he Edwin Smith Papyrus is a medical treatise from ancient Egypt. This papyrus is named after Edwin Smith, the American collector of antiquities who purchased the papyrus. The Edwin Smith Papyrus is notable for being the oldest known surgical treatise in the world and casts some light on the medical knowledge possessed by the ancient Egyptians.
The Study of the Edwin Smith Papyrus
The Edwin Smith Papyrus was purchased by Edwin Smith in Luxor in 1862. As a matter of fact, it was sold to him in two parts. The first manuscript he bought had lacked some of its outer portions. Two months later, the same people sold him the remaining fragments, which were glued onto a dummy roll. Smith saw through this deception but recognized that the two were part of the same manuscript and pieced them together.
