g they had to an accountant in these times was a scribe. The scribes duties were writing up the transaction, he ensured that the agreements complied with the detailed code requirements for commercial transactions. The temples, palaces and private firms employed hundreds of scribes, and it was considered a prestigious profession. In a typical transaction of the time, the parties might seek out the scribe at the gates to the city. They would describe their agreement to the scribe, who would take from his supply a small quantity of specially prepared clay on which to record the transaction. Clay was plentiful in this area, while papyrus was scarce and expensive. The moist clay was molded into a size and shape adequate to contain the terms of the agreement. Using a wooden rod with a triangular end, the scribe recorded the names of the contracting parties, the goods and money exchanged and any other promises made. The parties then "signed" their names to the tablet by impressing their respective seals. In an age of mass illiteracy, men carried their signatures around their necks in the form of stone amulets engraved with the wearer's mark, and buried with them at death. Often the seals included the owner's name and religious symbols, after these impressions from the amulets were made, the scribe would dry the tablet in the sun (or in a kiln for important transactions which needed a more permanent record). Sometimes clay layer about as thick as piecrust, was fashioned and wrapped around the tablet to protect it like an envelope. Sometimes for extra security, the whole transaction would be rewritten on this outer "crust," in effect making a carbon copy of the original. Attempted alterations of the envelope could be detected by comparing it with its contents, and the original could not be altered without cracking off and destroying the outer shell such as the picture and name of the gods worshipped by the owner.Accounting in ancient Egyp...
