Interesting Facts About the Abacus

The abacus throughout history

• 2700-2300 BCE – the first appearance of the Sumerian abacus appeared in Mesopotamia.
• 460 BCE – the Greek historian Herodotus mentioned use of the abacus but no other information has been found of its use in Ancient Egypt.
• 600 BCE – Iranians first began using the abacus during the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
• 500 BCE – the first archaeological evidence for the use of the Greek abacus was found.
• 300 BCE – the date of the oldest counting board yet discovered. It was found on the Greek island of Salamis in 1846.
• 200 BCE – the earliest known documentation of the Chinese abacus, called the suanpan.
• 100 CE – the earliest archaeological evidence of the Roman abacus. Their typical method of calculation was by moving pebbles on a smooth table. These pebbles, called calculi, form the root of the word calculus today.
• 100 CE – the first known use of the abacus in India.
• 1400 CE – the Koreans imported the abacus from China. In Korea, it is called jupan, supan or jusan.
• 1600 CE – the Japanese imported the abacus from China. In Japan, it is called soroban.
• 1820 CE – France imports and begins using the Russian abacus.
• 1974 CE – the popularity and use of the abacus in Russia finally starts to wane with the mass production of the micro calculators.
• 1990s – the former Soviet Union discontinues teaching of the abacus in most schools.
• 2000s – the soroban is still taught in Japanese elementary schools.

Other interesting facts:

• The plural of abacus is abaci.
• An abacist is one who uses an abacus (or abaci if they’re using more than one).
• Most abaci used today are made of bamboo frames with beads and wires.