PRINCIPLE OF STUDY

This article appears in Volume V28, Page 481 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: PRE-PYR

PRINCIPLE OF STUDY .I. Limits of Variation in Different Copies, Places and Times.Unfortunately, so very little is known of the ages of weights and

measures

MEASURES

that this datummost essential in considering their historyhas been scarcely considered. In measure, Egyptians of Dynasty IV. at Gizeh on an

average

AVERAGE

varied I in 350 between different buildings (27). Buildings at

Persepolis

PERSEPOLIS

, all of nearly the same age, vary in unit I in 450 (25). Including a greater range of time and place, the Roman foot in Italy varied during two or three centuries on an

average

AVERAGE

-o--o- from the mean. Covering a longer time, we find an average variation of 2-1,-f, in the Attic foot (25), rya in the

English

ENGLISH

foot (25), 1-h in the

English

ENGLISH

itinerary foot (25). Se we may say that an average variation of ~h by toleration, extending to

double

that by

change

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. 冠 urmu', to bend)

of place and time, is usual in ancient

measures

MEASURES

. In weights of the same place and age there is a far wider range; at Defenneh (29), within a

century

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

probably, the average variation of different units is 21ei 2'2, and 21 i the range being just the same as in all times and places taken together. Even in a set of weights all found together, the average variation is only reduced to 'o, in place of 21-6 (29). Taking a wider range of place and time, the Roman libra has an average variation of 216 in the examples of better period (43), and in those of Byzantine age 212- (44). Altogether, we see that weights have descended from

original

ORIGINAL

varieties with so little intercomparison that no rectification of their values has been made, and hence there is as much variety in any one place and time as in all together. Average variation may be said to range from -a1ff to -,lb- in different units, doubtless greatly due to defective balances.
2. Rate of Variation.--Though large differences may exist, the rate of general variation is but slowexcluding, of course, all monetary standards. In

Egypt

EGYPT

the cubit lengthened Th in
1 These figures refer to the authorities at the end of this

section

SECTION
SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

.

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