Algebra in Cuneiform

by Jens Høyrup

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An introduction to so-called “Babylonian algebra” that explains its geometrical foundation.

Description from LibreTexts.

Publisher
Roskilde University
Subjects
Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, as LibreTexts states it. Non-commercial use only.
Who can read
Tweens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects

Contents

LibreTexts writes equations in TeX, and here they show as TeX; the PDF has them typeset.

  1. Front Matter
  2. TitlePage
  3. InfoPage
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Licensing
  6. About the Author
  7. 1: Introduction - The Issue and Some Necessary Tools
  8. 1.1: “Useless mathematics”
  9. 1.2: The First Algebra and the First Interpretation
  10. 1.3: A New Reading
  11. 1.4: Concerning the Texts and the Translations
  12. 1.5: Footnotes
  13. 2: Techniques for the First Degree
  14. 2.1: TMS XVI #1
  15. 2.2: TMS VII #2
  16. 2.3: Footnotes
  17. 3: The Fundamental Techniques for the Second Degree
  18. 3.1: BM 13901 #1
  19. 3.2: BM 13901 #2
  20. 3.3: YBC 6967
  21. 3.4: BM 13901 #10
  22. 3.5: BM 13901 #14
  23. 3.6: TMS IX #1 and #2
  24. 3.7: Footnotes
  25. 4: Complex Second-degree Problems
  26. 4.1: TMS IX #3
  27. 4.2: AO 8862 #2
  28. 4.3: VAT 7532
  29. 4.4: TMS XIII
  30. 4.5: BM 13901 #12
  31. 4.6: BM 13901 #23
  32. 4.7: TMS VIII #1
  33. 4.8: YBC 6504 #4
  34. 4.9: Footnotes
  35. 5: Application of Quasi-algebraic Techniques to Geometry
  36. 5.1: VAT 8512
  37. 5.2: BM85200 + VAT 6599 #6
  38. 5.3: BM15285 #24
  39. 5.4: Footnotes
  40. 6: General Characteristics
  41. 6.1: Drawings?
  42. 6.2: Algebra?
  43. 6.3: Footnotes
  44. 7: The Background
  45. 7.1: The Scribe School
  46. 7.2: The First Purpose- Training Numerical Calculation
  47. 7.3: The Second Purpose- Professional Pride
  48. 7.4: Footnotes
  49. 8: Origin and Heritage
  50. 8.1: The Origin- Surveyors’ Riddles
  51. 8.2: The Heritage
  52. 8.3: Footnotes
  53. 9: A Moral
  54. 10: Appedices
  55. 10.1: Appendix A- Problems for the Reader
  56. 10.2: Appendix B- Transliterated Texts
  57. 11: Bibliographical Note
  58. 11.1: Bibliographical Note
  59. 11.2: Footnotes
  60. Back Matter
  61. Index
  62. Detailed Licensing