Two Thousand Years of Combinatorics

Abstract Early work on the generation of combinatorial patterns began as civilization itself was taking shape. The story is quite fascinating, and we will see that it spans many cultures in many parts of the world, with ties to poetry, music, and religion. There is space here to discuss only some of the principal highlights; but perhaps a few glimpses into the past will stimulate us to dig deeper into the roots of the subject, as the world gets ever smaller and as global scholarship continues to advance.