Otto Neugebauer’s vision for rewriting the history of ancient mathematics

Abstract

Historians of mathematics have long exalted the achievements of the ancient Greeks as symbolized by a single name, Euclid of Alexandria. The thirteen books that comprise his Elements hold a place within Greek mathematics comparable to the Parthenon in its architectural tradition. Appreciation for Greek classicism was long reinforced by the formal ideal of Euclidean geometry, a style that persisted until well into the nineteenth century. Not until the early decades of the twentieth did a new picture of ancient mathematics emerge, advanced by the pioneering researches of Otto Neugebauer on Egyptian and especially Mesopotamian mathematics. Although grounded in detailed analysis of primary sources, Neugebauer ’s work was guided by a broad vision of the exact sciences in ancient cultures that predated the Greeks. He thereby broke with the traditional Greco-centric understanding of European science. Neugebauer ’s historical views and methodological approach, which elevated mathematical techniques while diminishing the importance of philosophical commentary, came under strong attack after he immigrated to the United States in 1939.