Egyptians mainly used their cubits to measure objects. It does not include derived units further unless they are also themselves human based.
My Fingers Are So Smart They Measure Yanko Design
Ancient measurement using body parts. This is a list of units of measure based on human body parts or the attributes or abilities of humans. Ancient measurement of length was based on the human body for example the length of a foot the length of a stride the span of a hand and the breadth of a thumb. Although its a nonstandard unit of measurement its conveniently with you all the time. Cubit from latin cubitum the elbow. The exact length varied according to whose arm was being used and could be from 18 to 22 inches. The semi circular tool is marked with angle measurements from 0 to 180 degrees.
The ancient egyptian units of measurement are those used by the dynasties of ancient egypt prior to its incorporation in the roman empire and general adoption of roman greek and byzantine units of measurement. A cubit was a measurement based on the forearm from elbow to fingertip. There were unbelievably many different measurement systems developed in early times most of them only being used in a small locality. From nose to finger tip. Your body can be used as a measuring tool when you dont have a measuring tape conveniently with you. The distance between your nose.
Following alexander the greats conquest of persia and subsequent de. At some point years ago i picked up the seemingly useless piece of information that an ancient unit of measurement called the cubit was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. This is called non standard measurements. It might also help you remember the measurements because you have to use parts of your body instead of inches feet and yards. For an average adult male at least average as of a couple of millennia ago a cubit works out to about 18 inches 457cm. Each persons body part differed from another persons body part.
The units of length seem to have originally been anthropic based on various parts of the human body although these were standardized using cubit rods strands of rope and official measures maintained at some temples. These units are thus considered to be human scale and anthropocentric. Using your body to estimate length your hand. The same is true of digit in modern english. Eight body based units of measurement before we had precise standardized units of measure such as meters and feet lengths and even ocasionally volumes were reckoned based on the average dimensions of human body parts. The width of your palm is about 4 inches 10 centimeters.
Ancient people measured objects using different body parts. Protractors which are semi circular measurement tools were used in ancient times to measure angles between two intersecting lines. An average foot is about 12 inches long. Your forearm is about 15 feet 46 centimeters. Your forearm from elbow to fingertip. Protractors first were identified as being used in the 1600s.
Digit in latin digitus could mean either finger or toe. There is little difference between what they looked like then and now.
Gallery of Ancient Measurement Using Body Parts
