Egyptians got back pain too! Ancient scribes suffered skeletal issues from sitting too long, study finds - just like today's office workers

Most of us have experienced the feeling of a bad back after sitting hunched at a desk for too long. 

Now it turns out the ancient Egyptians were just the same. 

A study shows that repetitive tasks carried out by ancient Egyptian scribes – high status men with the ability to write who performed administrative tasks – and the positions they sat in while working may have led to degenerative skeletal changes.

Researchers in Prague, Czech Republic, examined the skeletal remains of 69 adults males, 30 of whom were scribes, who were buried in the necropolis at Abusir, Egypt, between 2700 and 2180 BCE.

They identified degenerative joint changes that were more common among scribes compared to men with other occupations. 

Egyptian scribes were high status men with the ability to write who performed administrative tasks. Pictured, a statue of a high-ranking scribe

Most of us have experienced the feeling of a bad back after sitting hunched at a desk for too long. Now it turns out the ancient Egyptians were just the same (file photo)

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These changes were in the joints connecting the lower jaw to the skull, the right collarbone and the top of the right humerus (where it meets the shoulder).

They were also at the first metacarpal bone in the right thumb, the bottom of the thigh (where it meets the knee), and throughout the spine, but particularly at the top.

Other skeletal features that were more common among scribes were an indentation on both kneecaps and a flattened surface on a bone in the lower part of the right ankle. 

The authors suggest that the degenerative changes observed in the spines and shoulders of scribes could result from them sitting for prolonged periods in a cross-legged position with the head bent forwards, the spine flexed, and their arms unsupported. 

Repetitive tasks carried out by Egyptian scribes (high status men with the ability to write who performed admin tasks) and the positions they sat in while works may have led to degenerative skeletal changes, the experts say. Pictured, statues depicting the high dignitary Nefer, a scribe, and his wife in Abusir, Egypt

This drawing of an ancient Egyptian scribe indicates the most affected regions of the skeleton

However, changes to knees, hips, and ankles could indicate that scribes may have preferred to sit with the left leg in a kneeling or cross-legged position and the right leg bent with the knee pointing upwards (in a squatting or crouching position).

The team of authors, led by experts at Department of Anthropology, National Museum in Prague, note that statues and wall decorations in tombs have depicted scribes sitting in both positions, in addition to standing, while working.

Degeneration to the jaw joints could have resulted from scribes chewing the ends of rush stems to form brush-like heads they could write with, while degeneration to the right thumb could have been caused by repeatedly pinching their pens. 

The findings provide greater insight into the lives of scribes in ancient Egypt during the third millennium BCE. 

Model of the skull of Nefer - the 'overseer of the scribes of the crew' and 'overseer of the royal document scribes'

The authors write in Scientific Reports: 'Men with writing proficiency enjoyed a privileged position in ancient Egyptian society. 

'Research focusing on these officials of elevated social status (“scribes”) usually concentrates on their titles, scribal statues, iconography, etc., but the individuals themselves, and their skeletal remains, have been neglected.  

'Statistically significant differences between the scribes and the reference group attested a higher incidence of changes in scribes and manifested themselves especially in the occurrence of osteoarthritis of the joints. 

Our research reveals that remaining in a cross-legged sitting or kneeling position for extended periods, and the repetitive tasks related to writing and the adjusting of the rush pens during scribal activity, caused the extreme overloading of the jaw, neck and shoulder regions.'