Christine Proust
Research project
Diversity of mathematical practices and the circulation of knowledge in antiquity.
Project summary
The knowledge developed in ancient worlds is often perceived as forming homogeneous cultural traditions. However, examination of the sources reveals strong contrasts between social milieus, professional communities, geographical regions and historical periods. At the same time, ideas and practices circulate. I intend to highlight this dual phenomenon of singularization linked to local specificities and long-range dissemination of knowledge by studying several cases, some of which are interconnected. The main one is the case of the learned circles of the city of Uruk in the Hellenistic period, which I will study in collaboration with John Steele, a specialist in cuneiform astronomy (Brown University, Providence, USA). This project includes a section on the history of collections and the establishment of a collaboration with the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, the Institute of Anatolian Studies and the CDLI (http://cdli.ucla.edu/). In connection with this project, I will be continuing my other ongoing work: History of digital tables (ANR project directed by D. Tournès), study of Sumerian as a technical language for mathematics, exploitation of the Neugebauer and Thureau-Dangin archives.
