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Ancient Egyptian scribes worked in cramp and hunch over over position that were so utmost , it may have led to them developingosteoarthritisin their joints and other skeletal issues , a new analysis expose .
Archaeologists examined the skeleton of 69 grownup males — 30 of whom were scribes — who were entomb between 2700 and 2180 B.C. in a burying ground in Abusir , a pyramid burial coordination compound in Egypt . A raw analytic thinking of their bones was published Thursday ( June 27 ) in the journalScientific Reports .
Statues depicting ancient Egyptians, including a scribe in a seated position.
Being a scratch awl inancient Egyptwas considered a high - position career , specially since these homo could learn and write — a skill oblige by only 1 % to 5 % of the ancient Egyptian universe , allot to theUniversity College London .
" official with scribal accomplishment belong to the elite of the meter and formed the backbone of the land administration , " subject area co - authorVeronika Dulíková , an Egyptologist at the Czech Institute of Egyptology of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University , in the Czech Republic , told Live Science in an email . " They were therefore crucial for the operation and management of the whole country . "
But scribes know downsides to their jobs , too , since they often performed repetitious administrative labor that involve sitting in certain positions for draw out stop of time , harmonise to a statement .
Researchers notice that the scribes ' frame showed more obvious degenerative changes in their joints , compare to the grownup Male who held other occupations . The areas most affect include the veracious collarbone , the right upper arm ivory where it associate with the articulatio humeri socket , the bottom of the right thigh bone where it meets the articulatio genus and the vertebra at the top of the spine .
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The researchers also noticed unique indentations in both kneecaps of each scrivener , and a " flattened aerofoil on a bone in the lower part of the right ankle , " according to the financial statement .
The effort of these pinched changes was likely due to scribes sit for long periods in a transversal - legged position or while kneeling on their left-hand stage with their proper branch crouch up with the paper rush in their laps . And — much like today ’s place workers — the scribbler hunched over as they publish .
" In a typical scribe ’s working position , the point had to be bended forwards and the spine flexed , which commute the center of gravity of the head word and put stress on the spur , " lead authorPetra Brukner Havelková , an anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum in Prague , told Live Science in an email . " And the correlational statistics between [ jaw disorders ] and cervical spine dysfunction or cervix / berm symptom is well documented or supported by clinical studies . "
She added , " We may realize that although they were high - place very important person who belong to the ancient Egyptian elite , they suffered the same worry as we do today and were exposed to alike occupational risk factor in their professing as most civil servants today . "
There have also been legion statue and wall artistry find in tomb showing scribes sitting in these accurate positions performing their tasks .
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" The relief medallion in tombs and scribal statues give us an idea of the postures of the scribes of the time , " Dulíková say . " They were in dissimilar seance and standing status . These are therefore very important for studying the forcible changes involved . "
The Scribe ' jaw and first bones in their correct thumb also come along to be affected , bear wearable - and - tear not project in the other skeleton . This was potential the termination of the scribes chewing the ends of rush stems to make composition utensils , which they then pinched with their thumb as they wrote .
" Our inquiry reveals that remaining in a transversal - legged sitting or kneeling position for extended time period , and the repetitive undertaking related to writing and the adjusting of the rush pens during scribal activity , make the utmost overloading of the jaw , cervix and shoulder region , " the authors wrote in the field .
