The main thesis of this paper is that algebraic symbolism emerged in the Renaissance as part of a new type of thinking 􀀐 a new type of thinking shaped by the socioeconomic activities that arose progressively in the late Middle-Ages. In its shortest formulation, algebraic symbolism emerged as a semiotic way of knowledge representation inspired by a world substantially transformed by the use of artefacts and machines. Algebraicsymbolism, I argue, is a metaphoric machine itself encompassed by a new general abstract form of representation and by the Renaissance technological concept of efficiency. To answer the question of the conditions which made possible the emergence of algebraic symbolism, I enquire about the cultural modes of representation of knowledge and human experience and look for the historical changes which took place in cognitive and social forms of signification.