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Oriental Mathematics

Mathematics probably originated in parts of the ancient Orient (east of Greece). This was mostly as a practical science to assist in agriculture, engineering, and business pursuits. They needed a usable calendar; a system of weights and measures to use in harvesting, storing, and apportioning foods; to create a method of surveying for construction of canals and reservoirs and for parceling land. The emphasis of mathematics was on practical arithmetic and mensuration. But at this beginning period, the Orientals used bark and bamboo as writing materials. No early evidence remains of their developments.

 

 

3500 - 200 B.C. -- Babylonian and Egyptian Mathematics

In the Babylonian culture, they used imperishable baked clay tablets, while the Egyptians used stone and papyrus. The Egyptians used pen and ink and developed their writing through hieoglyphics, and the Babylonians used a triangular stylus and a type of writing called cuneiform. The thousands of tablets unearthed have really only recently (in the last two centuries) been understood because the cuneiform was very difficult to understand.

The Babylonians were located in the land called "Mesopotamia," which means "the land between the rivers" (i.e., the Tigris and the Euphrates). During this time, Egypt was isolated and protected from invasion by its surrounding deserts, but Babylon spent much of its time in war.

 

 

2600 B.C. -- The Great Pyramid at Gizeh

This pyramid covers 13 acres and contains over 2,000,000 stone blocks, averaging 2.5 tons in weight. The stone blocks were from sandstone quarries on the other side of the Nile. The sides of the square base involve a relative error of less then 1/14,000 and the relative error in the right angles at the corners does not exceed 1/27,000. There were approximately 100,000 laborers over a 30 year period.

 

 

2200 B.C. -- Hale-bopp

The comet's last visit past Earth before 1996 A.D.

 

 

 

1550 B.C. -- Rhind Papyrus

Almost all knowledge of mathematics in Egypt came from this document. It was puchased in Egypt in 1858 by the Scotsman A. Henry Rhind, which is where it got its name. It was excavated from a Theban tomb in Egypt, written by a scribe named Ahmes (and sometimes it is called Ahmes Papyrus ). The scribe claims it is similar to earlier work dating from the Twelfth Dynasty, 1849-1801 B.C. It is a mathematical text like a practical handbook, containing 85 problems.

 

 

1183 B.C. -- Trojan War



776 B.C. -- First known date of Olympic Games



700 B.C. -- False teeth invented in Italy


469 B.C. -- Socrates born



100 B.C.
-- Chinese Nine Chapters

This collection was destroyed during the reign of the emperor Shih Huang-ti (he wanted all books of learning to be gone). Parts were saved and the text that exists today is a commentary done by Liu Hui.

 

 

c. 200 B.C. -- Conic Sections -- Apollonius of Perga

This is a collection of 8 books, the first 4 books deal with the general elementary theory of conics, while the later books are devoted to more specialized investigations.


c.250 -- Arithmetica -- Diophantus of Alexandria

A collection of 189 problems and solutions. It was the first book printed with abbreviated (syncopated) algebra.


900 - 1000 -- Abacus

This was a type of manual calculator. First it was a dust table, then it was a line abacus, and it progressed to being elaborately constructed beads on an easily carried board.


1202 -- Liber abaci -- Fibonacci

This work paved the way for the Hindu-Arabic numeral system to be accepted in Europe.



1557 -- The Whetstone of Witte -- Robert Recorde

This is where we first encounter the equal sign, but it is much longer than =. Recorde said he used this symbol because no two things can be more equal than two parallel lines.

 

 

1591 -- In artem -- Viete

This is an algebra treatise which gave us most of our modern symbolism.

 

 

1620 -- Logarithmic scale

Edmund Gunter developed a logarithmic scale (line of numbers where distances are proportional to logarithms of the numbers indicated)

 

 

1622 -- Slide rule

William Oughtred invented the slide rule (additions and subtractions of the above logarithmic numbers could be done by having two like log scales, one sliding along the other).

 

 

1671 -- Liebniz's Calculator

This "calculator" from the 17th century could not only add, subtract, multiply, and divide, but it could also take square roots!

 

1776 -- US Declaration of Independence signed

 

 

 

1872 -- Quipu

The Incas used this mop-like tool to assist in the census. It actually consisted of colored knotted cords.


Overview of history of mathematics

The Art of Algebra


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