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The evolution of the abacus can be divided into three ages, namely the ancient times, middle ages, and modern times. The time-line traces the developing abacus from its beginnings circa five hundred B.C., to the present. The evolutionary time line shows the evolution from the earliest counting board to the present day abacus. Compared to the rate of progress in last one-thousand years, the progress during the first one-thousand years of civilization was rather slow. This is all of specific educational importance to all the private math tutors and parents of the enrolled children as well as the children who attend the abacus math for kids lessons at any of the two Math Genie schools in the state of New Jersey in the United States of America. During ancient times the Salamis Tablet, the Roman Calculi and Hand abacus were from the period three hundred B.C to five hundred A.D. During Greek and Roman times, counting boards, like the Roman hand-abacus, that survived were constructed from stone and metal. During the middle ages the Apices, the coin board and the line board were from the period five A.D. to fourteen hundred A.D. Wood was the primary material from which counting boards were manufactured where the orientation of the beads switched from vertical to horizontal. As arithmetic, counting using written numbers, gained popularity in the latter part of the Middle Ages, the use of the abacus began to diminish in Europe. During modern times the Suan pan, the Soroban and the Schoty were from the period twelve hundred A.D to the present. The abacus as we know it today, appeared in twelve hundred A.D. in China. The Chinese abacus is called the suan pan. On each rod, this classic Chinese abacus has two beads on the upper deck and five on the lower deck; such an abacus is also referred to as a two in five 5 abacus. The two in five style survived unchanged until about eighteen fifty at which time the one in five, with one bead on the top deck and five beads on the bottom deck, abacus appeared. In sixteen hundred A.D. the use and evolution of the Chinese one in five abacus was begun by the Japanese via Korea. In Japanese, the abacus is called soroban. The one in four abacus, a style preferred and still manufactured in Japan today, appeared in nineteen thirty. The one in five models are rare today and the two in five models are rare outside of China, except Chinese communities in North America and elsewhere. It is thought that early Christians brought the abacus to the East. It needs to be stated that both the suanpan and the Roman hand abacus have a vertical orientation. Aspects of Roman culture could have been introduced to China as early as one hundred and sixty six A.D, during the Han Dynasty, as Roman emperor Antoninus Pius' embassies to China spread along the Silk Road. There have been recent suggestions of a Mesoamerican, the Aztec civilization that existed in present day Mexico, abacus called the Nepohualtzitzin, during nine hundred to one thousand A.D. where the counters were made from kernels of maize threaded through strings mounted on a wooden frame. There is also debate about the Incan Khipu as to whether it a three-dimensional binary calculator or a form of writing. The schoty is a Russian abacus invented in the seventeenth century and still used today in some parts. Lee Kai-chen, the inventor of this ‘new’ abacus designed with four decks combines two abaci where the top abacus is a small one in four soroban and the bottom one is a two in five suanpan. Visit Math For Kids Problems Abacus Lessons Everyday Cool Games Private Tutors to contact Math Genie and enroll your child to improve their math ability.
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