- Early humans used their fingers to count animals killed during hunts and people living in dwellings, demonstrating one of the earliest forms of computing. - The abacus, developed by the Chinese over 5,000 years ago, was the first calculating machine. It was followed by Napier's Bones, calculating rods invented by Scottish mathematician John Napier in 1617. - In 1642, French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented a machine called the Pascal's Arithmetic Machine to perform calculations faster than previous methods.