The History of Mathematics Almost from the beginning, math or rather counting has been part of human existence. Close to the time language was discovered, humans have be using there indexes to begin counting. Counting seasons, counting days, along with keeping track of passing time have all been a part of earlier human civilizations. Prehistoric artifacts dating back over 20,000 years have suggested that early humans made attempts to quantify time. Therefore, it is no accident, that the abacus is based of the number 10; ten fingers or ten toes. As civilizations flourished mathematics as we know it today grew out of the desire and or need to count larger and larger time frames or quantities. As civilizations settled and developed agriculture
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Early Egyptians, under the Pharaohs reign, used measurements based on body parts to measure such things as land and buildings in early Egyptian history. However, it is two mathematical texts that the Egyptians left behind that have made the most impact on modern day mathematics. The Moscow Papyrus, dated back from the Egyptian middle kingdom 2000-1800 bc and the Rhind Papyrus, dated from around 1650 bc. Both are mathematical text that have contributed to modern day math. The Moscow Papyrus for example, is a mathematical text that is filled with what we would call word problems or math stories in modern day. These word problems not only taught algebraic functions, they were also used as a source of entertainment. One essential element that the Egyptian Papyrus introduced, was the use of a standard algebraic symbol to represent an unknown number, such as X. The Rhind Papyrus, also a mathematical text taught students how to work with multiplication, divisions and fractions. Although written in the language of Egyptian scholars, the texts left behind demonstrate the sophistication and progress of mathematics throughout Egypt. Another country to further demonstrate a knowledge of mathematics was the country of …show more content…
Different number were even believed to have a cosmic significance or magical powers. However the main thrust of Chinese mathematics came from the Empire’s desire to have administrators that were well versed in mathematics. Therefore in order to educate, a textbook called, “Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art” was written. This important text became a vital part of Chinese education. This tool provided hundreds of problems in taxation, engineering and payment of wages. The text served as a guide on how to solve equations. However, the highest point in Chinese mathematics came in the thirteenth century with the development of Chinese algebra. One of the most important text from that era is the Precious Mirror of the Four Elements. This text deals with higher algebraic equations as well as complex diagrams known as magic squares or magic circles. The west later reinvented several of the Chinese concepts to to further extend the technique to solving complex mathematic equations. Although developing independently of the Chinese, another country that made advanced mathematical discoveries at an early time was
Early Egyptians, under the Pharaohs reign, used measurements based on body parts to measure such things as land and buildings in early Egyptian history. However, it is two mathematical texts that the Egyptians left behind that have made the most impact on modern day mathematics. The Moscow Papyrus, dated back from the Egyptian middle kingdom 2000-1800 bc and the Rhind Papyrus, dated from around 1650 bc. Both are mathematical text that have contributed to modern day math. The Moscow Papyrus for example, is a mathematical text that is filled with what we would call word problems or math stories in modern day. These word problems not only taught algebraic functions, they were also used as a source of entertainment. One essential element that the Egyptian Papyrus introduced, was the use of a standard algebraic symbol to represent an unknown number, such as X. The Rhind Papyrus, also a mathematical text taught students how to work with multiplication, divisions and fractions. Although written in the language of Egyptian scholars, the texts left behind demonstrate the sophistication and progress of mathematics throughout Egypt. Another country to further demonstrate a knowledge of mathematics was the country of …show more content…
Different number were even believed to have a cosmic significance or magical powers. However the main thrust of Chinese mathematics came from the Empire’s desire to have administrators that were well versed in mathematics. Therefore in order to educate, a textbook called, “Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art” was written. This important text became a vital part of Chinese education. This tool provided hundreds of problems in taxation, engineering and payment of wages. The text served as a guide on how to solve equations. However, the highest point in Chinese mathematics came in the thirteenth century with the development of Chinese algebra. One of the most important text from that era is the Precious Mirror of the Four Elements. This text deals with higher algebraic equations as well as complex diagrams known as magic squares or magic circles. The west later reinvented several of the Chinese concepts to to further extend the technique to solving complex mathematic equations. Although developing independently of the Chinese, another country that made advanced mathematical discoveries at an early time was