Funding for this project generously provided by Overdeck Family Foundation
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Arithmetic
Arithmetic is the branch of mathematics dealing with the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of numbers. Such operations are important in trade, construction and other practical disciplines, and hence have been investigated and used by ancient civilizations dating back thousands of years. Over the millennia, the use and development of arithmetic has contributed to the invention of the decimal system and the creation of various tools to assist in computing calculations.
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around 1550 BCE
Rhind Papyrus
Famous papyrus of the scribe Ahmes
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around 300 BCE
Salamis Tablet
Oldest known counting board
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around 332 to 31 BCE
Egyptian Mathematical Problem Papyrus
Arithmetical problems on papyrus
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around 300–1000 CE
Bakhshali Manuscript
One of the earliest known uses of a positional zero symbol
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1494
Pacioli's Summa
Comprehensive summary of Renaissance mathematics
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1615
Incan Yupana
Ancient Incan abacus
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1617
Napier's Rabdologiæ
Calculating with rods and strips
Timeline
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