Early Egyptians Research Articles

Notes on Town Planning in England and Australia

Abstract Since the time of the early Egyptians, the need for the recognition of some Town-planning principles has been realised. The earliest known town, where definite system of streets existed, was that of Kahun, in Egypt, and dates from 3000 B.C. During the last few generations, the development of land on scientific principles has become a matter of national importance, from the social, aesthetic and economical viewpoint.

THE RELATION OF TEETH TO DISEASES OF THE EYE

Odontology is of ancient lineage. Fifteen hundred years before Christ, diseases of the teeth were mentioned in Eber's papyrus. Among the early Egyptians, dentists were numerous, for Herodotus says : Physicke is so studied and practiced with the Egyptiens that every disease hath his several physicians, who striveth to excel in healing that one disease and not to be expert in curing many. Whereof it cometh that every corner of the country is full of physicians. Some for the eyes, others for the head, many for the teeth, not a few for the stomach and the inwards. The Etruscans, according to Garrison,1were highly skilled in dentistry, and he quoted Martial in regard to the excellence of their bridgework. Early in the Christian era, the teeth had their own patron saint, Saint Apollonia, who was a protectress not only of those who suffered from toothache but also of

FRACTURE REDUCTION AND FIXATION WITH A SPECIALLY DESIGNED BAND

The treatment and repair of fractures form one of the most important and fascinating fields of surgery. It is probable that the earliest surgery had to do with fractures, for the weapons employed (clubs, slings, etc.) frequently caused them. The early Egyptians treated fractures successfully, and some of the splints employed by them would do credit to a surgeon of the present day. Apparently, the open operation was even employed by the ancients. The Incas of Peru developed a technic which gave some remarkable results. Asepsis made possible an extensive employment of the open operation, and its use was stimulated by the introduction of the roentgen ray, which enabled the patient to see the position of the fragments, thus causing him to be dissatisfied with an imperfect anatomic result, although the function might be good. The desire of the patient for a perfect anatomic result has caused an extensive use

Dynamic Symmetry—A Criticism

Mr. Jay Hambidge of Boston and New York has for a number of years been engaged in a study of the proportions found, on the one hand, in the artistic designs of the early Egyptians and the Greeks, and on the other, in plant forms and in the human skeleton. The proportions thus obtained, with few exceptions, Mr. Hambidge finds belong to one of three systems according as they depend on the square root of two, of three, or of five. The human skeleton and most Greek vases and other objects of art of the best period are designed according to the root-five system. These three root systems, especially the latter, are conceived to be expressive of life, growth, and vitality and accordingly the term “dynamic symmetry” has been applied to them. During the decadence of Greek art the principles and methods of dynamic symmetry were lost, and hence much to the detriment of art were not used during the Roman period, the Middle Ages, nor since, until the labors of Mr. Hambidge led to their rediscovery. Art since the Greeks, it is maintained, is characterized by having “static symmetry,” the dimensions being commensurable one to another, and thereby lacks the vitality and subtlety of form which the earlier art possessed.

The Ancient Egyptians and their Influence upon the Civilisation of Europe

WE think that “The Early Egyptians and their Influence on Ancient Civilisation” would have been a better title for Dr. Elliot Smith's little book than that which he has actually chosen, “The Ancient Egyptians and their Influence upon the Civilisation of Europe”; for Dr. Smith deals only with the most ancient, the earliest Egyptians, and he traces their influence not only upon the civilisation of Europe, but also, and in the first place, upon that of northern Africa and western Asia. We may say at once that Dr. Smith is less happy in his essay to trace this influence than when he is simply analysing the ethnic constituents of the race which exercised it. In dealing with the complicated question of possible early Egyptian influence upon the surrounding peoples, with regard to which our information is of the scantiest and most nebulous character, he is straying rather off his own ground, whereas in dealing with the early Egyptians themselves he is not only upon his own ground, but upon ground which he himself has made. To read him on this subject is indeed to be enlightened, and every historian must read with attention the remarkable conclusions to which he has been led by his experience in the dissection of mummies (gained in the course of his medical work at Cairo) in connection with the severely scientific archaeological work of Dr. Reisner and his assistants at Naged-Deir and in Lower Nubia. The Ancient Egyptians and their Influence upon the Civilisation of Europe. By Prof. G. Elliot Smith. (Harper's Library of Living Thought.) Pp. xvi + 188. (London and New York: Harper Brothers, 1911.) Price 2s. 6d. net.

On Our Present Knowledge of the Early Egyptians

On Our Present Knowledge of the Early Egyptians