Astudy of skeletal remains dated to the 3rd millennium B.C. has revealed the occupational hazards that ancient Egyptian scribes may have faced thousands of years ago.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reveals how repetitive tasks carried out by these scribes and the positions they sat in while working potentially led to degenerative changes in their skeletons.

In ancient Egypt of the 3rd millennium B.C., the term “scribe” referred to men who had proficiency in writing and held a wide range of administrative posts or functions.

These individuals would have enjoyed a privileged position in the society of the time, given that only a tiny fraction of the population would have been literate.

This picture taken on October 27, 2021, shows a statue—dated to the mid-3rd millennium B.C.—of an ancient Egyptian scribe seated cross-legged, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A study has shed new insights… 
Research focusing on these scribes has usually concentrated on their titles, iconography and the statues depicting them. But the individuals themselves and their skeletal remains have often been overlooked.

“The aim of this study is to reveal whether repetitive tasks and maintained postures related to scribal activity can manifest in skeletal changes and identify possible occupational risk factors,” the authors of the study wrote.

For the study, a team led by Petra Brukner Havelková—an anthropologist with the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic—examined the skeletal remains of 69 adults who were buried in the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Abusir between 2700 B.C. and 2180 B.C. Around 30 of these individuals were scribes. The necropolis is one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt.

The researchers identified degenerative changes in certain joints and bones that were more common among the scribes when compared with men who had other occupations.

“It should be noted that, until now, no one has focused on scribes as an occupational group of individuals whose skeletons show identical or similar changes compared to others, which may be related to the tasks they performed repeatedly and the positions in which they had to remain for long periods of time,” Havelková told Newsweek.

The team proposed that degenerative changes observed in the spines and shoulders of the scribes may have resulted from sitting for prolonged periods in a cross-legged position with the head bent forward, the spine flexed and the arms left unsupported.

But other changes seen in the knees, hips and ankles indicated that the scribes sometimes sat with the left leg in a kneeling or cross-legged position, while the right leg was bent with the knee pointing upward.

Archaeological and historical evidence—such as texts, wall relief decorations and statues—also provides insights into how scribes carried out their working activities.

It is known, for example, that ancient Egyptian officials used a thin brush-like pen made of rush during the Pharaonic era, until it was replaced by the Greek-origin reed pen around the year 100 B.C. The writings of scribes are found on papyrus (a paper-like material used in the ancient world), wooden boards and ostraca—pieces of pottery that have text engraved into them.

Researchers also have a fairly good understanding of the postures in which scribes undertook their tasks. These appear to have consisted of three main poses: the cross-legged seated position, the kneeling-squatting position (involving one leg squatting with the second knee on the floor) and the standing position.

Other findings of the study included observations of degenerative signs in the jaw joints, which may have resulted from the scribes chewing the ends of rush stems to form brush-like heads that they could write with. Signs of degeneration seen in the right thumb, meanwhile, could have been caused by scribes repeatedly pinching their pens.

“Our research reveals that remaining in a cross-legged sitting or kneeling position for extended periods, and the repetitive tasks related to writing and the adjusting of the rush pens during scribal activity, caused the extreme overloading of the jaw, neck and shoulder regions,” the authors wrote.

“[The study] gives us a better understanding of what the working environment of administrative officials might have been like—without desks and special chairs designed for sitting for long periods of time,” Veronika Dulíková, a co-author of the study with the Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in the Czech Republic, told Newsweek.

“Although the official’s work was not physically demanding, the postures in which he remained for long periods had a significant effect on the changes in his skeleton. This is a fact that we do not know from written sources or from depictions in tombs. The study of skeletal remains provides such information.”

According to Havelková, some of the changes seen in the skeletons of the scribes may be similar to those seen in modern populations.

“We can only record changes in the skeleton, not in any soft tissues,” Havelková said. “But, according to the results of our study, compared with the results of clinical, orthopedic and ergonomic studies of current occupational risk factors, it seems that prolonged sitting in an inappropriate position still affects the human skeleton in the same way.”

“It can cause degeneration of the spine, arthrosis of the joints and subsequent pain. Whether scribes also suffered from pain can be assumed, but it cannot be proven.”

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