Inside the mummy's medicine chest.

• Author: Perez-Pena, Richard
• Position: Ancient Egyptians expertised in preserving the dead

Ancient Egyptians have long been known for their expertise in preserving the dead. But a 4,000-year-old papyrus scroll on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York indicates that they were also remarkably advanced when it came to preserving life.

Preparing bodies for mummification gave the Egyptians detailed knowledge not only of anatomy but of bandaging and other medical practices as well. They treated head wounds, broken bones, and even facial wrinkles. Their methods included basic surgery, using stitches to close wounds, and applying honey, a natural antiseptic, to cuts.

The papyrus, which is owned by the New York Academy of Medicine, is the world's oldest known medical treatise. It dates to 1600 B.C., about 900 years after Egypt's great pyramids were constructed. Ever since Edwin Smith, an American Egyptologist, bought and translated the scroll in 1862, its text has struck readers as surprisingly modern.

ASPIRIN & PENICILLIN

"What they knew about the body is quite striking, though they did not always understand it." says James Allen, curator of Egyptian art at the Metropolitan Museum.

Although the scroll includes magical incantations, most of the text is practical and methodical in its recommendations. The author's approach is cautious; in some cases, the text counsels waiting to see if the body will heal itself.

The papyrus indicates that Egyptian medics had some idea that blood, pumped by...