El Dorado ( 1966 film ) - wikipedia El Dorado ( 1966 film ) Jump to : navigation , search This article is about the 1966 film . For other uses , see El Dorado ( disambiguation ) . El Dorado Theatrical release poster Directed by Howard Hawks Produced by Howard Hawks Screenplay by Leigh Brackett Based on The Stars in Their Courses 1960 novel by Harry Brown Starring John Wayne Robert Mitchum James Caan Charlene Holt Paul Fix Music by Nelson Riddle Cinematography Harold Rosson Edited by John Woodcock Production company Laurel Productions Distributed by Paramount Pictures Release date December 17 , 1966 ( 1966 - 12 - 17 ) ( Japan ) June 7 , 1967 ( 1967 - 06 - 07 ) ( USA ) Running time 126 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $4,653,000 Box office $5,950,000 ( US / Canada ) El Dorado is a 1966 American Western film produced and directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum . Written by Leigh Brackett and loosely based on the novel The Stars in Their Courses by Harry Brown , the film is about a gunfighter who comes to the aid of an old friend -- a drunken sheriff struggling to defend a rancher and his family against another rancher trying to steal their water . The gunfighter and drunken sheriff are helped by an aging Indian fighter and a young gambler . The supporting cast features James Caan as the young gambler , Charlene Holt , Ed Asner , Paul Fix , Arthur Hunnicutt , Michele Carey , and Christopher George . El Dorado was filmed on location in Tucson , Arizona and Kanab , Utah , and was shot in Technicolor . The paintings in the credits are by artist Olaf Wieghorst , who makes a brief appearance as Swede Larsen in the film . The musical score was composed by Nelson Riddle . Paramount Pictures delayed the release of the film in the United States to avoid competing against another Paramount film , Nevada Smith with Steve McQueen . The film was first released in Japan on December 17 , 1966 , and was finally released in the United States on June 7 , 1967 . The film received critical praise and was successful at the box office , generating North American rentals of $5,950,000 on box - office receipts of $12 million . El Dorado is the second of three films directed by Hawks about a sheriff defending his office against belligerent outlaw elements in the town , after Rio Bravo ( 1959 ) and before Rio Lobo ( 1970 ) , both also starring Wayne in approximately the same role . The plotlines of all three films are almost similar enough to qualify El Dorado and Rio Lobo as remakes . Dean Martin had portrayed the drunken sheriff in Rio Bravo , preceding Mitchum in the part , while Walter Brennan played the wild old man role later rendered by Arthur Hunnicutt , and Ricky Nelson appeared as a gunslinging newcomer similar to Caan in El Dorado . Members of the Western Writers of America chose the film 's theme as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time . Contents ( hide ) 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Poem 5 Reception 5.1 Critical response 6 Comic book adaption 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot ( edit ) Cole Thornton , a gunslinger - for - hire , is hired by wealthy rancher Bart Jason to help him in a range war with the McDonald family in the Texas town of El Dorado . The local sheriff , an old friend of Thornton , J. P. Harrah gives Cole more details that Jason had deliberately left out , including the possibility of having to side against Harrah . Unwilling to fight his friend , Thornton quits , to the relief of saloon owner Maudie , who is in love with Thornton ( and was for a time a romantic interest of Harrah 's ) . The McDonald 's learn of Thornton 's presence in town . Fearing that he might come for them , Kevin McDonald puts his youngest son , Luke , on guard . When Thornton passes by on his way back from rejecting Jason 's offer , Luke , who has fallen asleep , wakes and fires a wild warning shot whereupon Thornton reflexively shoots him . Luke is still alive when Thornton finds him , but he refuses treatment based upon the belief that a gut - shot man would n't have a chance anyway and commits suicide when Thornton turns his back on him . Thornton subsequently brings the boy 's body to the McDonald ranch and offers an explanation . The only McDonald daughter , Joey , impulsively rides off before Thornton can finish his story and ambushes him shortly thereafter . Her shot is not fatal , but the bullet lodges next to Thornton 's spine and in time begins to trouble him by occasionally pressing against the spinal cord , causing temporary paralysis of his right side . The local doctor , Dr. Miller , does not have the skill to remove the bullet and Thornton soon departs El Dorado for a new job . Several months later , Thornton runs into another gunslinger - for - hire named Nelson McLeod and a young greenhorn named Mississippi , who has come for revenge against one of McLeod 's men for the murder of his old friend and mentor , Johnny Diamond . McLeod has been hired by Jason for the same job Thornton turned down and Thornton hears from McLeod about how Harrah has turned into a drunk after an unhappy love affair . Thornton decides to return to El Dorado , hoping to save Harrah from being gunned down by McLeod and his men . He is followed by Mississippi who also wishes to help , despite his lack of experience and terrible aim with a gun . Once Thornton and Mississippi arrive in El Dorado , they hear more of the story behind Harrah 's change . The two men then join with Deputy Sheriff Bull in order to get Harrah sober and cleaned up . Mississippi contributes an old folk recipe for a hangover that he learned from Johnny Diamond , promising it will make any man unable to drink liquor for a while . The concoction proves to be violently effective , and leaves Harrah sober and furious . Within a day of their arrival , McLeod and his men also come to El Dorado and are hired on by Bart Jason . When one of them shoots one of the McDonald 's , Thornton , Harrah , Bull and Mississippi chase the shooter and his friends into an old church and then into Jason 's saloon . Harrah arrests Jason and takes him to the jail for his part in the shooting of the McDonald . Later that night , Thornton and Mississippi decide to patrol the town in the hope of keeping the peace and are deputized by Bull . There is another shoot - out with McLeod and his men , which results in a minor leg injury for Harrah . The next day , Maudie sends a message to Thornton and his friends , stating that McLeod 's men are frightening her and her patrons . When Thornton and Mississippi go to help her , they are ambushed and Thornton has an attack that leaves him partially paralyzed and captured by McLeod . Subsequently , McLeod trades the injured Thornton for Bart Jason , a trade to which Harrah agrees , despite knowing that doing so will mean that nothing will stand in the way of McLeod going after the McDonald 's . Sure enough , McLeod and his men shortly thereafter kidnap one of the McDonald 's in order to force Kevin McDonald to sign over his water rights to Jason . Thornton and the others are forced to quickly come up with a plan to rescue Kevin McDonald 's son and neutralize Jason and McLeod . Despite Thornton 's paralysis and Harrah 's leg injury , the two of them , along with Bull and Mississippi , return to town on wagons . While Thornton distracts Jason and McLeod outside of the front of the saloon , Mississippi , Harrah and Bull attack from the rear . The kidnapped McDonald is rescued , with a little help from Joey McDonald . Jason , McLeod and his men are killed , and order is restored to El Dorado . Thornton also begins to imply that he may discontinue his wandering ways in order to stay in the town with Maudie . Cast ( edit ) John Wayne as Cole Thornton Robert Mitchum as Sheriff J.P. Harrah James Caan as Alan Bourdillion Traherne , nicknamed `` Mississippi '' Charlene Holt as Maudie Paul Fix as Dr. Miller Arthur Hunnicutt as Bull Harris Michele Carey as Josephine `` Joey '' MacDonald R.G. Armstrong as Kevin MacDonald Ed Asner as Bart Jason Christopher George as Nelson McLeod Marina Ghane as Maria Robert Donner as Milt ( McLeod gang ) John Gabriel as Pedro Johnny Crawford as Luke MacDonald Jim Davis as Jim Purvis ( Bart Jason 's foreman ) Adam Roarke as Matt MacDonald John Mitchum as Elmer ( Jason 's bartender ) Chuck Roberson as Jason 's gunman Don Collier as Deputy Joe Braddock Olaf Wieghorst as Swede Larsen Production ( edit ) Leigh Brackett wrote the original script which she described as `` the best script I had ever done in my life . It was n't tragic , but it was one of those things where Wayne died at the end . '' However she says the closer they got to production `` the more we got into doing Rio Bravo over again the sicker I got , because I hate doing things over again . And I kept saying to Howard I did that , and he 'd say it was okay , we could do it over again . '' Mitchum later said , `` When Howard called me , I said , ' What 's the story ? ' and he said , ' No story , just characters ' and that 's the way it was . Did one scene , put it away , did another , put it away . '' Shot at Old Tucson Studios just west of Tucson , Arizona , as well as in and around Kanab , Utah , from October 1965 to January 1966 , the film was Wayne 's 138th picture and was actually filmed before The War Wagon , but its release was delayed so that Paramount 's Nevada Smith with Steve McQueen would not have to compete with a John Wayne film at the box office . El Dorado finally reached the theatres in June 1967 , a month after The War Wagon had opened . Film footage from El Dorado was later incorporated into the opening montage of Wayne 's final film , The Shootist , to illustrate the backstory of Wayne 's character . Director Don Siegel used no scenes from any film shot before 1948 in The Shootist 's frontispiece even though Wayne 's career as a leading man began in 1930 with The Big Trail and had continued throughout the following two decades . Cinematographer Harold Rosson had retired in 1958 , but Hawks persuaded him to come back to work . In a 1970 interview with Leonard Maltin , Rosson said , `` I was out of my mind I 'd ever quit , '' but went back into retirement -- for good -- afterwards , citing his age as a reason ( 75 at the time of the interview ) . Caan apparently had difficulty pronouncing `` boldly '' as he recited , `` Ride boldly ride '' during the course of the film , leaving audience members unfamiliar with Poe 's poem to wonder what or whom `` bodie '' was . In the film , Mississippi gives Sheriff Harrah a concoction meant to deter him from further drinking . The ingredients include ( among others ) Cayenne pepper , ipecac ( an emetic ) , mustard , croton oil ( which induces diarrhea ) , asafoetida ( often misspelled acifedida ) and gunpowder . Poem ( edit ) The poem repeated in the film and paraphrased in the theme song is `` Eldorado '' , a ballad poem by Edgar Allan Poe . Reception ( edit ) Critical response ( edit ) The film maintains a high critical praise , earning a 100 percent perfect rating on review compiler Rotten Tomatoes , based on 14 reviews . Popular critic Roger Ebert gave the film a near - perfect rating at 3 1 / 2 out of four stars , stating `` El Dorado is a tightly directed , humorous , altogether successful Western , turned out almost effortlessly , it would seem , by three old pros : John Wayne , Robert Mitchum and director Howard Hawks '' . Praised film poll , They Shoot Pictures , Do n't They ? ranked the film 799 out of 1,000 for the list of greatest films of all time . Comic book adaption ( edit ) Dell Movie Classic : El Dorado ( October 1967 ) See also ( edit ) List of American films of 1967 List of American films of 1966 John Wayne filmography References ( edit ) Notes Jump up ^ Please note these figures refer to rentals accruing to the distributors . Citations Jump up ^ Dick 2001 , p. 105 . Jump up ^ `` Big Rental Films of 1967 '' . Variety , January 3 , 1968 , p. 25 . Jump up ^ `` El Dorado , Box Office Information . '' The Numbers . Retrieved : April 16 , 2012 . Jump up ^ McCarthy , p. 625 . Jump up ^ Western Writers of America ( 2010 ) . `` The Top 100 Western Songs '' . American Cowboy . Archived from the original on 10 August 2014 . Jump up ^ `` Tangent Online Presents : An Interview with Leigh Brackett & Edmond Hamilton , Interviewers : Dave Truesdale and Paul McGuire III Location : Minneapolis , Minnesota Event & Date : Minicon 11 , April 16 - 18 , 1976 accessed 28 May 2014 Jump up ^ Frank Broughton , ed. ( 1998 ) . Time Out Interviews 1968 - 1998 . Penguin . p. 168 . ISBN 0140279636 . Jump up ^ Davis , 1998 , pp. 274 -- 275 . Jump up ^ `` El Dorado . '' Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved : February 7 , 2014 . Jump up ^ Ebert , Roger . `` El Dorado . '' RogerEbert.com , August 4 , 1967 . Retrieved : February 7 , 2014 . Jump up ^ `` The 1,000 Greatest Films . '' theyshootpictures. com. Retrieved : February 7 , 2014 . Jump up ^ Dell Movie Classic : El Dorado ' at the Grand Comics Database Jump up ^ Dell Movie Classic : El Dorado at the Comic Book DB Bibliography Davis , Ronald L. ( 1998 ) . Duke : The Life and Image of John Wayne . Norman : University of Oklahoma Press . ISBN 978 - 0806133294 . Dick , Bernard F. ( 2001 ) . Engulfed : The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood . Lexington : The University Press of Kentucky . ISBN 978 - 0813122021 . McCarthy , Todd ( 1997 ) . Howard Hawks : The Grey Fox of Hollywood . New York : Grove Press . ISBN 978 - 0802115980 . External links ( edit ) El Dorado on IMDb El Dorado at the TCM Movie Database El Dorado at AllMovie El Dorado at the American Film Institute Catalog ( hide ) Films directed by Howard Hawks The Road to Glory ( 1926 ) Fig Leaves ( 1926 ) Cradle Snatchers ( 1927 ) Paid to Love ( 1927 ) A Girl in Every Port ( 1928 ) Fazil ( 1928 ) The Air Circus ( 1928 ) Trent 's Last Case ( 1929 ) The Dawn Patrol ( 1930 ) The Criminal Code ( 1931 ) Scarface ( 1932 ) The Crowd Roars ( 1932 ) Tiger Shark ( 1932 ) Today We Live ( 1933 ) The Prizefighter and the Lady ( 1933 ) Viva Villa ! ( 1934 ) Twentieth Century ( 1934 ) Barbary Coast ( 1935 ) Ceiling Zero ( 1936 ) The Road to Glory ( 1936 ) Come and Get It ( 1936 ) Bringing Up Baby ( 1938 ) Only Angels Have Wings ( 1939 ) His Girl Friday ( 1940 ) Sergeant York ( 1941 ) Ball of Fire ( 1941 ) Air Force ( 1943 ) The Outlaw ( 1943 ) ( uncredited ) To Have and Have Not ( 1944 ) The Big Sleep ( 1946 ) Red River ( 1948 ) A Song Is Born ( 1948 ) I Was a Male War Bride ( 1949 ) The Big Sky ( 1951 ) Monkey Business ( 1952 ) O. Henry 's Full House ( 1952 ) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ( 1953 ) Land of the Pharaohs ( 1955 ) Rio Bravo ( 1959 ) Hatari ! ( 1962 ) Man 's Favorite Sport ? ( 1964 ) Red Line 7000 ( 1965 ) El Dorado ( 1966 ) Rio Lobo ( 1970 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=El_Dorado_(1966_film)&oldid=834437457 '' Categories : 1966 films English - language films 1967 films 1960s Western ( genre ) films American Western ( genre ) films Films about alcoholism Films based on American novels Films based on Western ( genre ) novels Films directed by Howard Hawks Paramount Pictures films Screenplays by Leigh Brackett Films shot in Arizona Films shot in Utah American films Siege films Films adapted into comics Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Italiano Lëtzebuergesch Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska 中文 11 more Edit links This page was last edited on 5 April 2018 , at 18 : 45 . 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Question: who played maudie in the movie el dorado


Abacus - Wikipedia Abacus Jump to : navigation , search For other uses , see Abacus ( disambiguation ) . `` Abaci '' and `` Abacuses '' redirect here . For the Turkish surname , see Abacı . For the medieval book , see Liber Abaci . A Chinese abacus , Suanpan Calculating - Table by Gregor Reisch : Margarita Philosophica , 1503 . The woodcut shows Arithmetica instructing an algorist and an abacist ( inaccurately represented as Boethius and Pythagoras ) . There was keen competition between the two from the introduction of the Algebra into Europe in the 12th century until its triumph in the 16th . The abacus ( plural abaci or abacuses ) , also called a counting frame , is a calculating tool that was in use in Europe , China and Russia , centuries before the adoption of the written Hindu -- Arabic numeral system . The exact origin of the abacus is still unknown . Today , abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires , but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood , stone , or metal . Abaci come in different designs . Some designs , like the bead frame consisting of beads divided into tens , are used mainly to teach arithmetic , although they remain popular in the post-Soviet states as a tool . Other designs , such as the Japanese soroban , have been used for practical calculations even involving several digits . For any particular abacus design , there usually are numerous different methods to perform a certain type of calculation , which may include basic operations like addition and multiplication , or even more complex ones , such as calculating square roots . Some of these methods may work with non-natural numbers ( numbers such as 1.5 and  ⁄ ) . Although today many use calculators and computers instead of abaci to calculate , abaci still remain in common use in some countries . Merchants , traders and clerks in some parts of Eastern Europe , Russia , China and Africa use abaci , and they are still used to teach arithmetic to children . Some people who are unable to use a calculator because of visual impairment may use an abacus . Contents ( hide ) 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Mesopotamian 2.2 Egyptian 2.3 Persian 2.4 Greek 2.5 Chinese 2.6 Roman 2.7 Indian 2.8 Japanese 2.9 Korean 2.10 Native American 2.11 Russian 3 School abacus 4 Renaissance abaci gallery 5 Uses by the blind 6 Binary abacus 7 See also 8 Notes 9 Footnotes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links 12.1 Tutorials 12.2 Abacus curiosities Etymology ( edit ) The use of the word abacus dates before 1387 AD , when a Middle English work borrowed the word from Latin to describe a sandboard abacus . The Latin word came from Greek ἄβαξ abax which means something without base , and improperly , any piece of rectangular board or plank . Alternatively , without reference to ancient texts on etymology , it has been suggested that it means `` a square tablet strewn with dust '' , or `` drawing - board covered with dust ( for the use of mathematics ) '' ( the exact shape of the Latin perhaps reflects the genitive form of the Greek word , ἄβακoς abakos ) . Whereas the table strewn with dust definition is popular , there are those that do not place credence in this at all and in fact state that it is not proven . Greek ἄβαξ itself is probably a borrowing of a Northwest Semitic , perhaps Phoenician , word akin to Hebrew ʾābāq ( אבק ) , `` dust '' ( or in post-Biblical sense meaning `` sand used as a writing surface '' ) . The preferred plural of abacus is a subject of disagreement , with both abacuses and abaci in use . The user of an abacus is called an abacist . History ( edit ) Mesopotamian ( edit ) The period 2700 -- 2300 BC saw the first appearance of the Sumerian abacus , a table of successive columns which delimited the successive orders of magnitude of their sexagesimal number system . Some scholars point to a character from the Babylonian cuneiform which may have been derived from a representation of the abacus . It is the belief of Old Babylonian scholars such as Carruccio that Old Babylonians `` may have used the abacus for the operations of addition and subtraction ; however , this primitive device proved difficult to use for more complex calculations '' . Egyptian ( edit ) The use of the abacus in Ancient Egypt is mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus , who writes that the Egyptians manipulated the pebbles from right to left , opposite in direction to the Greek left - to - right method . Archaeologists have found ancient disks of various sizes that are thought to have been used as counters . However , wall depictions of this instrument have not been discovered . Persian ( edit ) During the Achaemenid Empire , around 600 BC the Persians first began to use the abacus . Under the Parthian , Sassanian and Iranian empires , scholars concentrated on exchanging knowledge and inventions with the countries around them -- India , China , and the Roman Empire , when it is thought to have been exported to other countries . Greek ( edit ) An early photograph of the Salamis Tablet , 1899 . The original is marble and is held by the National Museum of Epigraphy , in Athens . The earliest archaeological evidence for the use of the Greek abacus dates to the 5th century BC . Also Demosthenes ( 384 BC -- 322 BC ) talked of the need to use pebbles for calculations too difficult for your head . A play by Alexis from the 4th century BC mentions an abacus and pebbles for accounting , and both Diogenes and Polybius mention men that sometimes stood for more and sometimes for less , like the pebbles on an abacus . The Greek abacus was a table of wood or marble , pre-set with small counters in wood or metal for mathematical calculations . This Greek abacus saw use in Achaemenid Persia , the Etruscan civilization , Ancient Rome and , until the French Revolution , the Western Christian world . A tablet found on the Greek island Salamis in 1846 AD ( the Salamis Tablet ) , dates back to 300 BC , making it the oldest counting board discovered so far . It is a slab of white marble 149 cm ( 59 in ) long , 75 cm ( 30 in ) wide , and 4.5 cm ( 2 in ) thick , on which are 5 groups of markings . In the center of the tablet is a set of 5 parallel lines equally divided by a vertical line , capped with a semicircle at the intersection of the bottom-most horizontal line and the single vertical line . Below these lines is a wide space with a horizontal crack dividing it . Below this crack is another group of eleven parallel lines , again divided into two sections by a line perpendicular to them , but with the semicircle at the top of the intersection ; the third , sixth and ninth of these lines are marked with a cross where they intersect with the vertical line . Also from this time frame the Darius Vase was unearthed in 1851 . It was covered with pictures including a `` treasurer '' holding a wax tablet in one hand while manipulating counters on a table with the other . Chinese ( edit ) Main article : Suanpan A Chinese abacus ( suanpan ) ( the number represented in the picture is 6,302,715,408 ) Abacus Chinese 算盤 Literal meaning `` calculating tray '' ( show ) Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin suànpán IPA ( swân. phǎn ) Yue : Cantonese Yale Romanization syun - pùhn IPA ( sȳːnphǔːn ) Jyutping syun - pun Southern Min Hokkien POJ sǹg - pôan Tâi - lô sǹg - puânn The earliest known written documentation of the Chinese abacus dates to the 2nd century BC . The Chinese abacus , known as the suanpan ( 算盤 , lit . `` counting tray '' ) , is typically 20 cm ( 8 in ) tall and comes in various widths depending on the operator . It usually has more than seven rods . There are two beads on each rod in the upper deck and five beads each in the bottom . The beads are usually rounded and made of a hardwood . The beads are counted by moving them up or down towards the beam ; beads moved toward the beam are counted , while those moved away from it are not . The suanpan can be reset to the starting position instantly by a quick movement along the horizontal axis to spin all the beads away from the horizontal beam at the center . Suanpan can be used for functions other than counting . Unlike the simple counting board used in elementary schools , very efficient suanpan techniques have been developed to do multiplication , division , addition , subtraction , square root and cube root operations at high speed . There are currently schools teaching students how to use it . In the long scroll Along the River During the Qingming Festival painted by Zhang Zeduan during the Song dynasty ( 960 -- 1297 ) , a suanpan is clearly visible beside an account book and doctor 's prescriptions on the counter of an apothecary 's ( Feibao ) . The similarity of the Roman abacus to the Chinese one suggests that one could have inspired the other , as there is some evidence of a trade relationship between the Roman Empire and China . However , no direct connection can be demonstrated , and the similarity of the abaci may be coincidental , both ultimately arising from counting with five fingers per hand . Where the Roman model ( like most modern Korean and Japanese ) has 4 plus 1 bead per decimal place , the standard suanpan has 5 plus 2 . ( Incidentally , this allows use with a hexadecimal numeral system , which was used for traditional Chinese measures of weight . ) Instead of running on wires as in the Chinese , Korean , and Japanese models , the beads of Roman model run in grooves , presumably making arithmetic calculations much slower . Another possible source of the suanpan is Chinese counting rods , which operated with a decimal system but lacked the concept of zero as a place holder . The zero was probably introduced to the Chinese in the Tang dynasty ( 618 -- 907 ) when travel in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East would have provided direct contact with India , allowing them to acquire the concept of zero and the decimal point from Indian merchants and mathematicians . Roman ( edit ) Main article : Roman abacus Copy of a Roman abacus The normal method of calculation in ancient Rome , as in Greece , was by moving counters on a smooth table . Originally pebbles ( calculi ) were used . Later , and in medieval Europe , jetons were manufactured . Marked lines indicated units , fives , tens etc. as in the Roman numeral system . This system of ' counter casting ' continued into the late Roman empire and in medieval Europe , and persisted in limited use into the nineteenth century . Due to Pope Sylvester II 's reintroduction of the abacus with very useful modifications , it became widely used in Europe once again during the 11th century This abacus used beads on wires , unlike the traditional Roman counting boards , which meant the abacus could be used much faster . Writing in the 1st century BC , Horace refers to the wax abacus , a board covered with a thin layer of black wax on which columns and figures were inscribed using a stylus . One example of archaeological evidence of the Roman abacus , shown here in reconstruction , dates to the 1st century AD . It has eight long grooves containing up to five beads in each and eight shorter grooves having either one or no beads in each . The groove marked I indicates units , X tens , and so on up to millions . The beads in the shorter grooves denote fives -- five units , five tens etc. , essentially in a bi-quinary coded decimal system , obviously related to the Roman numerals . The short grooves on the right may have been used for marking Roman `` ounces '' ( i.e. fractions ) . Indian ( edit ) There is no clear evidence for use of the abacus in India . The decimal number system invented in India replaced the abacus in Western Europe . The Abhidharmakośabhāṣya of Vasubandhu ( 316 - 396 ) , a Sanskrit work on Buddhist philosophy , says that the second - century CE philosopher Vasumitra said that `` placing a wick ( Sanskrit vartikā ) on the number one ( ekāṅka ) means it is a one , while placing the wick on the number hundred means it is called a hundred , and on the number one thousand means it is a thousand '' . It is unclear exactly what this arrangement may have been . Around the 5th century , Indian clerks were already finding new ways of recording the contents of the Abacus . Hindu texts used the term śūnya ( zero ) to indicate the empty column on the abacus . Japanese ( edit ) Main article : Soroban Japanese soroban In Japanese , the abacus is called soroban ( 算盤 , そろばん , lit . `` Counting tray '' ) , imported from China in the 14th century . It was probably in use by the working class a century or more before the ruling class started , as the class structure did not allow for devices used by the lower class to be adopted or used by the ruling class . The 1 / 4 abacus , which is suited to decimal calculation , appeared circa 1930 , and became widespread as the Japanese abandoned hexadecimal weight calculation which was still common in China . The abacus is still manufactured in Japan today even with the proliferation , practicality , and affordability of pocket electronic calculators . The use of the soroban is still taught in Japanese primary schools as part of mathematics , primarily as an aid to faster mental calculation . Using visual imagery of a soroban , one can arrive at the answer in the same time as , or even faster than , is possible with a physical instrument . Korean ( edit ) The Chinese abacus migrated from China to Korea around 1400 AD . Koreans call it jupan ( 주판 ) , supan ( 수판 ) or jusan ( 주산 ) . Native American ( edit ) Representation of an Inca quipu A yupana as used by the Incas . Some sources mention the use of an abacus called a nepohualtzintzin in ancient Aztec culture . This Mesoamerican abacus used a 5 - digit base - 20 system . The word Nepōhualtzintzin ( nepoːwaɬˈt͡sint͡sin ) comes from Nahuatl and it is formed by the roots ; Ne -- personal - ; pōhual or pōhualli ( ˈpoːwalːi ) -- the account - ; and tzintzin ( ˈt͡sint͡sin ) -- small similar elements . Its complete meaning was taken as : counting with small similar elements by somebody . Its use was taught in the Calmecac to the temalpouhqueh ( temaɬˈpoʍkeʔ ) , who were students dedicated to take the accounts of skies , from childhood . The Nepōhualtzintzin was divided in two main parts separated by a bar or intermediate cord . In the left part there were four beads , which in the first row have unitary values ( 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 ) , and in the right side there are three beads with values of 5 , 10 , and 15 respectively . In order to know the value of the respective beads of the upper rows , it is enough to multiply by 20 ( by each row ) , the value of the corresponding account in the first row . Altogether , there were 13 rows with 7 beads in each one , which made up 91 beads in each Nepōhualtzintzin . This was a basic number to understand , 7 times 13 , a close relation conceived between natural phenomena , the underworld and the cycles of the heavens . One Nepōhualtzintzin ( 91 ) represented the number of days that a season of the year lasts , two Nepōhualtzitzin ( 182 ) is the number of days of the corn 's cycle , from its sowing to its harvest , three Nepōhualtzintzin ( 273 ) is the number of days of a baby 's gestation , and four Nepōhualtzintzin ( 364 ) completed a cycle and approximate a year ( 11 / 4 days short ) . When translated into modern computer arithmetic , the Nepōhualtzintzin amounted to the rank from 10 to the 18 in floating point , which calculated stellar as well as infinitesimal amounts with absolute precision , meant that no round off was allowed . The rediscovery of the Nepōhualtzintzin was due to the Mexican engineer David Esparza Hidalgo , who in his wanderings throughout Mexico found diverse engravings and paintings of this instrument and reconstructed several of them made in gold , jade , encrustations of shell , etc . There have also been found very old Nepōhualtzintzin attributed to the Olmec culture , and even some bracelets of Mayan origin , as well as a diversity of forms and materials in other cultures . George I. Sanchez , `` Arithmetic in Maya '' , Austin - Texas , 1961 found another base 5 , base 4 abacus in the Yucatán Peninsula that also computed calendar data . This was a finger abacus , on one hand 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 were used ; and on the other hand 0 , 1 , 2 and 3 were used . Note the use of zero at the beginning and end of the two cycles . Sanchez worked with Sylvanus Morley , a noted Mayanist . The quipu of the Incas was a system of colored knotted cords used to record numerical data , like advanced tally sticks -- but not used to perform calculations . Calculations were carried out using a yupana ( Quechua for `` counting tool '' ; see figure ) which was still in use after the conquest of Peru . The working principle of a yupana is unknown , but in 2001 an explanation of the mathematical basis of these instruments was proposed by Italian mathematician Nicolino De Pasquale . By comparing the form of several yupanas , researchers found that calculations were based using the Fibonacci sequence 1 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 and powers of 10 , 20 and 40 as place values for the different fields in the instrument . Using the Fibonacci sequence would keep the number of grains within any one field at a minimum . Russian ( edit ) Russian abacus The Russian abacus , the schoty ( счёты ) , usually has a single slanted deck , with ten beads on each wire ( except one wire , usually positioned near the user , with four beads for quarter - ruble fractions ) . Older models have another 4 - bead wire for quarter - kopeks , which were minted until 1916 . The Russian abacus is often used vertically , with wires from left to right in the manner of a book . The wires are usually bowed to bulge upward in the center , to keep the beads pinned to either of the two sides . It is cleared when all the beads are moved to the right . During manipulation , beads are moved to the left . For easy viewing , the middle 2 beads on each wire ( the 5th and 6th bead ) usually are of a different color from the other eight beads . Likewise , the left bead of the thousands wire ( and the million wire , if present ) may have a different color . As a simple , cheap and reliable device , the Russian abacus was in use in all shops and markets throughout the former Soviet Union , and the usage of it was taught in most schools until the 1990s . Even the 1874 invention of mechanical calculator , Odhner arithmometer , had not replaced them in Russia and likewise the mass production of Felix arithmometers since 1924 did not significantly reduce their use in the Soviet Union . The Russian abacus began to lose popularity only after the mass production of microcalculators had started in the Soviet Union in 1974 . Today it is regarded as an archaism and replaced by the handheld calculator . The Russian abacus was brought to France around 1820 by the mathematician Jean - Victor Poncelet , who served in Napoleon 's army and had been a prisoner of war in Russia . The abacus had fallen out of use in western Europe in the 16th century with the rise of decimal notation and algorismic methods . To Poncelet 's French contemporaries , it was something new . Poncelet used it , not for any applied purpose , but as a teaching and demonstration aid . The Turks and the Armenian people also used abaci similar to the Russian schoty . It was named a coulba by the Turks and a choreb by the Armenians . School abacus ( edit ) Early 20th century abacus used in Danish elementary school . A twenty bead rekenrek Around the world , abaci have been used in pre-schools and elementary schools as an aid in teaching the numeral system and arithmetic . In Western countries , a bead frame similar to the Russian abacus but with straight wires and a vertical frame has been common ( see image ) . It is still often seen as a plastic or wooden toy . The wire frame may be used either with positional notation like other abaci ( thus the 10 - wire version may represent numbers up to 9,999,999,999 ) , or each bead may represent one unit ( so that e.g. 74 can be represented by shifting all beads on 7 wires and 4 beads on the 8th wire , so numbers up to 100 may be represented ) . In the bead frame shown , the gap between the 5th and 6th wire , corresponding to the color change between the 5th and the 6th bead on each wire , suggests the latter use . The red - and - white abacus is used in contemporary primary schools for a wide range of number - related lessons . The twenty bead version , referred to by its Dutch name rekenrek ( `` calculating frame '' ) , is often used , sometimes on a string of beads , sometimes on a rigid framework . Renaissance abaci gallery ( edit ) Uses by the blind ( edit ) An adapted abacus , invented by Tim Cranmer , called a Cranmer abacus is still commonly used by individuals who are blind . A piece of soft fabric or rubber is placed behind the beads so that they do not move inadvertently . This keeps the beads in place while the users feel or manipulate them . They use an abacus to perform the mathematical functions multiplication , division , addition , subtraction , square root and cube root . Although blind students have benefited from talking calculators , the abacus is still very often taught to these students in early grades , both in public schools and state schools for the blind . The abacus teaches mathematical skills that can never be replaced with talking calculators and is an important learning tool for blind students . Blind students also complete mathematical assignments using a braille - writer and Nemeth code ( a type of braille code for mathematics ) but large multiplication and long division problems can be long and difficult . The abacus gives blind and visually impaired students a tool to compute mathematical problems that equals the speed and mathematical knowledge required by their sighted peers using pencil and paper . Many blind people find this number machine a very useful tool throughout life . Binary abacus ( edit ) Two binary abaci constructed by Dr. Robert C. Good , Jr. , made from two Chinese abaci The binary abacus is used to explain how computers manipulate numbers . The abacus shows how numbers , letters , and signs can be stored in a binary system on a computer , or via ASCII . The device consists of a series of beads on parallel wires arranged in three separate rows . The beads represent a switch on the computer in either an `` on '' or `` off '' position . See also ( edit ) Chinese Zhusuan Chisanbop Logical abacus Mental abacus Napier 's bones Sand table Slide rule Soroban Suanpan Notes ( edit ) Jump up ^ Both C.J. Gadd , a keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum , and Jacob Levy , a Jewish Historian who wrote Neuhebräisches und chaldäisches wörterbuch über die Talmudim und Midraschim ( Neuhebräisches and Chaldean dictionary on the Talmuds and Midrashi ) disagree with the `` dust table '' theory . Footnotes ( edit ) ^ Jump up to : Boyer & Merzbach 1991 , pp. 252 -- 253 Jump up ^ de Stefani 1909 , p. 2 Jump up ^ Gaisford 1962 , p. 2 Jump up ^ Lasserre & Livadaras 1976 , p. 4 Jump up ^ Klein 1966 , p. 1 Jump up ^ Onions , Friedrichsen & Burchfield 1967 , p. 2 ^ Jump up to : Pullan 1968 , p. 17 Jump up ^ Huehnergard 2011 , p. 2 ^ Jump up to : Brown 1993 , p. 2 Jump up ^ Gove 1976 , p. 1 Jump up ^ Ifrah 2001 , p. 11 Jump up ^ Crump 1992 , p. 188 Jump up ^ Melville 2001 Jump up ^ Carruccio 2006 , p. 14 Jump up ^ Smith 1958 , pp. 157 -- 160 Jump up ^ Carr 2014 Jump up ^ Ifrah 2001 , p. 15 ^ Jump up to : Williams 1997 , p. 55 ^ Jump up to : Pullan 1968 , p. 16 Jump up ^ Williams 1997 , pp. 55 -- 56 Jump up ^ Ifrah 2001 , p. 17 Jump up ^ Fernandes 2003 Jump up ^ Pullan 1968 , p. 18 Jump up ^ Brown 2010 , pp. 81 -- 82 Jump up ^ Brown 2011 Jump up ^ Huff 1993 , p. 50 Jump up ^ Ifrah 2001 , p. 18 Jump up ^ Rowlett , Russ ( 2004 - 07 - 04 ) , Roman and `` Arabic '' Numerals , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , retrieved 2009 - 06 - 22 Jump up ^ Körner 1996 , p. 232 Jump up ^ Mollin 1998 , p. 3 Jump up ^ Gullberg 1997 , p. 169 Jump up ^ Williams 1997 , p. 65 Jump up ^ Murray 1982 Jump up ^ Anon 2002 Jump up ^ Jami 1998 , p. 4 Jump up ^ Anon 2013 Jump up ^ Sanyal 2008 Jump up ^ Anon 2004 Jump up ^ Hidalgo 1977 , p. 94 Jump up ^ Hidalgo 1977 , pp. 94 -- 101 Jump up ^ Albree 2000 , p. 42 Jump up ^ Aimi & De Pasquale 2005 Jump up ^ Burnett & Ryan 1998 , p. 7 Jump up ^ Hudgins 2004 , p. 219 Jump up ^ Leushina 1991 , p. 427 Jump up ^ Trogeman & Ernst 2001 , p. 24 Jump up ^ Flegg 1983 , p. 72 Jump up ^ Williams 1997 , p. 64 Jump up ^ West 2011 , p. 49 ^ Jump up to : Terlau & Gissoni 2006 Jump up ^ Presley & D'Andrea 2009 Jump up ^ Good Jr. 1985 , p. 34 References ( edit ) Aimi , Antonio ; De Pasquale , Nicolino ( 2005 ) . `` Andean Calculators '' ( PDF ) . translated by Del Bianco , Franca . Archived ( PDF ) from the original on August 1 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Albree , Joe ( 2000 ) . Hessenbruch , Arne , ed . Reader 's Guide to the History of Science . London , UK : Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers . ISBN 1 - 884964 - 29 - X . Anon ( September 12 , 2002 ) . `` Abacus middle ages , region of origin Middle East '' . The History of Computing Project . Archived from the original on July 31 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Anon ( 2004 ) . `` Nepohualtzintzin , The Pre Hispanic Computer '' . Iberamia 2004 . Archived from the original on August 1 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Anon ( 2013 ) . 주판 ( Abacus ) . enc.daum.net ( in Korean ) . Archived from the original on July 31 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Boyer , Carl B. ; Merzbach , Uta C. ( 1991 ) . A History of Mathematics ( 2nd ed . ) . John Wiley & Sons , Inc . ISBN 978 - 0 - 471 - 54397 - 8 . Brown , Lesley , ed. ( 1993 ) . `` abacus '' . Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles. 2 : A-K ( 5th ed . ) . Oxford , UK : Oxford University Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 860575 - 1 . Brown , Nancy Marie ( 2010 ) . The Abacus and the Cross : The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages . Philadelphia , PA : Basic Books . ISBN 978 - 0 - 465 - 00950 - 3 . Brown , Nancy Marie ( January 2 , 2011 ) . `` Everything You Think You Know About the Dark Ages is Wrong '' . rd magazine ( Interview ) . USC Annenberg . Archived from the original on July 31 , 2014 . Burnett , Charles ; Ryan , W.F. ( 1998 ) . `` Abacus ( Western ) '' . In Bud , Robert ; Warner , Deborah Jean . Instruments of Science : An Historical Encyclopedia . Garland Encyclopedias in the History of Science . New York , NY : Garland Publishing , Inc . pp. 5 -- 7 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 8153 - 1561 - 2 . Carr , Karen ( 2014 ) . `` West Asian Mathematics '' . Kidipede . History for Kids ! . Archived from the original on June 19 , 2014 . Retrieved Jun 19 , 2014 . Carruccio , Ettore ( 2006 ) . Mathematics and Logic In History and In Contemporary Thought . translated by Quigly , Isabel . Aldine Transaction . ISBN 978 - 0 - 202 - 30850 - 0 . Crump , Thomas ( 1992 ) . The Japanese Numbers Game : The Use and Understanding of Numbers in Modern Japan . The Nissan Institute / Routledge Japanese Studies Series . Routledge . ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 05609 - 0 . de Stefani , Aloysius , ed. ( 1909 ) . Etymologicum Gudianum quod vocatur ; recensuit et apparatum criticum indicesque adiecit . I. Leipzig , Germany : Teubner . LCCN 23016143 . Fernandes , Luis ( November 27 , 2003 ) . `` A Brief Introduction to the Abacus '' . ee.ryerson.ca . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Flegg , Graham ( 1983 ) . Numbers : Their History and Meaning . Dover Books on Mathematics . Mineola , NY : Courier Dover Publications . ISBN 978 - 0 - 233 - 97516 - 0 . Gaisford , Thomas , ed. ( 1962 ) ( 1848 ) . Etymologicon Magnum seu verius Lexicon Saepissime vocabulorum origines indagans ex pluribus lexicis scholiastis et grammaticis anonymi cuiusdam opera concinnatum ( The Great Etymologicon : Which Contains the Origins of the Lexicon of Words from a Large Number or Rather with a Great Amount of Research Lexicis Scholiastis and Connected Together by the Works of Anonymous Grammarians ) ( in Latin ) . Amsterdam , The Netherlands : Adolf M. Hakkert . Good Jr. , Robert C. ( Fall 1985 ) . `` The Binary Abacus : A Useful Tool for Explaining Computer Operations '' . Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching. 5 ( 1 ) : 34 -- 37 . Gove , Philip Babcock , ed. ( 1976 ) . `` abacist '' . Websters Third New International Dictionary ( 17th ed . ) . Springfield , MA : G. & C. Merriam Company . ISBN 0 - 87779 - 101 - 5 . Gullberg , Jan ( 1997 ) . Mathematics : From the Birth of Numbers . Illustrated by Pär Gullberg . New York , NY : W.W. Norton & Company . ISBN 0 - 393 - 04002 - X . Hidalgo , David Esparza ( 1977 ) . Nepohualtzintzin : Computador Prehispánico en Vigencia ( The Nepohualtzintzin : An Effective Pre-Hispanic Computer ) ( in Spanish ) . Tlacoquemécatl , Mexico : Editorial Diana . Hudgins , Sharon ( 2004 ) . The Other Side of Russia : A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East . Eugenia & Hugh M. Stewart ' 26 Series on Eastern Europe . Texas A&M University Press . ISBN 978 - 1 - 58544 - 404 - 5 . Huehnergard , John , ed. ( 2011 ) . `` Appendix of Semitic Roots , under the root ʾbq . '' . American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language ( 5th ed . ) . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade . ISBN 978 - 0 - 547 - 04101 - 8 . Huff , Toby E. ( 1993 ) . The Rise of Early Modern Science : Islam , China and the West ( 1st ed . ) . Cambridge , UK : Cambridge University Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 43496 - 6 . Ifrah , Georges ( 2001 ) . The Universal History of Computing : From the Abacus to the Quantum Computer . New York , NY : John Wiley & Sons , Inc . ISBN 978 - 0 - 471 - 39671 - 0 . Jami , Catherine ( 1998 ) . `` Abacus ( Eastern ) '' . In Bud , Robert ; Warner , Deborah Jean . Instruments of Science : An Historical Encyclopedia . New York , NY : Garland Publishing , Inc . ISBN 0 - 8153 - 1561 - 9 . Klein , Ernest , ed. ( 1966 ) . `` abacus '' . A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language . I : A-K . Amsterdam : Elsevier Publishing Company . Körner , Thomas William ( 1996 ) . The Pleasures of Counting . Cambridge , UK : Cambridge University Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 56823 - 4 . Lasserre , Franciscus ; Livadaras , Nicolaus , eds. ( 1976 ) . Etymologicum Magnum Genuinum : Symeonis Etymologicum : Una Cum Magna Grammatica ( in Greek and Latin ) . Primum : α -- άμωσΥέπωϛ . Rome , Italy : Edizioni dell'Ateneo . LCCN 77467964 . Leushina , A.M. ( 1991 ) . The development of elementary mathematical concepts in preschool children . National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . ISBN 978 - 0 - 87353 - 299 - 0 . Melville , Duncan J. ( May 30 , 2001 ) . `` Chronology of Mesopotamian Mathematics '' . St. Lawrence University . It.stlawu.edu . Archived from the original on June 19 , 2014 . Retrieved Jun 19 , 2014 . Mish , Frederick C. , ed. ( 2003 ) . `` abacus '' . Merriam - Webster 's Collegiate Dictionary ( 11th ed . ) . Merriam - Webster , Inc . ISBN 0 - 87779 - 809 - 5 . Mollin , Richard Anthony ( September 1998 ) . Fundamental Number Theory with Applications . Discrete Mathematics and its Applications . Boca Raton , FL : CRC Press . ISBN 978 - 0 - 8493 - 3987 - 5 . Murray , Geoffrey ( July 20 , 1982 ) . `` Ancient calculator is a hit with Japan 's newest generation '' . The Christian Science Monitor . CSMonitor.com . Archived from the original on July 31 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Onions , C.T. ; Friedrichsen , G.W.S. ; Burchfield , R.W. , eds. ( 1967 ) . `` abacus '' . The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology . Oxford , UK : Oxford at the Clarendon Press . Presley , Ike ; D'Andrea , Frances Mary ( 2009 ) . Assistive Technology for Students who are Blind Or Visually Impaired : A Guide to Assessment . American Foundation for the Blind . p. 61 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 89128 - 890 - 9 . Pullan , J.M. ( 1968 ) . The History of the Abacus . New York , NY : Frederick A. Praeger , Inc. , Publishers . ISBN 978 - 0 - 09 - 089410 - 9 . LCCN 72075113 . Reilly , Edwin D. , ed. ( 2004 ) . Concise Encyclopedia of Computer Science . New York , NY : John Wiley and Sons , Inc . ISBN 978 - 0 - 470 - 09095 - 4 . Sanyal , Amitava ( July 6 , 2008 ) . `` Learning by Beads '' . Hindustan Times . Smith , David Eugene ( 1958 ) . History of Mathematics . Dover Books on Mathematics. 2 : Special Topics of Elementary Mathematics . Courier Dover Publications . ISBN 978 - 0 - 486 - 20430 - 7 . Stearns , Peter N. ; Langer , William Leonard , eds. ( 2001 ) . The Encyclopedia of World History ( 6th ed . ) . New York , NY : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt . ISBN 978 - 0 - 395 - 65237 - 4 . Terlau , Terrie ; Gissoni , Fred ( July 20 , 2006 ) . `` Abacus : Position Paper '' . APH.org . Archived from the original on August 1 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Trogeman , Georg ; Ernst , Wolfgang ( 2001 ) . Trogeman , Georg ; Nitussov , Alexander Y. ; Ernst , Wolfgang , eds . Computing in Russia : The History of Computer Devices and Information Technology Revealed . Braunschweig / Wiesbaden : Vieweg + Teubner Verlag . ISBN 978 - 3 - 528 - 05757 - 2 . West , Jessica F. ( 2011 ) . Number sense routines : building numerical literacy every day in grades K - 3 . Portland , Me. : Stenhouse Publishers . ISBN 978 - 1 - 57110 - 790 - 9 . Williams , Michael R. ( 1997 ) . Baltes , Cheryl , ed . A History of Computing technology ( 2nd ed . ) . Los Alamitos , CA : IEEE Computer Society Press . ISBN 0 - 8186 - 7739 - 2 . LCCN 96045232 . Yoke , Ho Peng ( 2000 ) . Li , Qi and Shu : An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China . Dover Science Books . Courier Dover Publications . ISBN 978 - 0 - 486 - 41445 - 4 . Further reading ( edit ) Fernandes , Luis ( 2013 ) . `` The Abacus : A Brief History '' . ee.ryerson.ca . Archived from the original on July 31 , 2014 . Retrieved July 31 , 2014 . Menninger , Karl W. ( 1969 ) , Number Words and Number Symbols : A Cultural History of Numbers , MIT Press , ISBN 0 - 262 - 13040 - 8 Kojima , Takashi ( 1954 ) , The Japanese Abacus : its Use and Theory , Tokyo : Charles E. Tuttle Co. , Inc. , ISBN 0 - 8048 - 0278 - 5 Kojima , Takashi ( 1963 ) , Advanced Abacus : Japanese Theory and Practice , Tokyo : Charles E. Tuttle Co. , Inc. , ISBN 0 - 8048 - 0003 - 0 Stephenson , Stephen Kent ( July 7 , 2010 ) , Ancient Computers , IEEE Global History Network , arXiv : 1206.4349 , retrieved 2011 - 07 - 02 Stephenson , Stephen Kent ( 2013 ) , Ancient Computers , Part I - Rediscovery , Edition 2 , ISBN 1 - 4909 - 6437 - 1 External links ( edit ) Look up abacus in Wiktionary , the free dictionary . Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abacus . Texts on Wikisource : `` Abacus '' . Encyclopædia Britannica ( 11th ed . ) . 1911 . `` Abacus '' , from A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities , 3rd ed. , 1890 . Tutorials ( edit ) Heffelfinger , Totton & Gary Flom , Abacus : Mystery of the Bead - an Abacus Manual Min Multimedia Stephenson , Stephen Kent ( 2009 ) , How to use a Counting Board Abacus Abacus curiosities ( edit ) Schreiber , Michael ( 2007 ) , Abacus , The Wolfram Demonstrations Project Abacus in Various Number Systems at cut - the - knot Java applet of Chinese , Japanese and Russian abaci An atomic - scale abacus Examples of Abaci Aztex Abacus GND : 4000030 - 8 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abacus&oldid=819331096 '' Categories : Abacus Mathematical tools Chinese mathematics Egyptian mathematics Greek mathematics Indian mathematics Japanese mathematics Roman mathematics Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from June 2013 Use American English from September 2016 All Wikipedia articles written in American English Articles containing Chinese - language text Articles containing Japanese - language text CS1 uses Korean - language script ( ko ) CS1 Korean - language sources ( ko ) CS1 Latin - language sources ( la ) CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) CS1 Greek - language sources ( el ) Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Aymar aru Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца )  Bislama Български Буряад Català Чӑвашла Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 贛 語 Gĩkũyũ ગુજરાતી 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua IsiXhosa Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ Қазақша Kiswahili Кыргызча ລາວ Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Limburgs Magyar Македонски മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Mìng - dĕ̤ng - ngṳ̄ Mirandés Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ Nāhuatl Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Patois ភាសា ខ្មែរ Piemontèis Polski Português Română Русский Scots Shqip Sicilianu Simple English سنڌي Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Winaray 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 8 January 2018 , at 20 : 00 . 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Question: when was the abacus invented in ancient china


Nurses ' Health Study - wikipedia Nurses ' Health Study Jump to : navigation , search The Nurses ' Health Study ( NHS ) , is a series of prospective studies that examine epidemiology and the long - term effects of nutrition , hormones , environment , and nurses ' work - life on health and disease development . The studies are among the largest investigations into risk factors for major chronic diseases ever conducted . The NHS studies have led to many insights on health and well - being , including cancer prevention , cardiovascular disease , and diabetes ( type 2 ) . The studies include clinicians , epidemiologists , and statisticians at the Channing Laboratory , Harvard Medical School , Harvard School of Public Health , and several Harvard - affiliated hospitals , including Brigham and Women 's Hospital , Dana -- Farber Cancer Institute , Children 's Hospital Boston , and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center . Contents ( hide ) 1 Cohorts 2 Selected studies 3 References 4 External links Cohorts ( edit ) The Nurses ' Health Study ( NHS ) ( original cohort ) was established in 1976 by Dr. Frank Speizer . Initially the study investigated contraceptive use , smoking , cancer , and cardiovascular disease . The 1976 baseline group included married female registered nurses , between the ages of 30 to 55 . 121,700 participants in 11 of the most populous U.S. states ( California , Connecticut , Florida , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Pennsylvania , and Texas ) responded . The survey was then distributed biannually thereafter . Over time additional questions have been added , most notably , the dietary assessment added in 1980 . The addition of the dietary questionnaire was added due to investigators recognizing the impact of diet and nutrition on the development of Chronic disease . Deaths , usually reported by kin or by postal authorities , were followed up . Where possible and permitted , in cases suggestive of cardiovascular disease / coronary heart disease the followup went beyond death certificates to gather available documentation from autopsy reports and other records . Mortality followup is better than 98 percent . In 1996 , over 16,000 children of women in the second Nurses ' Health Study cohort were enrolled in their own follow - up study called the Growing Up Today Study , or GUTS . The Nurses ' Health Study ( NHS II ) , established in 1989 by Dr. Walter Willett . The study was conducted on women 's health ; mainly on the long term adverse effects of oral contraceptives . Between the years of 1996 and 1999 , approximately 30,000 nurses volunteered to give blood samples and urine samples to the study . Of these women , 18,500 were pre-menopausal , and they gave samples as specific points in the menstrual cycle . This collection allowed researchers to study how pre-menopausal hormone levels influence the risk of disease . A second set of samples was collected from 16,500 of the same group of women in 2010 - 2012 , by which time most of them were postmenopausal . The Nurses ' Health Study 3 ( NHS3 ) was developed in 2010 by , Drs . Jorge Chavarro , Walter Willett , Janet Rich - Edwards , and Stacey Missmer . The study includes investigators from the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women 's Hospital , Harvard Medical School , and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health . Unlike the predecessor studies , the NH3 includes participants of both male and female genders . NHS3 is completely online , using social media for recruitment . Selected studies ( edit ) Studies to date have led to the publication of hundreds of peer - reviewed papers . NHS researchers have examined the effect of exposures like smoking , oral contraceptive use , alcohol consumption , and diet on disease risk . Breast Cancer Coronary Heart Disease ( CHD ) / Stroke Colon Cancer Hip Fracture Cognitive Functioning Eye Disease Smoking No relation with past or current smoking Strong positive association with CHD and stroke ; risk reduced within 2 -- 4 years of smoking cessation . Increases risk of colon cancer Increases risk of hip fracture for current smokers . Risk increases with greater number of cigarettes smoked per day . Not examined . Increases risk of cataracts and `` wet '' AMD ( the most severe form of Age - related Macular Degeneration ) . Oral Contraceptives Current use increases risk . Past use no association . Current use increases risk . Past use no association . Reduces risk of colon cancer . Not examined . Not examined . Reduces risk of `` wet '' AMD . Alcohol One or more drinks per day increases risk . Moderate alcohol intake reduces the risk of CHD . Two or more drinks per day increases risk . High consumption increases the risk of hip fracture . However , low or moderate consumption is associated with greater bone density . Moderate intake ( 1⁄2 -- 1 serving per day ) reduces risk of cognitive impairment . No relation to age related eye diseases . Diet Higher intake of red meat increases risk of premenopausal breast cancer . A Mediterranean - type diet reduces risk of incident CHD and stroke . Fish intake reduces risk of stroke . Nut and wholegrain consumption reduces risk of CHD . Refined carbohydrates and trans fats increase risk . Higher intakes of folate , vitamin B6 , calcium and vitamin D reduces risk . High intake of red and processed meats increases risk . Reduction of risk with calcium supplement use among women with low calcium diets ; higher dietary calcium intake has no effect . Vitamin D intake reduces risk and retinol intake increases risk . Higher vegetable intake , especially green leafy vegetables , reduces risk of cognitive impairment . Some antioxidants reduce risk of cataracts and AMD . Higher intake of fish may reduce risk of cataracts and AMD . References ( edit ) Jump up ^ `` Nurses ' Health Studies '' . The Nurses ' Health Study . 2016 - 08 - 16 . Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 17 . ^ Jump up to : Dave . `` News - Nurses ' Health Study '' . www.nhs3.org . Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 17 . Jump up ^ http://www.channing.harvard.edu/nhs/?page_id=73 NHS official site - participating organizations ^ Jump up to : `` History Nurses ' Health Study '' . www.nurseshealthstudy.org . Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 17 . Jump up ^ Nurses ' Health Study 3 ( official site ) Jump up ^ https://www.facebook.com/nhs3.org NHS3 on Facebook Jump up ^ https://www.twitter.com/nhs3 NHS3 on Twitter Jump up ^ http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/31/6/9.full NHS3 appeal in December 2011 issue of Critical Care Nurse Jump up ^ List of NHS publications indexed by year Jump up ^ http://www.nhs3.org External links ( edit ) Channing.harvard.edu - ' The Nurses ' Health Study ' , Channing Laboratory , Harvard University Video Video series on history of Nurses ' Health Studies Audio PBS Frontline interview with Walter Willett ( April 8 , 2004 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nurses%27_Health_Study&oldid=837091471 '' Categories : 1976 establishments in the United States Epidemiological study projects Nursing Harvard Medical School Cohort studies Women 's health Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 18 April 2018 , at 17 : 19 . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc. , a non-profit organization . About Wikipedia

Question: the nurses' health study is an example of what type of study

a series of prospective studies that examine epidemiology and the long-term effects of nutrition, hormones, environment, and nurses' work-life on health and disease development