Development of Science and Technology

in AFRICA
SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
Ancient Egyptian Doctors
• Priests were the first people to
practice medicine.
• The first known physician in Egypt
was the high priest and Vizier,
Imhotep. They are considered by
many to be the true father of
medicine.

Ancient Egypt Medical Papyrus

1. Edwin Smith Papyrus
It is a medical text on surgical
trauma, dating back to 1600
B.C. The papyrus documents
48 cases including injuries to
the head, neck, arms and
torso, along with the
treatments used.
2. Ebers Papyrus
• Purchased by Georg Ebers in 1873 at
Luxor, the Ebers Papyrus dates back
to 1500 B.C. It is a papyrus scroll that
contains over 700 magical spells and
remedies.

3. Kahun Gynecological Papyrus

• This text contains 34 sections that deal with specific
gynecological problems, diagnosis, and treatment.
• This text informs that the ancient Egyptians believed that
many of the maladies they suffered from occurred as a
result of different conditions of the womb.
• Eyes and womb are, for some reason, closely linked in
ancient Egyptian health and medicine.
MATHEMATICS
Lebombo bone
• The oldest mathematical
instrument.
• A baboon fibula used as a
measuring device and so
named for its location of
discovery in the Lebombo
mountains of Swaziland.

Ishango bone
• The Ishango bone is not
merely a measuring device
but the bone’s inscriptions
are clearly separated into
clusters of markings that
represent various quantities.
MATHEMATICAL PAPYRUS
• Rhind Mathematical Papyrus- is one of the best known
papyrus purchased and named after Alexander Henry Rhind in
1858 in Luxor, Egypt. It consists a long table of fractional parts
to help with division, followed by the solutions of 84 specific
problems in arithmetic and geometry.

• Moscow Mathematical Papyrus- is an ancient Egyptian

mathematical papyrus, also called the Golenishchev
Mathematical Papyrus, after its first owner outside of Egypt,
Vladimir Golenishchev. The papyrus is well known for its
geometry problems.
ASTRONOMY
Calendar
• The ancient Egyptians used a lunar calendar for their religious
festivals and ritual.
• They also used a solar calendar for their daily lives which
contained 365 days per year.
• Each year was comprised of three, four-month seasons, which
were named after significant events related to their agrarian
lifestyle.
1. Akhet : The time of the floods
2. Peret: The time of growth
3. Shemu: The time of harvest
OBELISKS
• Obelisks were used at entrances
to temples of the sun god and
were covered in an alloy called
electrum, which is comprised of
four parts gold to one part silver.

• Obelisks were symbolic of the

pharaohs’ divinity as well as
objects of worship of the
Egyptian sun god Ra. The
hieroglyphic inscriptions
recorded the deeds and
accomplishments of the
pharaoh.
SUNDIALS
• Sundial, the earliest type of timekeeping device, which
indicates the time of day by the position of the shadow of
some object exposed to the sun’s rays. As the day progresses,
the sun moves across the sky, causing the shadow of the
object to move and indicating the passage of time.
PYRAMIDS
• THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

1. Great Pyramid- the oldest and

largest of the three pyramids
at Giza. It was built Pharaoh
Khufu who reigned from
2589-2566 B.C.
2. The Pyramid of Khafre-
second tallest pyramid at Giza
and contains Pharaoh Khafre’s
tomb.
3. The Pyramid of Menkaure-
the southernmost pyramid at
Giza.
WRITING SYSTEM
Hieroglyphics
• The earliest form of writing was in
the form of hieroglyphics, which
simply put, were drawings that
portrayed a story. The Egyptians
used them to keep accurate
records and maintain control of
their empire.
• Scholars have discovered that there
are three different classes of
Egyptian hieroglyphics.

1. Phonograms are signs that

represent a specific sound. Some
correspond with the sounds of
two or more letters.
2. Ideograms represent ideas
instead of sounds.
3. Determinatives are hieroglyphs
that were not spoken or
translated.
COSMETICS
Make-up

• Make-up originated with the ancient Egyptians, where men

and women alike are used to wear it.
• Some of the common cosmetics in ancient Egypt included:
1. malachite- a copper ore, which provided the green eye make
up color
2. Kohl- used to draw thick, distinctive black lines giving an
almond shape to the eyes
3. Red ochre- which was used as rouge or lip color
4. Henna- which was widely used to stain the fingertips and toes
AFRICA TODAY
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/12/a
frica-technology-revolution/