A Brief History of Mathematics

The history of mathematics is the study area covering research on the origins of discoveries in mathematics, mathematical methods, and the evolution of its concepts and also to some degree, mathematicians involved.

Before the modern age and the dissemination of knowledge throughout the world, written examples of new mathematical developments came to light only in a few scenarios. The most ancient mathematical texts available are Plimpton 322 (Babylonian mathematics c. 1900 BC.), The Moscow papyrus (Ancient Egyptian mathematics c. 1850 BC.), The Rhind Papyrus (Egyptian mathematics c . 1650 BC.), and Shulba Sutras (Mathematics in India c. 800 BC.). All these texts are about the Pythagorean Theorem, which seems to be the most ancient and widespread mathematical development after basic arithmetic and geometry.

Traditionally it has been considered that mathematics as a science emerged in order to do calculations in commerce, to measure land and to predict astronomical events. These three needs can be related in some way to the broad subdivision of mathematics into the study of structure, space and change.

Egyptian and Babylonian mathematics were largely developed by Greek mathematics, where the methods were refined (especially the introduction of mathematical rigor in proofs) and the matters of this science were expanded. Mathematics in Islam, in turn, developed and expanded the mathematics known to these ancient civilizations. Many Greek and Arabic mathematics texts were translated into Latin, which led to a further development of mathematics in the Middle Ages.

From ancient times to the Middle Ages, bursts of mathematical creativity were followed often by centuries of stagnation. But from the Italian Renaissance in the sixteenth century, new mathematical developments, interacting with contemporary scientific discoveries, were growing exponentially until today.