History of mathematics

:See Timeline of mathematics for a timeline of events in mathematics. See list of mathematicians for a list of biographies of mathematicians.

Fundamentals

In addition to recognizing how to count concrete objects, prehistoric peoples also recognized how to count abstract quantities, like time -- days, seasons, years. With counting established, then, the ideas of addition and subtraction naturally followed. See arithmetic.

Related Topics:
Count - Prehistoric - Time - Days - Seasons - Years - Addition - Subtraction - Arithmetic

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Mathematics undoubtedly could not have developed out of simple counting and arithmetic, however, without writing. Perhaps prehistoric peoples first expressed quantity by drawing lines in the ground or scratching wood. (See Numeral system: History.)

Related Topics:
Writing - Quantity - Numeral system

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The Sumerians were the first, in the 4th millennium BCE, to use numbers for complex calculation. They invented base-60 mathematics with which we still calculate angles and time.

Related Topics:
Sumerians - 4th millennium BCE

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Then mathematics developed further, out of simple writing, with the development of pigments, paint and other simple tools to record and communicate "quantity" among individuals and over periods of time. Pigments and paints served another purpose in the historical development of mathematics, though, in addition to communicating quantity. Pre-historic art and other early human inventions eventually led to

Related Topics:
Pigment - Paint - Tool - Time - Pre-historic art

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• Maps for expressing distance,
• Geometric shapes and other 3-dimensional figures for expressing basic form, and
• Graphs for expressing relations.