ABUSIR, EGYPT—A new study of human remains from the Egyptian necropolis of Abusir shows that 30 men known to have been scribes during the third millennium B.C. suffered from a variety of ailments related to their profession, according to a report in The Guardian. Led by anthropologist Petra Brukner Havelková of the National Museum in Prague, a team found that the scribes’ bones bear evidence of stress consistent with long periods sitting in the cross-legged or squatting position with the head held forward, a pose common in artistic depictions of Egyptian scribes. These include signs of stress in the leg bones, as well as osteoarthritis in the spine, the right collarbone, shoulder, and thumb. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they also suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome on the hand,” said Havelková, “but unfortunately we can’t identify that on the bones.” Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. To read more about the work of Egyptian scribes, go to “The World of Egyptian Demons: Ghosts of the Ancestors.”
