The Moscow Papyrus is one of the oldest written mathematical texts from ancient Egypt around 2000 B.C to 1800 B.C. The Moscow Papyrus contains 25 mathematical problems. Some of the problems are unreadable or too damaged to translate. Problem 14 from the Moscow Papyrus shows an illustration with an example to find the volume of a truncated pyramid. The modern formula for a similar figure, called frustum, is V= (a^2 + a*b + B^2)*(h/3), where a,b, and h are shown in the diagram below.
The text is now located in the largest museum in Europe, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Russia. This ancient piece of mathematical history inspires awe and wonder in those appreciative of mathematics because the Egyptians never explained “how” their example in problem 14 worked, nor did they show any deductive reasoning behind this problem.
Finding the volume of a truncated pyramid is very challenging if doing so by experiments alone. One cannot just stumble to this conclusion just by trial and error. No one knows how the Egyptians derived the formula, and considering that the author of the text remains unknown, we might never know. However, many historians of mathematics have their theories, but even their theories are imminent. Mathematical historians have little to no evidence to prove their theories, since the text was written over 4000 years ago.
Amazingly, considering the age of the Moscow Papyrus, it is still being carefully examine by Egyptologists. This is a valuable piece of history and is worthy of being recognized in a great museum like the Pushkin Museum. One can only wonder of the brilliance or good fortune of the Egyptians.
Sources/References:
Vetter, Quido. “Problem 14 of the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus” The Journal of Egytian
Archaeology. May 1933. Vol 19. No. ½. Web. 22 Jan. 2013 <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3854850?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21103379787463>
Carlesdorce. “Moscow Mathematical Papyrus” The Mathematical Tourist. 10 Oct. 2012 Web. 22. Jan.2013 <http://themathematicaltourist.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/moscow- mathematical-papyrus/>
Mastin, Luke. “Egyptian Mathematics” The Story of Mathematics. 2010. Web 22 Jan. 2013 <http://www.storyofmathematics.com/egyptian.html>
Dunham, William. “ Journey Through Genius The Great Theorems of Mathematics” New York: John Wiley and Sons. 1990 Print
Vetter, Quido. “Problem 14 of the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus” The Journal of Egytian
Archaeology. May 1933. Vol 19. No. ½. Web. 22 Jan. 2013 <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3854850?uid=2&uid=4&sid=21103379787463>
Carlesdorce. “Moscow Mathematical Papyrus” The Mathematical Tourist. 10 Oct. 2012 Web. 22. Jan.2013 <http://themathematicaltourist.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/moscow- mathematical-papyrus/>
Mastin, Luke. “Egyptian Mathematics” The Story of Mathematics. 2010. Web 22 Jan. 2013 <http://www.storyofmathematics.com/egyptian.html>
Dunham, William. “ Journey Through Genius The Great Theorems of Mathematics” New York: John Wiley and Sons. 1990 Print