Multiplication from the Ages

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Multiplication from the Ages

• Deborah Fox

2006
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Multiplication has been dated back to 2300 BC in
many places around the globe from Mesopotamia to
Europe, Asia and the United States
Different methods of multiplication have been
used through the centuries
Some are common to us and some are bizarre
Some have interesting trivia to go with them
Lets take a look !
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Akkadians and Sumerians Invented the
Abacus
2300 BC
Mesopotamia
add
subtract
multiply
divide
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Old Babylonian Period
2000 BC
Archeologist unearthed stone tablets much like
our current multiplication tables
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Gomutrika
Translation trajectory of a cows urine ?????
11th Century
Indian

• 4 5 2
• 1 4 5 2
• 5 4 5 2

3 X 452 1 X 452 5 X 452
1 3 5 6
4 5 2
2 2 6 0

1 4 2 3 8 0
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Rome
Multiplication with fingers
Not really multiplication
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Ancient Egyptian Multiplication
14 X 23
Double this digit 14 28 56 112 224
Halve this digit 23 11 5 2 1
Odd? Yes Yes Yes yes
Add the yes doubles
14 28 56 224
322
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Lattice
Jalousia
Iron Grid
European Leonardo of Pisa
Gelosia
Italian men would place this grid over their
windows to keep strangers from staring at their
wives
32 X 15 480
3 2
1 5
3
2
1
1
0
5
4
0
8
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Spanish
1500s
875x978855750
875/978
8x9
726460
8x7
5695
8x8
6354
45
7x9
43
7x7
855750
7x8
5x9
Can you figure this one out?
5x7
5x8
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Napiers Bones
England
1600s
Scottsman with way too much time on his hands
makes one of the first know calculators from
animal bones
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Russian Peasant Multiplication
9 X 8
Double this numeral
Halve this numeral
9 18 36 72
8 4 2 1
When the right side 1 The left side is the
answer
72
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Traditional
20th century
23 X 43
69
Multiply 23 X 3
92

Multiply 23 X 40
989
Add the two products
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Calculator
Todays modern miracle
Push buttons
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References
www.noisefactory.co.uk/mathshistory www.multiplica
tion.com www.triviumpublishing.com www.maxon.com w
ww.mathforum.org