11 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Earliest Multiplication Formulas Discovered in a 2,300-Year-Old Chinese Tomb

Archaeologists excavating a tomb in the Qinjiazui archaeological site of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, China, have found the earliest multiplication formulas on record.

The earliest multiplication formulas on record have been discovered on bamboo slips from the Warring States period (475BC-221BC), pushing the history of these formulas back by nearly a century, China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) announced at a press conference.

The formula, which dates back to the 4th century BC during the Warring State Period (475-221 BC), precedes another piece discovered in central Hunan Province by approximately a century, said Yang Kaiyong, a research fellow at the Jingzhou Museum. The burial – known simply as M1093 – probably dates back to the reign of either King Chu Xuan or King Chu Wei, from 369 to 329 BCE.

Bamboo slips were the most popular writing material in the period before paper became widespread. These slips, which are typically a centimeter or two wide and a few inches long, have been discovered in large numbers at the Qinjiazui site. Of all the tombs identified so far, M1093 contains the highest number of these slips.

Thousands of bamboo slips holding over 30,000 characters ranging from mathematics, literature, and animal husbandry to medicines have been discovered in the tomb.

An archaeologist sorts out bamboo slips at a tomb in the city of Jingzhou, central China’s Hubei Province. Photo: Jingzhou Museum/Handout via Xinhua

Scientists have used infrared scanning to reveal the words on the slip: “Five times seven is thirty plus five, four times seven is twenty plus eight, three times seven is twenty plus one.”

On one of the strips, researchers found multiplication formulas as well as the oldest known example of an algebraic table known as Jiujiushu.

According to the researchers: “This significant discovery offers invaluable new resources for studying the history, culture, and ideologies prevalent during the pre-Qin period.”

The Warring States period lasted from 475 to 221 BCE and ended when the Qin state overcame its six adversaries. This resulted in the unification of the Chinese empire for the first time and the establishment of the Qin dynasty.

Cover Photo: Bamboo scripts from the Warring States period (475BC-221BC) unearthed from the M1093 tomb at the Qinjiazui site in Jingzhou city, Hubei Province. Photo: China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration

Related Articles

İnkaya Cave excavations in Türkiye’s western uncovers 86,000-year-old traces of human life

22 August 2023

22 August 2023

In the excavations carried out in the İnkaya Cave in Çanakkale, located in the northwestern part of Türkiye, in addition...

Sensational Discovery in Kazakhstan: Rare Turko-Sughd Early Medieval Coin Discovered in Almaty Region

24 June 2024

24 June 2024

A sensational discovery was made in the Kogaly Valley, two hours from Almaty, Kazakhstan. For the first time in Kazakhstan,...

Ancient Roman 3rd-century defensive wall found in Germany

24 March 2024

24 March 2024

An exciting archaeological discovery was made during construction work in Aachen’s city center, Germany. At the corner of Pontstrasse and...

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20...

Possible Location of Medieval Knight Zbylut’s Manor Identified Alongside Discovery of Unknown Burial Crypts

26 April 2025

26 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers have uncovered previously unknown burial crypts within the Gothic Church of St. James the...

Underwater Researchers Found Temples to Ancient Gods in Sunken City

20 September 2023

20 September 2023

Two temples belonging to the Egyptian god Amun and the Greek goddess Aphrodite were found in the sunken city off...

Britain’s Longest Ancient Monument ‘Offa’s Dyke’ to be Restored

21 June 2021

21 June 2021

Offa’s Dyke is a long, linear earthwork that roughly parallels the English-Welsh boundary. Offa is also known as the longest...

The first analysis results confirm that the grave in Tiarp is one of the oldest stone burial chambers in Scandinavia

31 January 2024

31 January 2024

In Tiarp, close to Falköping, Sweden, archaeologists from Gothenburg University and Kiel University have discovered a dolmen that dates back...

Secrets of the Galloway Hoard Revealed

27 May 2021

27 May 2021

Experts have uncovered fascinating secrets of a Viking Age hoard discovered by a metal detector to be presented to the...

Polish researchers reveal what ancient Egyptian faience has to do with gold

31 December 2022

31 December 2022

Powdered quartz used to make faience vessels discovered by Polish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Athribis in...

2000-year-old quarry discovered in Jerusalem that could be the source of Second temple stones

5 September 2021

5 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old quarry in Har Hotzvim, now an industrial park in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority said...

In the backstage of Smyrna Ancient Theater Latrina found

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

Interesting finds unearthed during the excavations of the 2400-year-old Ancient City of Smyrna in the Aegean region of Turkey continue...

Climate Change Negatively Impacts 45 000-year-old Cave Paintings in Indonesia

13 May 2021

13 May 2021

Cave paintings from 20,000 to 50,000 years ago in Indonesia are in danger of extinction due to climate change. Indonesia...

Archaeologists unearth human spines threaded onto reed posts in Peru

5 February 2022

5 February 2022

Archaeologists have found almost 192 examples of human vertebrae threaded onto reed posts 500 years ago in the Chincha Valley...

3,000-year-old weavings discovered in Alaska’s Alutiiq settlement

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old during excavations at an ancestral sod...