Abstract
Ergonomics, as well as ergonomically designed seats, date from the 1950s in the West. However, remains of spine-hugging, ergonomically designed seats are found in a special category of meditation monasteries in Sri Lanka, dating between the 8th and 10th centuries CE. Located in Sri Lanka’s ancient capital of Anuradhapura, stone remains of these seats fit, as in modern ergonomics design, the curvature of the spine. The divergence of these seats away from earlier examples with a straight back is attributable to an austere Buddhist sect that meditates on physical awareness of the body.
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