| 500 B.C. |
The abacus made its first appearance in Babylonian culture. |
| 300 B.C. |
The Babylonian Salamis tablet is the oldest surviving counting board and was discovered in 1846 on the island of Salamis. Like most counting boards of this time, it is thought to originally have been used for gaming.
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| 27 B.C. - 400 A.D. |
The Romans develop the first portable calculating device--the hand-abacus--as a portable counting board. |
5-1400 A.D. |
The Apices, the coin-board and the Line-board are developed from 5 A.D. to 1400 A.D.
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| 1300 A.D. |
The 2/5 abacus (2 on the upper part, 5 on the lower) made its first appearance in Chinese culture. |
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