Agathe Keller - Böcker

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.

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.

This book contributes to a worldwide history of textual criticism and critical editions of ancient scientific texts. The scholarship displayed in this work lays the foundation for further studies on the history of critical editions and raises questions to those who make scholarly translations and critical editions today.

This book contributes to a worldwide history of textual criticism and critical editions of ancient scientific texts. The scholarship displayed in this work lays the foundation for further studies on the history of critical editions and raises questions to those who make scholarly translations and critical editions today.

This book presents an english translation of a 18th century sanskrit commentary written by an astronomer called Bhaaskara. There are two volumes. Volume I contains an introduction and the literal translation. The introduction aims at providing a general background for the translation and is divided in three sections: The first locates Bhaaskara's text, the second looks at its mathematical contents and the third section analyzes the relations of the commentary and the translation. Subjects treated range from computing the volume of an equilateral tetrahedron to the interest on a loaned capital, from computations on series to an elaborate process to solve a Diophantine equation. Volume II contains a commentary for each verse which discusses the linguistic and mathematical matter exposed by the commentator. This volume also contains glossaries and the bibliography.The two volumes should be read simultaneously.