Cool – History of Data synopsis

“Gallery: A History Of Data

By Stephen Wolfram and the Wolfram|Alpha staff

20,000 B.C. to 2,500 B.C.

Steve McAlister/Getty Images

20,000 B.C.: The invention of arithmetic provides a way to abstractly compute numbers of objects.

15,000 B.C.: The Lascaux cave paintings record some of the first known narrative constructions.

3,800 B.C.: The Babylonian census begins the practice of systematically counting and recording people.

3,500 B.C.: Written language emerges [pictured: an early cuneiform tablet], providing a systematic way to record and transmit knowledge.

2,500 B.C.: The first known calendar system is established in Mesopotamia, creating a 360-day year.

Content courtesy of Wolfram|Alpha”