In the 'rhetorical' stage of mathematical notation history, calculations were described purely by words rather than symbols.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent academic and reference sources; consistent terminology and description across all checked materials with no contradictions. [tier=gold indep_score=1.0 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Timeline of mathematics (wikipedia)
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/1807.11704 (corroboration)
- https://aum.academia.edu/LLynnStallings (corroboration)
- https://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/csmce/3610/19272 (corroboration)