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NOVA scienceNOW: Papyrus
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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Compare maps of modern and ancient Egypt. On a map of
ancient Egypt, have students locate the ancient city of
Oxyrhynchus. Then have them try to locate Oxyrhynchus on a
modern map of Egypt—it's not there! Oxyrhynchus, which is
about 10 miles from the Nile, was abandoned around 650 A.D. when
the canal system bringing water to the city fell into disrepair.
Tell students that the papyrus documents analyzed in the segment
were found in Oxyrhynchus.
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Discuss the value of understanding past cultures. Ask
students why it is important to understand what life was like
hundreds or thousands of years ago. Why is it important to
investigate ancient cultures?
(The information often helps us understand how cultures
developed, and it can shed light on aspects of life today.)
Ask if your region was inhabited 2,000 years ago, at the time
Oxyrhynchus was a thriving regional center. What kind of
evidence is there for past settlement in your area? Consider
having teams research and report on what the region where they
reside was like 100, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 years ago.
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Explore how paper, plants, and fabric are held together.
By looking at the different ways of making a flat surface,
students will better appreciate what is required to make papyrus
serve as "paper" and how surprising it is for such a material to
last 2,000 years. Many things in our world exist as thin sheets
or layers, such as paper, fabric, and plant leaves. These thin
materials hold together in different ways. For example, paper is
made of entangled wood fibers pressed together. Fabrics such as
wool and cotton are often woven, and leaves are made of
connected veins that form a framework and cells that form a
continuous tissue. Give students a hand lens and/or a microscope
and ask them to observe three or four different types of paper
(e.g., wrapping paper, newsprint, hand-made stationery, and
linen or rag paper). Have them rip the paper, observe the torn
edge, and describe and compare each type. For example, students
should note the directions of the fibers, how close together
they are, and how the fibers interlock to hold the paper
together. Then have students closely examine plant leaves and
fabric. Students should crush or tear the plant part and then
observe the torn edge. Ask students to name ways that paper,
fabric, and leaves are alike and different.
(All appear to have fibers, though they are of different
lengths and shapes. The fibers in paper are short, straight,
and tangled together. Cotton and wool have long fibers that
are woven, with the threads crossing in an organized manner.
Leaves have a network of veins and cells that form a
continuous tissue.)
Optional: Put two drops of iodine on a piece of paper. If starch
is present, the iodine will turn brownish-black. Starch is often
used as a binder (i.e., glue) to help paper fibers stay
together.
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Examine a papyrus document and hypothesize how papyrus was
made.
Have student pairs visit the Oxyrhynchus Web site below. All the
fragments on this site are made of papyrus. Ask pairs to closely
examine the horoscope piece. Ask them to use their observations
to hypothesize how papyrus was made. Record their hypotheses on
the board.
(Narrow strips of flat papyrus were woven together, giving
papyrus an obvious vertical and horizontal grain. Then the
joined strips were pounded. The pounding released a resin that
acted like glue and pressed the fibers of different pieces
together.)
www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/VExhibition/daily_life/daily_life_contents.html
After Watching
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Revisit student hypotheses about how people made papyrus
(i.e., Before Viewing question #4). Ask students to reexamine their hypotheses and compare their
original ideas of how papyrus was made to how it actually is
made, as described in the segment. How closely did their ideas
match the actual method? Which did not match? Have students
share their original and revised hypotheses. Read aloud the
process for making papyrus. Then for homework, ask students to
figure out a way to use paper, cloth, or plant material to make
a simulated sheet of papyrus. (Papyrus is a reed that grows to be about 15 feet tall. Its
stem is triangular and sectioned and can grow to about three
inches in width. Sheets of papyrus were made in the following
way: The stem was cut into pieces 12-18 inches long. The outer
layer was peeled and removed. The stem was cut lengthwise to
make long, thin strips. The strips were placed side by side. A
second set of strips was placed perpendicularly on top of the
first layer. The strips were then rolled or hit to remove
moisture, and heavy objects were placed on top to flatten the
strips and cause fluids inside to leak and stick the strips
together. The surface of the papyrus was then polished. The
natural adhesive ability of papyrus made it a desirable
material conducive for use as a writing surface. Large sheets
could be made by naturally "gluing" smaller sections
together.)
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Discuss the importance of the Oxyrhynchus findings.
Consider the following questions with students:
- Why was papyrus important in ancient Egypt?
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What kinds of things did people write about in ancient Egypt?
- Why should we decipher these ancient writings?
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What information about life today do you think might be
interesting to people 2,000 years from now?
(The first written language was recorded on clay tablets
about 5,000 years ago. Clay tablets break and wear easily
(unless they are fired), and large tablets are difficult to
carry. For these reasons, the invention of papyrus as a
writing surface was revolutionary. Also, papyrus sheets could
be rolled up for easy storage. Papyrus was used for official
purposes, such as legal documents, tax receipts, and census
returns as well as for private purposes, such as loans,
marriage contracts, letters, invitations, and even horoscopes.
The excavated documents have helped historians reconstruct
what daily life was like for the people in Egypt 2,000 years
ago, which in fact has striking similarities to the way we
live our lives today. Since the fourth question has no
particular answer, invite students to identify things in the
culture and their lives that symbolize life in their
world.)
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Make a class time capsule. Have each student write a
paragraph about life in the 21st century, stating
what he or she would like future generations to know about his
or her life today. Ask volunteers to share their ideas.
Brainstorm with students about the kinds of things that cause
paper to decompose (e.g., water, oxygen, fungus, bacteria). What kinds of containers would best preserve their writings
for many years? What is the best kind of material on which to
write their message? Is there a material available today that is
better than paper for preserving ideas for a long time? And
where should the container be placed for best preservation? As a
class, make a capsule that will preserve student writings, and
place it in a location where it will be well protected. Agree on
a time when this capsule should be retrieved and opened, such as
the end of the school year, when they graduate from high school,
on their 25th reunion, or in 50 years.
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Sequence and interpret an actual Oxyrhynchus document.
Certain aspects of life today are quite similar to life 2,000
years ago. Make this point by dividing into four or five
sections a document related to a public event in Oxyrhynchus.
(Use the translated Oxyrhynchus text at:
www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/VExhibition/daily_life/circus_programme.html.) Give a different section of the text to each group of
students. Ask them to read and interpret their section. As a
class, sequence the writings into a complete document. Then,
discuss the following questions:
- What might this event have been like?
- Who might have written the text (or event program)?
- Who might have attended the event?
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Describe a similar program or note that might be written
today.
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Research different kinds of writing materials. Assign
students a different writing material, such as clay tablets,
papyrus, parchment, vellum, rice paper, traditional paper made
from wood pulp, or reusable digital paper of the future. Have
them create an illustrated poster that includes the following
information about their material:
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A description of the writing material and how it is made.
- When and where it was (or is) made and used.
- An image or sample of the writing material.
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The expected lifetime of the material and the kind of
environment that would best preserve it.
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The kind of writings that were (or are) done on the material
and how people wrote on it.
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The advantages and disadvantages of using the material for
writing.
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Make paper. Tell students that paper is made by pressing
wood pulp and wood fibers into thin sheets. Divide the class
into groups, and have the students make paper following a
procedure such as the one at
pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/recyclingpaper.html.
Web Sites
Ancient Greek Music on Papyrus: Two New Fragments
www.classics.uc.edu/music/index.html
Describes fragments of ancient papyrus that contain musical
notations.
Learning about Papyrology
www.lib.umich.edu/pap/k12/k12.html
Introduces students to what papyrology is and to ancient writing
materials.
Oriental Institute Research Archives
www.oi.uchicago.edu/oi/dept/ra/abzu/youth_resources.html
Includes extensive resources about Egypt and the Ancient Near East.
POxy: Oxyrhynchus Online
www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk/POxy/index.html
Provides images and analysis of the Oxyrhynchus papyri.
Books
Ancient Egypt
by George Hart. Dorling Kindersley, 2004.
Provides information about ancient Egyptian civilization and
includes images of artifacts.
Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt
by John Baines and Jaromir Malek. Facts on File, 2000.
Describes Egyptian cultural and natural history and includes maps
and photographs.
Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt
by David Rosalie. Facts on File, 2000.
Presents a time line of ancient Egypt as well as historical and
archeological information.
The New Papyrological Primer
by P.W. Pestman. Leiden, 1990.
Discusses Greek papyrological texts and provides background
information on each document.
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