The work presented in this text is part of a doctorial dissertation in mathematics education (Ba 2006) about the teaching and learning of vectors, translations, forces, velocity and movement of translation in mathematics and physics. Here, we present the evolution of the teaching of vectors and vector quantities in mathematics and physics from the end of the 19th century up to now. We analyse this evolution in the light of the ecology of knowledge, as developed by Yves Chevallard (1994). This helps us understand the difficulties in recent periods, in order to create a successful interdisciplinary approach in the teaching of these notions in mathematics and physics.