The cubit was just one of numerous units of measurement based on the typical size of body parts. Following alexander the greats conquest of persia and subsequent de.
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Ancient system of measurement using body parts. The length of a foot the width of a finger and the distance of a step were all accepted measurements. The units of length seem to have originally been anthropic based on various parts of the human body although these were standardized using cubit rods strands of rope and official measures maintained at some temples. The ancient egyptian units of measurement are those used by the dynasties of ancient egypt prior to its incorporation in the roman empire and general adoption of roman greek and byzantine units of measurement. The cubit is approximately 18 22 inches long. The ancient chinese system completely separated from the mediterranean european history of metrology is that of ancient china yet the chinese system exhibits all the principal characteristics of the western. It employed parts of the body as a source of unitsfor example the distance from the pulse to the base of the thumb.
Quinaria the cross sectional area of a pipe created from a flat sheet of lead 5 digits wide stremma the amount of land a person can plow in a day. Hand hand fingers thumb. The cubit was used excessively by egyptians in the ancient times to measure various objects. In ancient times the body ruled when it came to measuring. It probably goes without saying that the unit foot was based on the length of a mans foot. Here are a few more.
The cubit extends from the elbow to the middle finger. At first an inch was the width of a mans thumb. In the 14th century king edward ii of england ruled that 1 inch equalled 3 grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. In ancient egypt the people used their cubits to roughly measure various objects.
Gallery of Ancient System Of Measurement Using Body Parts
