Historical Development of Abstracting

Abstract

The abstract, under a multitude of names, such as hypothesis, marginalia, abridgement, extract, digest, précis, resumé, and summary, has a long history, one which is concomitant with advancing scholarship. The progression of this history from the Sumerian civilization ca. 3600 B.C., through the Egyptian and Greek civilizations, the Hellenistic period, the Dark Ages, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and into the modern period is reviewed.