Babylonian numerals facts for kids
The Babylonian cuneiform numerals were an ancient way to write numbers. People in Babylonia used them thousands of years ago. They wrote these numbers using a special tool called a reed stylus. They pressed this tool into soft clay tablets. Then, they let the tablets dry in the sun. This made a lasting record of their numbers.
The Babylonians were very good at studying stars and doing math. They invented the abacus to help with their calculations. Their number system was special because it used a base of 60. This is called a sexagesimal system. It was also a positional system. This means a number's position changed its value. They learned this system from older groups like the Sumerians.
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When Did Babylonian Numbers Start?
This number system first appeared around 2000 BC. That's about 4,000 years ago! Its structure shows it was influenced by how Semitic languages counted. But it also had a special sign for the number 60 from the Sumerian system. This shows a link to both cultures.
Quick facts for kids Numeral systems by culture |
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| Hindu–Arabic numerals | |
| Western Arabic Eastern Arabic Khmer |
Indian family Brahmi Thai |
| East Asian numerals | |
| Chinese Suzhou Counting rods |
Japanese Korean |
| Alphabetic numerals | |
| Abjad Armenian Cyrillic Ge'ez |
Hebrew Greek (Ionian) Āryabhaṭa |
| Other systems | |
| Attic Babylonian Egyptian Etruscan |
Mayan Roman Urnfield |
| List of numeral system topics | |
| Positional systems by base | |
| Decimal (10) | |
| 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 | |
| 1, 3, 9, 12, 20, 24, 30, 36, 60, more… | |
How Did Babylonian Numbers Work?
The Babylonian system was one of the first known positional numeral systems. In this system, a number's value depends on its place. For example, in our number 123, the '1' means 100 because of its position. This was a huge step forward in math. Older systems needed a new symbol for every big number. This made calculations much harder.
What Symbols Did They Use?
The Babylonians used only two main symbols to write numbers up to 59.
- One symbol was for units:
(which meant 1). - The other symbol was for tens:
(which meant 10).
They combined these symbols to make other numbers. For example, to write 23, they would put two '10' symbols and three '1' symbols together. It was a bit like how Roman numerals work.
Did They Have a Symbol for Zero?
At first, the Babylonians didn't have a symbol for zero. They would just leave a space to show an empty place. This was similar to how we use zero today. Later, they created a symbol to show an empty spot in the middle of a number. But they didn't use it at the end of a number, like we do in 100.
They also didn't have a symbol like our decimal point. So, the value of a number had to be figured out from the situation. For example, 
could mean 23. But it could also mean 23 times 60, or 23 divided by 60. You had to know what they were talking about!
Why Did They Use Base 60?
Their system used groups of 60. This is why we still have some things based on 60 today. Think about how many arcminutes are in a degree (60). Or how many seconds are in a minute (60). And how many minutes are in an hour (60). A full circle has 360 degrees, which is 6 times 60.
One idea is that 60 was chosen because it can be divided by many numbers. It can be divided by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, and 60. This made it very useful for dividing things up.
Zero in More Detail
The Babylonians didn't really have the idea of zero as a number. They understood "nothingness," but they didn't see it as a quantity. Later, they used a placeholder symbol (
) for zero. But they only used it in the middle of numbers. They didn't use it at the end of a number, like we do when we write 100.
See also
In Spanish: Numeración babilónica para niños
