When and who invented the abacus?

Answer 1

The first reported and substantiated use of an abacus, or abacus-like instrument was in Sumeria between 2,700 and 2,300 BCE - or roughly 4,700 years ago.

This used a table of columns with each column equivalent to an order of magnitude above the previous column; just as we would have columns for x10, x100, x1000, x10000.

During the next 2000 years various forms of this came into common usage across areas of the world (Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome). Some were similar in appearance, while others used the same principals, but looked slightly different. For example the Roman abacus used a clay tablet with columns and counting stones, while the Chinese version looked almost identical, but had fixed string columns with counting stones attached to them - similar how most people picture an abacus.

• The spread and variance in design of the abacus is probably due to the movement of early traders across the early trade routes (Silk Road etc.).
• The abacus is still made extensive use of today, as they are simple to use, fast and don't require batteries to operate them.
• The word abacus comes to us by way of Latin as a mutation of the Greek word abax.
• In turn, the Greeks may have adopted the Phoenician word abak, meaning "sand," although some authorities lean toward the Hebrew word abhaq, meaning "dust."

Irrespective of the source, the original concept referred to a flat stone covered with sand (or dust) into which numeric symbols were drawn. The first abacus was almost certainly based on such a stone, with pebbles being placed on lines drawn in the sand. Over time, the stone was replaced by a wooden frame supporting thin sticks, braided hair, or leather thongs, onto which clay beads or pebbles with holes were threaded. A variety of different types of abacus were developed, but the most popular became those based on the bi-quinary system, which utilizes a combination of two bases (base-2 and base-5) to represent decimal numbers.

Although the abacus does not qualify as a mechanical calculator, it certainly stands proud as one of first mechanical aids to calculation.