Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Arithmetic
(1,600 words)

1. General

The techniques of arithmetic and the media required are among the earliest cultural achievements of humankind. In many places (e.g. southern Mesopotamia at the end of the 4th millenium BCE), the introduction of writing was associated directly with the techniques of written arithmetical calculation and bookkeeping. Where arithmetical theory emerged, as in ancient Greece, practical calculation …

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Epple, Moritz, “Arithmetic”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_026195>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20160321



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