Ancient Era
2700 BC - 1900 AD
From the Sumerian abacus (2700 BC) and Chinese counting rods to the Antikythera Mechanism, this era established the fundamental externalization of logic.
Milestones
2700 BC
The Sumerian Abacus
The first externalized positional calculation system.
190 AD
Chinese Suànpán
The definitive bead-frame calculator.
900 AD
Four-Pillar Ledger System
The foundations of modern business accounting in the Tang Dynasty.
1642
The Pascaline
Blaise Pascal invents the first mechanical calculator.
Legendary Hardware
ANCIENT
Sumerian Abacus
Sumerian Engineers • -2700
ANCIENT
Chinese Suànpán
Han Dynasty • 190
ANCIENT
Antikythera Mechanism
Hellenistic Engineers • -100
ANALOG
Pascaline
Blaise Pascal • 1642
ANALOG
Stepped Reckoner
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz • 1673
ANALOG
Difference Engine No. 2
Charles Babbage • 1847