t documents the Rhind and Moscow Papyrus. Although there are a handful other secondary papyri these papyri convey a sense of Egyptian mathematical activity.
             Papyrus, the writing material of ancient times, takes its name from the plant from which it is made. Papyrus is made from papyrus or Cyperus Papyrus reeds that grew along the Nile River. The reed's inner pith was cut into thin strips and laid at right angles on top of each other. When pasted and pressed together, then left to dry in the sun the result was smooth, thin, cream-colored papery sheets, normally about five to six inches wide. When dry, these scrolls could be rolled up and easily carried and stored.
             To write on papyri brushes or styli, reeds with crushed tips, were dipped in to ink.
             Papyrus scrolls date back to at least 2,500 BC, which is before the pyramids were constructed. The oldest ones are about mathematics. A remarkable number of papyri have been found, protected from decomposition by the dry heat of the region though they often lay unprotected in desert sands or burial tombs.
             The mathematics from papyri can essentially be called applied arithmetic. It was practical information communicated by example on how to solve specific problems. This point, that Egyptian mathematics was communicated by example, rather than by principle, is significant and is different than today's mathematics that is communicated essentially by principle with examples to illustrate principles.
             The primary papyri mathematical sources are the Rhind also known as the Ahmes Papyrus and the Moscow Papyrus, and between them they contain 112 problems with solutions.
             The Rhind papyrus is named after the Scottish Egyptologist A. Henry Rhind, who purchased it in Luxor, Egypt in 1858. Discovered in a tomb in Thebes, Egypt. The Rhind papyrus contains eighty-seven problems with solutions. It starts off by saying that the scribe "Ahmes" is writing it in 1600 BC but that h...