TheBigDog Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 OK, while touring the Louvre I came across an exhibit in the Egyptian section that had some interesting items in in that I thought would make for some good discussion here at Hypo, so here we go... This tool is, uh, I am not quite sure. I think it might be a ruler, but it might be a calculator of some kind. There is an explanation in French that someone might be able to translate. Under the item is a mirror which shows the inscriptions on the bottom side. I am not sure why I cannot link the picture in, here is a higher resolution image... Any ideas? Bill Chacmool 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Well, I babelfished the words "coudee" and "regle" and they mean "bent" and "rule" repectively. So I would say you are on the right track with ruler. :thumbs_up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarantism Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 my tri-lingual fiancee just took a look at it and she told me: "well, i think it says code, and it also says maya and it refers to king tut. it looks like something that the mayans traded with king tut..." :thumbs_up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfiniteNow Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 And I thought this was going to be a thread about Andy Rooney. :thumbs_up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 my tri-lingual fiancee just took a look at it and she told me: "well, i think it says code, and it also says maya and it refers to king tut. it looks like something that the mayans traded with king tut..." :shade: Intriguing!!! Not too long ago I ran across something about Egyptian artifacts turning up in the New World, but at the moment I can't recall the source. Although contraversial, there is evidence for pre-Columbian trans-oceanic voyages by many cultures including the Egyptians.The similarity between the Egyptian pyramids and the temples of some New World civilizations — such as the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas — has fueled speculations that either the Egyptians had traveled to the Americas, or that the civilizations on both sides of the ocean had sprung from a common source (such as the mythical lost continent of Atlantis).Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Perhaps Bill's artifact find is a type of 'rule Rosetta Stone' used to facilitate conversion of measures for trading purposes. :) The plot thickens. :singer: addendum: another Egyptian artifacts in Americas reference>> Ancients in America Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric l Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I'll give it a try to transcript and translate. (translation in italics) Coudé (règle) de Màya, ministre des Finances du roi ToutânkhamonYardstick of Màya, finance minister to king Tutankhamun1356-1327 av. J.C. 18e dynastie1356-1327 BC 18th dynastyboiswoodCette coudée de 51.3 cm est divisée en 28 "doigts" de 1.86 cm qui se fractionnent de 1/2 (a droite) = 9.3 mm à 1/16 = 1.16 mmThis yardstick measuring 51.3 cm is divided in 28 "fingers" of 1.86 cm, divided in 1/2 (to the right) = 9.3 mm till 1/16 = 1.16 mm I translated "coudé" as yardstick. Litterally it is a measure equal to the length from fingertips to elbow. I tought the term fitting. TheBigDog and Chacmool 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qfwfq Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 Litterally it is a measure equal to the length from fingertips to elbow.Often called cubit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I'll give it a try to transcript and translate. (translation in italics) Coudé (règle) de Màya, ministre des Finances du roi ToutânkhamonYardstick of Màya, finance minister to king Tutankhamun1356-1327 av. J.C. 18e dynastie1356-1327 BC 18th dynastyboiswoodCette coudée de 51.3 cm est divisée en 28 "doigts" de 1.86 cm qui se fractionnent de 1/2 (a droite) = 9.3 mm à 1/16 = 1.16 mmThis yardstick measuring 51.3 cm is divided in 28 "fingers" of 1.86 cm, divided in 1/2 (to the right) = 9.3 mm till 1/16 = 1.16 mm Thanks eric. curiously , I count only 24 divisions on the rule? I looked up Egyptian numerals, and see only a few symbols on the right half that match.Egyptian mathematics Any indication Bill, where it was found? :dog: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarantism Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 a problem is that it is very difficult to transcrible egyptian glyphs. probably the reason that only a few symbols match the numerals is because most of the incriptions are not numbers, but rather glyphs? :dog: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decipherment_of_hieroglyphic_writing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarantism Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 or perhaps if the symbols on the right side match then it could be a measuring stick that converts mayan measurements into egyptian numerals, and this "yardstick" could have been used in other trades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 maybe you are looking in the wrong corner? :shrug: if it was traded from the maya To King Tut then wouldn't the numerals be mayan? I now get the impression from eric's translation that Tut's finance minister's name is Maya, not that it refers to the Maya people of America. I looked at the Maya number system and it is different from Egyptian and not symbolized on the rule. A key difference is the Maya had a zero & not so the Egyptians. Maya Numerals Still, one wonders if the similarity in names is more than a coinkydink. :shrug: :doh: Tarantism 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBigDog Posted July 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 I found some more information on the Louvre website. Here is a link to the detailed description of this artifact... Coudée (règle) de Mâya, ministre des Finances du roi Toutânkhamon | Musée du Louvre Plus some excerpts...Cubit rod (rule) of Maya, treasurer of Tutankhamun The recording of the harvest and the annual survey of agricultural land after the Nile flood, which displaced the marker stones, were two of the foundations of Egyptian bureaucracy. The unit of length was the cubit (of approximately 52.5 cm), and this is a particularly well-preserved cubit rod, which bears the name of a high official, Maya, royal treasurer under Tutankhamun and Horemheb. Some interesting history and information about this cubit rule. Maya has ended up in a museum in Leiden, where I will be visiting several times over the next years. I am more intrigued now than before! Bill Tarantism 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric l Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 Some interesting history and information about this cubit rule. Maya has ended up in a museum in Leiden, where I will be visiting several times over the next years. Bill Museum in Leiden ? If you need someone to translate from Dutch, you know where tro find me ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Corey Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I am amazed that you guessed correctly on the name, "Maya"Prehaps it comes from my lack of knowledge that i would not have been able to come to such a connection.~Giles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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