Read this article to learn about the history of mathematics and how the abacus has evolved.
You can know the calculation method before BC and the prototype of the abacus.
If you want to know the history of the abacus, please take a look.

I'm the author of this article and I'm a qualified abacus teacher, answering questions from around the world online and various questions from online-soroban.com students.

Table of contents
1. The history of the abacus 

1-1．Sand abacus
1-2．Line abacus
1-3．Roman ditch abacus
1-4．Chinese arithmetic and abacus cloth
1-5．Chinese ancient abacus

1. The history of the abacus 

1-1.Sand abacus

Around 2000-3000 BC, there is a trace of "sand abacus" in Mesopotamia and other places where a line was drawn on the sand and a stone was placed on it for calculation.

1-2.Line abacus

Approximately 2500 BC, a line abacus, which draws a line on the board and puts a pearl on it, was used in Greece and Romans until the 16th century.

1-3. Roman ditch abacus

"Make a groove in a small board so that you can carry it, and place a bead in the groove
Mizo abacus was invented. This abacus is a sill from the Middle East
It is said that it was transmitted to China via Claude and became the current prototype.
You. A special groove for fraction calculation is also dug to the right of the groove.
Many are made of bronze, which is about the size of a palm.
This abacus was used mainly for Romans around 300 BC-400 BC."
　

1-4.Chinese arithmetic and abacus cloth

In China, there was a calculation method using a string knot and a unique calculation method called a tongue using an arithmetic tree since BC. These were calculated with strings, bamboo sticks, and wooden sticks. They were put in a bag called aribukuro, carried around on the waist, and calculated anywhere on the ground or floor when needed. Although there is an advantage that the number of digits can be increased one after another, it is thought that the shape of the bead was not the shape of a bead, but about the 2nd century, and the word "jujutsu" was written in a book about the 2nd century called "Magic Jutsu" there is. The following figure is expected from that description.
 

Over all  
The prototype of the abacus was from BC. The words of Shuzan are found in Chinese books of the second century.
In the next article I will write about the ancient abacus from China and beyond."

 

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