negative number raised to even power

[DrD]

Here's a quickly prepared {sub-list} of the MANY technologies that return -2^2=4:

L1:=concat{{list of any calcs you have around that do this},TI-36X, MS-Calculator (Scientific Mode), hp50g, hp50g emulator,TI-25X, The funny calc in my wife's purse, no ... I'm not gonna go look in that thing to find the model(!), a really old version of MITS Altair 8K BASIC, Samsung Galaxy "Tools" scientific calculator};

I could also find several that return -2^2=-4

{Prime, Wolfram Alpha, hp50g (suitably configured), Python (3.x), wxMaxima (14.x.x), scilab (5.x.x};

In general, older technologies seem more likely to return -2^2=4, than newer ones, which probably has to do with more strict enforcement of the rules of precedence, as the demands on software evolved. I'm sure there are plenty more entries which could be included for either list, but these were handy.

What did the ancient Sumerian's have to say about this? Did they chisel -2^2=4 in clay anywhere, because if they did ... that settles it! Unless they weren't using scientific clay, or were in RSN mode (reverse Sumerian ...), oh well.

-Dale-