ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Dots: Pause in mind or mark by hand?

• In Event: Diagrammatic Computations and Their Symbolic Aspects (II)

English Abstract

Dots are commonly found in manuscripts, and scholars have already provided extensive discussions and analyses regarding their history and functions. However, in Sanskrit mathematical manuscripts, we have only encountered cases where dots placed above numbers serve as negative signs. In our study of eighteenth-century mathematical commentaries on the Sanskrit canon Līlāvatī, we discovered a set of dots that may carry special significance. These dots are usually placed before digits. By tracing the history of dots as punctuation, philological tools, and mathematical symbols, we argue that these new materials demonstrate the use of dots as cues for mathematical operations. This once again illustrates the diverse functions that such a ubiquitous symbol can possess, while also offering new perspectives for understanding eighteenth-century Sanskrit mathematical practices.

Author

• HAOLIN WANG