PHOTO IMAGE SOURCE/CORBIS
[ europe]
In ancient Rome, calculations
were tackled by moving counters
- originally pebbles – across a
platform. When the abacus arrived in
Europe in 500 AD, the Romans made
improvements to the device, adding a
series of wires and rods to count ivory
or stone beads. Calculations were
made by moving these beads back and
forth while adhering to a particular set
of rules.
The early form of the Roman abacus
featured a small metal tablet with
parallel grooves, each corresponding
to an order of units. Similar to the
modern Japanese soroban, which
derived from the suan pan, a bar
separated one bead above and fourbelow. Pope Sylvester II (born
Gerbert d’Aurillac in 946 AD, in
France), one of the first scientists to
popularise the Hindu-Arabic numeral
system, reintroduced a revised version
of the abacus to Europe. Thanks
to him, during the 11th century, it
became widely used in the region
once again. agFrom pebbles to polished
calculations: A reflection of
China’s suan pan in Europe