Multiplication from the

Ages

Mrs. Fox

Multiplication has been dated Multiplication has been dated back to 2300 BC in many places back to 2300 BC in many places

around the globe from around the globe from Mesopotamia to Europe, Asia Mesopotamia to Europe, Asia

and the United Statesand the United StatesDifferent methods Different methods of multiplication of multiplication have been used have been used

through the through the centuriescenturies

Some are common Some are common to us and some are to us and some are

bizarrebizarreSome have Some have interesting interesting

trivia to go with trivia to go with themthem

Let’s Let’s take a take a look !look !

Akkadians and Sumerians

Invented the

Abacus

add

subtract

divide

2300 BC Mesopotamia

multiply

Old Babylonian Period

2000 BC Archeologist unearthed stone tablets much like

our current multiplication

tables

Gomutrika

11th Century Indian

Translation – trajectory of a cow’s urine ?????

3 4 5 2

1 4 5 2

5 4 5 2

1 3 5 6 4 5 2

2 2 6 0 1 4 2 3 8 0

3 X 452

1 X 452

5 X 452++

Rome

Multiplication with fingers

Not really multiplication

Ancient Egyptian

Multiplication

Add the “yes” Add the “yes” doublesdoubles

14

28

56

+224

14 X 23

322

DoublDouble this e this digitdigit

1414

2828

5656

112112

224224

Halve Halve this this digitdigit

2323

1111

55

22

11

Odd? Odd?

YesYes

YesYes

YesYes

yesyes

Jalousia

European Leonardo of Pisa

Lattice

Gelosia

Italian men would place this grid over their

windows to keep strangers from staring at their

wives

Iron Grid

3 3 2211

552233

11

0011

5544

88 00

32 X 15 = 32 X 15 = 480480

Spanish1500’s

875x978=85575875x978=8557500 875/97875/97

888x98x9 8x78x78x88x8

7x97x97x77x77x7x885x5x995x5x775x5x88

726460726460 56956955 45454343

855750855750

63563544

Can you Can you figure figure

this one this one out?out?

Napier’s Bones

1600’s England

Scottsman with way too much

time on his hands makes

one of the first know calculators

from animal bones

Russian Peasant Multiplication

9 X 8

9

18

36

72

8

4

2

1

Double this numeral Halve this numeral

When the right When the right side = 1side = 1

The left side is The left side is the answerthe answer

72

TraditionalTraditional

2020thth century century 2323

X 43X 43

6969

9292++

989989

Multiply 23 X 3Multiply 23 X 3

Multiply 23 X 40Multiply 23 X 40

Add the two Add the two productsproducts

CalculatorCalculator

Today’s Today’s modern modern miraclemiracle

Push buttonsPush buttons

References

www.noisefactory.co.uk/mathshistorywww.noisefactory.co.uk/mathshistory

www.multiplication.comwww.multiplication.com

www.triviumpublishing.comwww.triviumpublishing.com

www.maxon.comwww.maxon.com

www.mathforum.orgwww.mathforum.org

www.pde.org/standardswww.pde.org/standards

Pa Math Standards

2.1.4.E – Apply factors and multiples to represent larger numbers in various ways

2.2 – Computation and EstimationM4.A.2 – Understanding the meaning of operations, use operations and understand how they relate to each other