OER Ancient Egyptian Numerals Activity

Authors

Cynthia Huffman Ph.D., Pittsburg State UniversityFollow

Files

Description

Ancient Egypt captures our imagination not just because of its pyramids, but because of its incredible staying power. This civilization thrived for over 3,000 years, influencing cultures across the globe—including the very roots of mathematics. As Egyptologist Bob Brier puts it, “No civilization lasted so long, contributed so much, or repeatedly amazed as did ancient Egypt.”

Ready to crack the code of Ancient Egypt and the pharoahs? In this activity, you will learn to decipher Egyptian numerals by examining real photos from temples and museums. Master this skill, and next time you visit a museum exhibit on ancient Egypt, you won’t just be looking at artifacts—you’ll be able to read any hieroglyphic numerals on them!

Publication Date

2025

Keywords

numerals, ancient Egypt, history of math, ethnomathematics

Disciplines

Mathematics | Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Recommended Citation

Huffman, Cynthia Ph.D., "OER Ancient Egyptian Numerals Activity" (2025). Open Educational Resources - Math. 18.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/oer-math/18

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.