Bakhshali Manuscript

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The Bakhshali Manuscript is a mathematical manuscript written on birch bark which was found near the village of Bakhshali in what is now Pakistan in 1881. The manuscript is incomplete, with only seventy leaves of birch bark, many mere scraps, remaining. Its date is uncertain, but it may be as early as the third or fourth century, which would mean that its use of mathematical zero predates the work of Brahmagupta in the seventh century, though some scholars also date it much later, after Brahmagupta. Some scholars have also suggested dates before the second century.

The manuscript gives various algorithms and techniques for a variety of problems, such as computing square roots and dealing with negative numbers.