Egyptians, ancient

Although many authors credit China as the birthplace of aquaculture in 2000 BME, they were simply growing wild collected fish in ponds for commercial harvest, similar to Egyptian ancient aquaculture in a system whereby carp were collected as fry and transferred to special ongrowing ponds. In the 5 century BME, the culture of silver carp Hypophthalmi-chthys molitrix) was detailed in a manuscript by Fan li.This has been dated to 460 BME and is currently believed to be the first description of a species where the whole of the life-cycle was completed in captivity. This was the start of the domestication of fish and led to the first species being developed totally in aquaculture, the humble goldfish, which has never existed in the wild. 

A. Lucas andj. R. H iAs, Ancient Egyptian Materials andindustries, 4th ed., E. Arnold, Loadoa, 1962. 

Gold [7440-57-5] Au, is presumably the first metal known and used by humans. It occurs ia nature as a highly pure metal and is treasured because of its color, its extraordinary ductility, and its resistance to corrosion. Early uses ia medicine and dentistry date to the ancient Chinese and Egyptians. In the Middle Ages the demand for gold led to the iatense, unsuccesshil efforts of alchemists to convert base metals iato gold. These pursuits became the basis for chemical science. The search for gold has been an important factor ia world exploration and the development of world trade. 

Hair coloring preparations have been in use since the ancient Egyptians, and recorded recipes exist in many cultures. These followed the traditional apphcation of plant extracts or metallic dyes, both of which still are used. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, synthetic organic compounds were discovered which eventually led to modem hair coloring. 

Paper consists of sheet materials that are comprised of bonded small discrete fibers. The fibers usually are ceUulosic in nature and are held together by hydrogen bonds (see Cellulose). The fibers are formed into a sheet on a fine screen from a dilute water suspension. The word paper is derived from papyms, a sheet made in ancient times by pressing together very thin strips of an Egyptian reed Cjperuspapyrus) (1). 

Compounds of antimony have been used as therapeutic agents for thousands of years (200). There is evidence that the ancient Egyptians used a... 

The fundamental goal in the production and appHcation of composite materials is to achieve a performance from the composite that is not available from the separate constituents or from other materials. The concept of improved performance is broad and includes increased strength or reinforcement of one material by the addition of another material. This is the well-known purpose in the alloying of metals and in the incorporation of chopped straw into clay for bricks by the ancient Egyptians and plant fibers into pottery by the Incas and Mayans. These ancient productions of composite materials consisted of reinforcing britde materials with fibrous substances. In both cases the mechanics of the reinforcement was such as to reduce and control the production of cracks in the brittle material during fabrication or drying (2). 

Alizarin. There is only one significant plant anthraquinone dye, alizariu [72-48-0] (Cl Natural Red 6, 8, 9,10, 11, and 12 Cl 75330). In ancient times, alizaria was the preferred red dye. Cloth dyed with it has been found in Egyptian tombs dating 6000 years ago. The dye is found in the madder plant, a member of the Rubiaceae family. In 1944 about 35 species of this plant were known (1), but the use of more sophisticated analytical methods led to the detection of many more species by 1984 the number had increased to 50 (2). Of these, tinctorum and R peregrina yield the greatest amount of dye,... 

Starches. In the United States, all potable alcohol, most fermentation industrial alcohol, and most fuel alcohol is currendy made principally from grains com is the principal feedstock for fuel alcohol. Fermentation of starch from grain is somewhat more complex than fermentation of sugars because starch must first be converted to sugar and then to ethanol. This process was known to the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians who brewed beer almost 5000 years ago (202). The simplified equations for the conversion of starch to ethanol are... 

Impure, native platinum seems to have been used unwittingly by ancient Egyptian craftsmen in place of silver, and was certainly used to make small items of jewellery by the Indians of Ecuador before the Spanish conquest. The introduction of the metal to Europe is a complex and intriguing story. In 1736 A. de Ulloa, a Spanish astronomer and naval officer, observed an unworkable metal, platina (Spanish, little... 

The histoiy of the origin of simple machines is largely conjectural, but there also exists documeiitatioii of the ancient Egyptians using simple machines to build pyramids nearly 5,000 years ago. An inscription in a 4,000-year-old tomb tells of 2,000 men pulling a statue estimated at 132 tons into place. The mass of the... 

The use of hydraulics is not new. The Egyptians and people of ancient Persia, India and China conveyed water along channels for irrigation and other domestic purposes. They used dams and sluice gates to control the flow and waterways to direct the water to where it was needed. The ancient Cretins had elaborate plumbing systems. Archimedes studied the laws of floating and submerged bodies. The Romans constructed aqueducts to carry water to their cities. 

---