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Timeline of Mathematics

Mathematics has its roots in ancient Greek words related to learning and study. In Greece, "mathematics" came to mean mathematical study and learning. Primitive cultures used basic counting systems using words, fingers, sticks, and pebbles as early as 20,000 BCE. The Ishango bone from central Africa around 20,000 BCE contains notches that may represent early counting or mathematical concepts like prime numbers. In ancient Mesopotamia starting around 4000 BCE, clay tokens were used to represent quantities and goods, laying the foundations for one of the earliest writing systems, cuneiform.

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260 views

Timeline of Mathematics

Mathematics has its roots in ancient Greek words related to learning and study. In Greece, "mathematics" came to mean mathematical study and learning. Primitive cultures used basic counting systems using words, fingers, sticks, and pebbles as early as 20,000 BCE. The Ishango bone from central Africa around 20,000 BCE contains notches that may represent early counting or mathematical concepts like prime numbers. In ancient Mesopotamia starting around 4000 BCE, clay tokens were used to represent quantities and goods, laying the foundations for one of the earliest writing systems, cuneiform.

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George Patrick
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Timeline of Mathematics’ History

The root of the term mathematics is in the Greek word mathemata, which was used quite
generally in early writings to indicate any subject of instruction or study, which, in the ancient Greek
language, means “what one learns”, “what one gets to know”, hence also “study” and “science”, and in
modern Greek just “lesson”. The word máthēma is derived from μανθάνω (manthano), while the
modern Greek equivalent is μαθαίνω (mathaino), both of which mean “to learn”. In Greece, the word
for “mathematics” came to have the narrower and more technical meaning “mathematical study”, even
in Classical times. Its adjective is μαθηματικός (mathēmatikós), meaning “related to learning” or
“studious”, which likewise further came to mean “mathematical”. In particular, μαθηματικὴ
τέχνη (mathēmatikḗ tékhnē), Latin: ars mathematica, meant “the mathematical art”. In Latin, and in
English until around 1700, the term mathematics more commonly meant “astrology” (or sometimes
“astronomy”) rather than “mathematics”; the meaning gradually changed to its present one from about
1500 to 1800.

Primitive Counting and Numerical Systems


3500 BCE - Some of the primitive cultures included just words for “one”, “two”, and “many”. In addition
to finger, the most usual tools of counting were sticks and pebbles. The earliest (20-35 000BC)
archeological artifacts used for counting are bones with a number of cuts

The Ishango Bone is possibly the oldest mathematical artifact still in existence: it was discovered in 1950,
in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, and is named after the region where it was found.
It dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period of human history and is approximately 20,000 years old.

The bone is 10 cm long and contains a series of notches, which many scientists believe were used for
counting. The grouping of the notches might even suggest some more advanced mathematical
understanding, like decimal numbers or prime numbers.

3000 BCE - In ancient Mesopotamia, special clay tokens were invented to count sheep, days, and other
objects. scribes and merchants started using small, three-dimensional clay objects as counters, to
represent certain quantities, units, or goods. Thousands of these were found on archaeological sites
across the Middle East, like these from Tepe Gawra in Iraq (from around 4000 BCE)

The cone, sphere, and flat disc were used to represent small, medium, and large measures of grain. The
tetrahedron probably measured the amount of work done in one day. Again, the triangular and circular
impressions represent smaller and larger measures of grain. These simple markings laid the foundations
for cuneiform, one of the first writing systems in history.
Website References:
Ribeiro, B. (2013, March 15). Etymology & Definition of Mathematics. Retrieved
October 16, 2020, from https://mathbenny.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/etymology-
definition-of-mathematics/

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