There were degenerative joint changes in the spines, shoulders, knees, hips, and ankles.
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Ancient Egyptian scribes had repetitive stress injuries just like us
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Neck beard here. Currently hunched over my keyboard at a 45 degree angle. I feel attacked.
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Raising your papyrus to eye level and investing in an ergonomic stylus works wonders.
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And yet scribes would brag about how great office work is compared to other trades: https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/instructions-dua-khety/
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"the right thumb's first metacarpal bone, where the thigh meets the knee"...?
Edit: a comment on my statement above points out that I misread this not as two independent things, but as the latter phrase further describing the former. Oops! That genuinely didn't occur to me - I misread the sentence and got mired in my own misconception.
Edit: a comment on my statement above points out that I misread this not as two independent things, but as the latter phrase further describing the former. Oops! That genuinely didn't occur to me - I misread the sentence and got mired in my own misconception.
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is it possible to write directly onto papyrus scrolls without using a solid surface? I can write on paper, as long as the paper is on a solid surface such as a desk or clipboard; but if I were to hold a sheet of paper in one hand, and attempt to write on the paper, I have problems.
Yes, I am quite ignorant in the usage of papyrus.
Yes, I am quite ignorant in the usage of papyrus.
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Why take things out of context like that? The various problem regions are separated by commas.
"clustered in several well-defined regions compared to males from other occupations, including the joint connecting the lower jaw to the skull, the right collarbone, where the right humerus meets the shoulder, the right thumb's first metacarpal bone, where the thigh meets the knee, and all along the spine"
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florinandrei
Ars Centurion
That was the software engineer equivalent job of the time (cushy, secure, well paid). Seems like carpal tunnel syndrome & friends go along with the job description.
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Right. Some carpal tunnel might not be too bad if you were well fed and not going to get trampled by an ox or crushed by a rock. Would be interesting to see how their age at death compares to the average.
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How come there are a few articles posted both here and livescience.com all of a sudden?
Is this a collaboration between the sites?
Is this a collaboration between the sites?
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Well considering the alternatives...it probably was. Poor posture and back pain beats being mauled by a crocodile while attempting to do laundry or cut the reeds needed to make papyrus in the Nile for instance.
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I first read it like that also. Then thought ...what? That isn't right. Reread...oh. OK. I see now.
Just another senior moment.
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Papyrus is tougher than paper overall, though thicknesses varied because the plant fibers generally aren't uniform.
But it should have been possible to hold it in one hand and write with another. The biggest problem, though, is that it didn't come in sheets, but in rolls that were cut to create the scrolls after being written on. So it's less of a matter of holding it in one hand than it is just being able to write on it from the roll in the first place.
So, from a practical point of view, while it's POSSIBLE to write on the scroll while holding it, it's not going to be very efficient or comfortable in the doing.
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They could have benefited from taking a walk around the office every 20 minutes or so.
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Two things:
The scribes were wearing a kilt. When cross-legged, the kilt made for a flat supporting surface under the papyrus. For other suggested writing poses, they would have been able to lay the papyrus over one thigh.
They were using what was more like a brush than a solid-tipped pen, so wouldn’t have had to press down like you do with a pen/pencil, which allowed a stretched-out kilt or thigh to be a plenty-solid writing surface.
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Maybe their AppleSunDial could have been programmed to give them a reminder for that.
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Just another great article by JENNIFER OUELLETTE in a long line of great articles by her. Both the research, the writing style, the intelligence (I mean it) for writing the way she does. I love which articles she chooses to write about.
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From the pictures, it looks like it was either on the kilt or supported with their left forearm.
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This needed a research study? I already knew this after riding Spaceship Earth.
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To be fair..... you're both right. While the construction is technically correct, if I were the copy editor I'd send it back. The items in a list should be constructed similarly to one another to avoid confusion, instead it alternates between "the (noun)" and "where (verb phrase)". The ambiguity is that the second form can either mean "[the region] where (verb phrase)" or it can modify the preceding noun. Concretely, consider also how you read "where the right humerus meets the shoulder".
It becomes clear in full context after a reread with a little anatomical knowledge, but that means it's not the best sentence for a news article. I'd recommend prepending "the region" to the two "where" clauses. No disrespect to the assuredly overworked copy editor of this magazine.
I am exceptionally fun at parties.
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A couple of thousand years later, the situation improved a little when the Greeks developed laptops:
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I thought this had to be a modern fake, but no, it's real. Not a laptop, but it sure resembles one!
No, That's Not A Laptop On An Ancient Greek Grave Marker
The mysterious object in this ancient Greek funeral relief is not a laptop, no matter how much you squint at it.
www.forbes.com
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Not to be too pedantic, but the thigh doesn’t meet the knee. The femur (thigh bone), meets the tibia (leg bone) at the knee (which isa joint between 2 bones).
and, like several other folks, I misinterpreted the sentence to imply that the thumb carpometacarpal was involved with the thigh/knee.
and, like several other folks, I misinterpreted the sentence to imply that the thumb carpometacarpal was involved with the thigh/knee.
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I too am exceptionally fun at parties.
I just fail to understand why I don't ever get invited to them, at least more than once.
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Reading this, I’m just glad I never had to chew on a keyboard to get it working
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Dumb question: did the ancient Egyptians not have chairs and tables? I just tried sitting in that position and writing on a clipboard with a pencil (which I think is similar enough to what they were using), and I can jot down a quick note like that but it gets uncomfortable within seconds. I have a hard time imagining them not figuring out something like medieval-style writing desks.
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Perhaps scribes were not allowed to be seated on a level with their superiors?
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Egyptians did have chairs and tables, but they were pretty low to the ground, in early Egypt, so the standard household ones would not have made for a better writing position. Wood had to be imported, so was pretty expensive. I suspect using expensive wood to get a more comfortable writing position for what were mostly considered low-level accountants/stenographers would not have been high on the list of necessary business/household expenses.
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Yeah, I’d go with wax tablet. They were pretty common as re-usable writing surfaces.I thought this had to be a modern fake, but no, it's real. Not a laptop, but it sure resembles one!
No, That's Not A Laptop On An Ancient Greek Grave Marker
The mysterious object in this ancient Greek funeral relief is not a laptop, no matter how much you squint at it.
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But why spell the name in all caps? It reminded me of those offers from nigerian princes and widows...
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