and texts. Papyrus still exists in Egypt today but in greatly reduced number. These plants once were simply part of the natural vegetation of the region, but once people found a utilitarian purpose for them, they were cultivated and managed in farms, harvested heavily, and their supply depleted. Stalks reached up to 16 feet tall (5 m) ending in small brown flowers which often bore fruit. Papyrus buds opened from a horizontal root growing in shallow fresh water and the deeply saturated Delta mud. It may be a considered a precursor of ancient Greek humoral pathology and the subsequently established theory of the four humors, providing a historical connection between Ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and medieval medicine.Papyrus is a plant ( cyperus papyrus) which once grew in abundance, primarily in the wilds of the Egyptian Delta but also elsewhere in the Nile River Valley, but is now quite rare. The "channel theory" was prevalent at the time of writing of the Ebers papyrus it suggested that unimpeded flow of bodily fluids is a prerequisite for good health. The papyrus contains chapters on contraception, diagnosis of pregnancy and other gynecological matters, intestinal disease and parasites, eye and skin problems, dentistry and the surgical treatment of abscesses and tumors, bone-setting and burns. The descriptions of these disorders suggest that Egyptians conceived of mental and physical diseases in much the same way. Disorders such as depression and dementia are covered. Mental disorders are detailed in a chapter of the papyrus called the Book of Hearts. It notes that the heart is the center of the blood supply, with vessels attached for every member of the body. The papyrus contains a "treatise on the heart". It contains many incantations meant to turn away disease-causing demons and there is also evidence of a long tradition of empiricism. The scroll contains some 700 magical formulas and folk remedies. The Ebers Papyrus is written in hieratic Egyptian writing and represents the most extensive and best-preserved record of ancient Egyptian medicine known. It is currently kept at the library of the University of Leipzig, in Germany. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt, it was purchased at Luxor in the winter of 1873-74 by Georg Ebers. The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus of herbal knowledge dating to circa 1550 BC.
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