The Abacus, an ancient tool CalculationManual,  still used today Photo Source Picasa Web abum View License Details Click Here The Abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for the exercise of arithmetic processes. Today, nomograms are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones, then moved into the grooves in the sand or on tablets of wood, stone or metal. The abacus was for centuries before the adoption of the modern system of numerals written and is still widely used by traders, merchants and dependent on Asia, Africa andelsewhere. The user of an abacus is called a abacist. Etymology of Abacus - (Abacus and Abacus types Frame Count) The use of the word abacus dates back to dates before 1387 AD, when an Englishman working in the middle of America borrowed the word to describe an abacus sandboarding. The word cam...