science of the egyptians Summary and Overview

THE SCIENCE OF THE EGYPTIANS The progress of the Egyptians in the various sciences was equalled by that of no other ancient people except the Greeks, and perhaps the Babylonians and the Assyrians. In astronomy, geometry, chemistry, and the arts their knowledge is attested by the cycles they formed for the adjustment of different reckonings of time, and by their skill in shaping and moving vast blocks of stone used in building, which, considering their want of iron and the very simple mechanical appliances at the command of Egyptian builders, are an enigma to modern engineers. The hardening of bronze tools with which they cut granite and the mode in which Moses destroyed the golden calf indicate the progress they had made in using metals. In medicine also they were inferior only to the Greeks.