Cultures Of Computation And Quantification In The Ancient World

Author : Karine Chemla,Agathe Keller,Christine Proust
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 764 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2023-01-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783030983611

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Cultures of Computation and Quantification in the Ancient World by Karine Chemla,Agathe Keller,Christine Proust Pdf

This book sheds light on the variety of mathematical cultures in general. To do so, it concentrates on cultures of computation and quantification in the ancient world, mainly in ancient China, South Asia, and the Ancient Near East and offers case studies focused on numbers, quantities, and operations, in particular in relation to mathematics as well as administrative and economic activities. The various chapters focus on the different ways and contexts of shaping numbers and quantities, and on the procedures applied to them. The book places special emphasis on the processes of emergence of place-value number systems, evidenced in the three geographical areas under study All these features yield essential elements that will enable historians of mathematics to further capture the diversity of computation practices in their contexts, whereas previous historical approaches have tended to emphasize elements that displayed uniformity within “civilizational” blocks. The book includes editions and translations of texts, some of them published here for the first time, maps, and conventions for editions of ancient texts. It thereby offers primary sources and methodological tools for teaching and learning. The volume is aimed at historians and philosophers of science and mathematics, historians of the ancient worlds, historians of economics, sinologists, indologists, assyriologists, as well as undergraduate, graduate students and teachers in mathematics, the history and philosophy of science and mathematics, and in the history of ancient worlds.

Author : Cécile Michel,Karine Chemla
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 560 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-29
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9783030483890

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Mathematics, Administrative and Economic Activities in Ancient Worlds by Cécile Michel,Karine Chemla Pdf

This book focuses on the ancient Near East, early imperial China, South-East Asia, and medieval Europe, shedding light on mathematical knowledge and practices documented by sources relating to the administrative and economic activities of officials, merchants and other actors. It compares these to mathematical texts produced in related school contexts or reflecting the pursuit of mathematics for its own sake to reveal the diversity of mathematical practices in each of these geographical areas of the ancient world. Based on case studies from various periods and political, economic and social contexts, it explores how, in each part of the world discussed, it is possible to identify and describe the different cultures of quantification and computation as well as their points of contact. The thirteen chapters draw on a wide variety of texts from ancient Near East, China, South-East Asia and medieval Europe, which are analyzed by researchers from various fields, including mathematics, history, philology, archaeology and economics. The book will appeal to historians of science, economists and institutional historians of the ancient and medieval world, and also to Assyriologists, Indologists, Sinologists and experts on medieval Europe.

Author : Agathe Keller
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 582 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2024-06-23
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9783031496172

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Shaping the Sciences of the Ancient and Medieval World by Agathe Keller Pdf

Author : Karine Chemla,Glenn W. Most
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 475 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2022-06-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9781108839570

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Mathematical Commentaries in the Ancient World by Karine Chemla,Glenn W. Most Pdf

Comparative analysis of the techniques and procedures of important mathematical commentaries in five ancient cultures from China to Greece.

Author : Robert Middeke-Conlin
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2023-12-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783031452260

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Knowledge, Literacy, and Elementary Education in the Old Babylonian Period by Robert Middeke-Conlin Pdf

This book examines education as a means to explore knowledge and literacy in the Old Babylonian period. It further employs a new method to research these topics. Contrary to numerous existing studies on the subject, the author examines elementary education globally, that is, in pursuit of Old Babylonian education in its entirety. Typically, education is examined in a piecemeal fashion. It's as if education centered on lexicography alone or mathematics alone. This work encompasses a view about educational content and knowledge systems, as opposed to only specific aspects or branches of them. In doing so, a characterization of institution and society is made possible allowing the work to open new general perspectives on Mesopotamian knowledge, literacy, and education.

Author : Antonella Brita,Janina Karolewski,Matthieu Husson,Laure Miolo,Hanna Wimmer
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 526 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2023-12-04
Category : Art
ISBN : 9783111343556

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Manuscripts and Performances in Religions, Arts, and Sciences by Antonella Brita,Janina Karolewski,Matthieu Husson,Laure Miolo,Hanna Wimmer Pdf

Throughout history, manuscripts have been made and used for religious, artistic, and scientific performances, and this practice continues in most cultures today. By focusing on the role manuscripts have in different kinds of performances, this volume contributes to the evolving field of investigating written artefacts and their functions. The collected essays regard manuscripts as points of intersection where textual, material, and performative aspects converge. The contributors analyse manuscripts in their forms and functions as well as their positioning in the performances for which they were made. These aspects unfold across the volume's three sections, examining how manuscripts are (1) used backstage, for preparing and giving instructions for performances; (2) taken onstage, contributing to the enactment of performances; and (3) performers in their own right, producing an effect on the audience. The diversified, interdisciplinary, and innovative methodologies of the included papers carry great potential to expand the traditional approaches of manuscript studies and find application outside the contributors' respective fields.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 787 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2024-03-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789004691568

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The Origin and Significance of Zero by Anonim Pdf

Zero has been axial in human development, but the origin and discovery of zero has never been satisfactorily addressed by a comprehensive, systematic and above all interdisciplinary research program. In this volume, over 40 international scholars explore zero under four broad themes: history; religion, philosophy & linguistics; arts; and mathematics & the sciences. Some propose that the invention/discovery of zero may have been facilitated by the prior evolution of a sophisticated concept of Nothingness or Emptiness (as it is understood in non-European traditions); and conversely, inhibited by the absence of, or aversion to, such a concept of Nothingness in the West. But not all scholars agree. Join the debate.

Author : Çiğdem Maner,Mara T. Horowitz,Allan S. Gilbert
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 717 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2017-09-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9789004353572

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Overturning Certainties in Near Eastern Archaeology by Çiğdem Maner,Mara T. Horowitz,Allan S. Gilbert Pdf

This volume presents thirty-five chapters on archaeology, archaeometry, art history, and epigraphy of the Ancient Near East in honor of Professor K. Aslıhan Yener.

Author : Toke Knudsen,Jessica Carter
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2024-06-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9783110769968

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Mastering the History of Pure and Applied Mathematics by Toke Knudsen,Jessica Carter Pdf

The present collection of essays are published in honor of the distinguished historian of mathematics Professor Emeritus Jesper Lützen. In a career that spans more than four decades, Professor Lützen's scholarly contributions have enhanced our understanding of the history, development, and organization of mathematics. The essays cover a broad range of areas connected to Professor Lützen's work. In addition to this noteworthy scholarship, Professor Lützen has always been an exemplary colleague, providing support to peers as well as new faculty and graduate students. We dedicate this Festschrift to Professor Lützen—as a scholarly role model, mentor, colleague, and friend.

Author : Jacob L. Dahl
Publisher : Penn State Press
Page : 429 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2020-12-11
Category : History
ISBN : 9781646020775

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Ur III Texts in the Schøyen Collection by Jacob L. Dahl Pdf

Judging from the sheer amount of textual material left to us, the rulers of ancient Ur were above all else concerned with keeping track of their poorest subjects, who made up the majority of the population under their jurisdiction. Year after year, administrators recorded, in frightening detail, the whereabouts of the poorest individuals in monthly and yearly rosters, assigning tiny parcels of land to countless prebend holders and starvation rations to even more numerous estate slaves. The texts published in this volume—dating from the time of the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2100–2000 BC)—attest to the immense investment of the ancient rulers in managing their subjects. This volume presents editions of two hundred and twenty-four cuneiform tablets selected from the Schøyen Collection, the vast majority of which have not been previously published. The ancient provenience for these texts is primarily Umma, with other core provinces represented in smaller numbers, such as notable contributions from ancient Adab, which is underrepresented in the published record. In order to provide a fuller picture of the administration of the Ur III state, a number of texts from other collections, both published and unpublished, have been integrated into this volume. Accompanied by Jacob L. Dahl’s precise translations, extensive commentary, and exhaustive indexes, this volume presents extensive new data on prosopography, economy, accounting procedures, letters, contracts, technical terminology, and agriculture that adds significantly to our knowledge of society and the economy during the Third Dynasty of Ur. An important contribution to the study of the Ur III period, in particular for Assyriology, this volume will serve as a useful handbook for scholars and students alike.

Author : Bharath Sriraman
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 3221 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2024-06-23
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9783031408465

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Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice by Bharath Sriraman Pdf

Author : Eckart Frahm
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 648 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2017-03-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781118325247

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A Companion to Assyria by Eckart Frahm Pdf

A Companion to Assyria is a collection of original essays on ancient Assyria written by key international scholars. These new scholarly contributions have substantially reshaped contemporary understanding of society and life in this ancient civilization. The only detailed up-to-date introduction providing a scholarly overview of ancient Assyria in English within the last fifty years Original essays written and edited by a team of respected Assyriology scholars from around the world An in-depth exploration of Assyrian society and life, including the latest thought on cities, art, religion, literature, economy, and technology, and political and military history

Author : Jörg B. Quenzer
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 1280 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2021-10-25
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9783110753349

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Exploring Written Artefacts by Jörg B. Quenzer Pdf

This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’.

Author : Robert Middeke-Conlin
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 487 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2020-03-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783030359515

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The Making of a Scribe by Robert Middeke-Conlin Pdf

This book presents a novel methodology to study economic texts. The author investigates discrepancies in these writings by focusing on errors, mistakes, and rounding numbers. In particular, he looks at the acquisition, use, and development of practical mathematics in an ancient society: The Old Babylonian kingdom of Larsa (beginning of the second millennium BCE Southern Iraq). In so doing, coverage bridges a gap between the sciences and humanities. Through this work, the reader will gain insight into discrepancies encountered in economic texts in general and rounding numbers in particular. They will learn a new framework to explain error as a form of economic practice. Researchers and students will also become aware of the numerical and metrological basis for calculation in these writings and how the scribes themselves conceptualized value. This work fills a void in Assyriological studies. It provides a methodology to explore, understand, and exploit statistical data. The anlaysis also fills a void in the history of mathematics by presenting historians of mathematics a method to study practical texts. In addition, the author shows the importance mathematics has as a tool for ancient practitioners to cope with complex economic processes. This serves as a useful case study for modern policy makers into the importance of education in any economy.

Author : Lluís Feliu,Fumi Karahashi,Gonzalo Rubio
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 515 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2017-09-11
Category : History
ISBN : 9781501503672

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The First Ninety Years by Lluís Feliu,Fumi Karahashi,Gonzalo Rubio Pdf

This volume is dedicated to Miguel Civil in celebration of his 90th birthday. Civil has been one of the most influential scholars in the field of Sumerian studies over the course of his long career. This anniversary presents a welcome occasion to reflect on some aspects of the field in which he has been such a driving force.