Botany

Clear and unmistakable evidence of the deep knowledge that the ancient Egyptians had of herbs, plants, flowers and trees can be found in several contexts. Human consumption of plants and vegetables relied on long-established experience: cereal cultivation and processing, as well as beer - and wine - production, reveal a deep knowledge of both the ideal conditions of growth for the plants and the necessary steps to isolate, process, and preserve the edible parts (Murray 2000a; Samuel 2000; Murray, Boulton, and Heron 2000); spices and various herbs were common ingredients of cooking recipes (Murray 2000b), and plants and flowers of various types were used to prepare cosmetics and perfumes (Manniche 1989: 44-63).

The physical characteristics of many plants and trees were also aptly exploited: the peculiar fibres of the papyrus made it particularly suitable for turning into a writing surface (Leach and Tait 2000: 227-38); resins of various origins were used as adhesives and were also employed in the mummification process (Serpico and White 2000: 430-51); thanks to their flexibility, palm leaves and grass were the most common materials for making baskets and mats (Wendrich 2000: 254-5); finally, about thirty different types of wood were used to produce a variety of objects from small pieces of furniture to large beams to be used in architecture (Gale, Gasson, Hepper, and Killen 2000). Finally, plants, flowers, and trees were also widely used for decorative purposes: gardens were an important part of private houses as well as of royal estates, and in some cases of religious complexes as well (Manniche 1989: 7-21).

Whilst the practical applications of the curative and structural characteristics of plants are relatively well-known, it is unclear whether there was a common theoretical background behind them, as no treatise or complete written document specifically referring to our modern concept of botany has been found from the Pharaonic period (Manniche 1989: 7). This means that we do not know if and how exactly the Egyptians classified plants. Modern research focuses on the identification of plants mentioned or represented in the ancient sources (Manniche 1989: 67 onwards) but has received important contributions from the growing field of archaeobotanical studies (for instance, Wetterstrom and Murray 2001).