Papyrology and sources in astronomical history

Abstract

Unlike the codices, the papyri and clay tablets have usually come down to us in fragments only. In spite of the greater fragility of the papyri, we find that quantitatively the cuneiform material is not more extensive than that of the extant papyri. Literary sources for the history of antique science, particularly those by antique authors, are mainly furnished in the form of parchment codices. It is therefore of interest to observe that, as far as mathematical and astronomical texts are concerned, the cuneiform texts quantitatively exceed those preserved in papyri. We therefore face the problem of whether the Hellenistic epoch when papyri were used was scientific-historically less productive than the epoch of the Babylonian cuneiform tablets; of course, we must not overlook the fact that the cuneiform tablets extend over a larger interval of time. It could be objected that we have to deal here with a selection effect which excludes a statistical comparison between cuneiform tablets and papyri. From the very beginning Assyriologists required the assistance of historians of astronomy when decoding tablets; this was unnecessary for the reading of papyri which were usually written in Greek. Papyriology is exclusively a philological science, it has even become an auxiliary science for the historian of law. The negligible number of published papyri of a mathematical or astronomical content is an indication that these texts have simply not been read at all. The circumstance that a relatively large number of astrological horoscopes or Omina have been published, reinforces this suspicion, because these texts are also of literary interest. Although in Hellenistic times astrology overshadows astronomy, it is difficult to assume that such few calculation-schemes, etc., have come down to us as is indicated by the texts published in the papyrological literature. It therefore seems to be necessary to start an extensive investigation of all accessible papyri in museums, libraries and archives, in order to make these sources as readily available as possible for scientific-historical studies.