History of Computers - Prehistoric Counting
page by: Harsha Bandi
Summary
Counting is an often overlooked skill that was developed centuries ago. It started by using body parts (mainly fingers), which evolved into tallies, which evolved into the numbers we know today.
Overview
The first tallies seem to have appeared in the Upper Paleolithic period (35,000- 25,000 years ago). They were notched in bones, such as the picture below. The particular bone below is called the Ishango bone, which is famous for listing a series of prime numbers. It was found in the Republic of Congo. During the Neolithic period, these tallies developed into cuneiform, a more sophisticated form of writing. [1] [2]
Significance
Counting is significant to the computer world, as many aspects of the computer depend on it. Binary code, the code which runs computers is made up of a series of the numbers 1 and 0. Counting also helps computers preform complex mathematical problems. The logarithms that govern many programs would not be possible without counting.
External Links
File:Http://www.techbites.com/userfiles/67/images/c-history-02/bones-with-notches.jpg
