1.3 Egyptian Fractions (Lesson 3)

Now, we come to division. Inevitably, fractions will be involved. Calculations of fractions is one of the most fascinating aspects of Egyptian mathematics. Let us see how Egyptians used their numeral hieroglyphs to represent fractions:

Example 1.6.

Egyptians used only unit fractions (that is, fractions with numerator equals 1) such as 1/5 , 1/249 , with the exception of 2/3 and 3/4 . Here are some examples:

Credit: The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive

Credit: The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive

The symbol above the numeral hieroglyphs in the figure represents a "mouth", which means "part".