Today, many people struggle with sitting in front of a computer screen for long periods of time. However, people over 4,000 years ago also suffered from occupational posture problems, according to a study of the skeletons of ancient Egyptian scribes. They were noticeably affected by bone changes and joint wear in certain areas. These characteristics can be linked to known postures and the tools used by the scribes, the team reports.
They are a symbol of the highly developed culture of the ancient Egyptians: numerous images and statues testify to the importance of the scribes in the kingdom on the Nile. Their skills were something special at the time, because it is assumed that only about one percent of the population could read and write. The scribes therefore had a high social status and led a comparatively privileged life. But they probably had to do a lot to achieve this: Egypt’s complex administrative system was based on extensive records. The scribes probably spent many hours a day writing on papyri or wooden tablets using rush brushes and ink.
Schreiber skeletons in the crosshairs
As part of their study, researchers led by Petra Brukner Havelková from the Czech National Museum in Prague have now investigated the extent to which the special, long-term stresses of the scribes’ work could be reflected in their remains. They examined the skeletons of a total of 69 men who were buried in the Abusir necropolis in Egypt between 2700 and 2180 BC. Thirty of them were scribes, as can be seen from the names in their graves. The comparison group, on the other hand, consisted of men who the team assumes performed other, but also less strenuous, physical activities.
As the researchers report, they did indeed find statistically significant peculiarities in the remains of the scribes: In contrast to the representatives of the other professional groups, they showed a high number of bone abnormalities or degenerative joint changes in certain areas of the skeleton. Some of these were forms of arthritis – a breakdown of cartilage tissue in joints that can lead to pain. The areas affected included the neck area, knees, ankles, shoulders, thumb joints and jaws, the researchers report.
Cross-legged and brush-chewing
According to the researchers, it is likely that these abnormalities are due to typical working postures of scribes, which are known from illustrations and figurative representations. Accordingly, the degenerative changes in the spine and shoulders could have been caused by long periods of working in a cross-legged position with the head bent forward. Certain abnormalities in the knees, hips and ankles, on the other hand, could be due to the temporary raising of one leg in a sitting position, which is shown in some illustrations of scribes.
But what could be behind the abnormalities in the jaw joints? As the researchers explain, there is a plausible explanation for this too: brushes made of tough rush material were used as writing tools. To enable them to absorb ink, the end was chewed to create a brush-like head. When this element was worn out, the writer cut off the end of the brush and chewed a new brush head. This may have had long-term consequences, say the researchers. It is known that frequent and intensive chewing can lead to jaw joint disorders.
“The present study provides a first insight into possible occupational risk factors related to the work of scribes and the areas of their skeleton that are most affected,” the authors conclude. They now plan to deepen their investigations and include further skeletons from additional populations to confirm the results. They hope that Egyptologists may one day be able to use the information in practice: “Typical skeletal features could also be used to identify the scribe profession on the remains of people whose classification is initially unknown,” say the researchers.