The Edwin Smith Papyrus dates to Dynasties 16–17 of the Second Intermediate Period. Egypt was ruled from Thebes during this time and the papyrus is likely to have originated from there.[1]:70–71 Edwin Smith, an American Egyptologist,[2] was born in Connecticut in 1822 – the same year Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was decoded.[3] Smith purchased it in Luxor, Egypt in 1862, from an Egyptian dealer named Mustafa Agha.[4]:25