A civilization is recognized as such by its form of written language. For this reason, the earliest civilization is recognized in the region of Mesopotamia with their language of Cuneiform. This ancient form of written language was inscribed on clay tablets that still remain in tact and are being salvaged hundreds of thousands of years later. Even more impressive than just writing the language, however, is the ancient Babylonians’ early mathematical discoveries. These were also recorded with cuneiform and recorded on clay tablets, and like the language, served as an early interpretation of mathematical principles that influence arithmetic all over the world today.
Dating back to the second and third milennia BC, Babylonians were so advanced as to having arithmetic tables established, however, perhaps their biggest influence was the establishment of a sexiagesimal numeral system. This means that the Babylonians were pioneers in the aspect that they established a number system based on the numeral sixty. As it is a highly factorable number, Babylonians recognized 60 to be of great value in tracking and calculations and configurations. The Babylonians divided the day into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes, each minute into 60 seconds. This form of counting has survived for 4000 years. We use 5; 25, 30 for this sexagesimal number. Fast forward several thousand years, and we use the number sixty as a basis for seconds, minutes, and even 360 degrees in a circle, the world’s most incredulous shape. There is no clear reason why the Babylonians chose the sexagesimal system. It is possible they selected it in the interest of metrology according to Theon of Alexandria, a commentator of the fourth century. Time and angular measurement s...
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...onians for are the calendar, units of measurement including length, volume, and weight, the 360 degree circle, knowledge of lunar eclipses, square roots, and exponents. Obviously, the Babylonians were a fascinating people, and studying about them offers many insights into their culture. It is so important for modern people to look back on the contributions of this amazing society and to ponder what can be learned from them and their inventions. Today’s society and mathematical understanding would not be nearly as advanced if it had not been for the Babylonians. The people of today are forever indebted to them. Their achievements in mathematics are astounding to modern minds because we assume that such mathematical concepts are more modern in origin. But the proof is there, on those tablets, the ones baked in the Sun. Math in ancient Babylon was advanced indeed.
The Mesopotamians and Egyptians are among the first civilizations to make a valuable contribution to Western Civilization. Both Babylonians and Egyptians managed to produce written systems of communicating ideas. The Babylonians created wedge-shaped cuneiform, and the Egyptians made pictographic hieroglyphics. This invention even allowed for Hammurabi’s Code of law to be written and preserved through the ages. The Phoenicians took this concept another step forward and fashioned the alphabet. The ability to record history is an exceptional achievement. Another development of the Ancient Near East was architecture. The Egyptian pyramids, and the Babylonian ziggurats stand as testimony to their society’s technological and architectural achievements. The Assyrians left a lasting impact on civilization with the advent of the idea of conquest which they took to ruthlessly brutal ends. Later the Persians would add a degree of tolerance into the conquest equation. The concept of conquest would leave an indelible mark on the West, for better or worse. These developments still play a role in contemporary society.
The ancient Mesopotamian world triggered many future technological advances that have allowed our society to be as sophisticated as it is today. Some of the main impacts that Mesopotamia had on the modern world was the first writing system of its kind, along with the most complete set of laws created as a governing system. Cuneiform was a new alphabetical written language developed by the Sumerians during the ancient Mesopotamian times. Cuneiform allowed them to write down very
Civilizations first developed about 3000 b.c. in the river valleys of Mesopotamia , Egypt, India, and China. Throughout history, the need to have water for drinking and growing crops influenced where people settled. Although there were differences among the early civilizations, they were alike in many ways. As these early civilizations developed, people formed social classes. The social class people belonged to partly depended on their occupations. They did specialized types of work. Using improved technology, they made more and better goods. They set up governments to pass laws, defend their land, and carry out large building projects. The people of these civilizations also developed systems of values and beliefs that gave meaning to their
Astronomy in Babylonia was one of the first moments in history which gave evidence to the strong use of mathematical theory, before this it was believed that the earth was surrounded by a great mass on to which the stars were attached. Magic, mysticism and the heavens was a huge influence on astronomy of those times. However, around 400BC mathematics began to play a crucial role in determining lunar and solar theories as well as planetary movement. Epping and Kugler were two scholars who having discovered ancient tablets dating back to Babylonian times in the British museum, dedicated their lives to deciphering the tablets and without their commitment thousands of tablets containing information and data would still be concealed and an important part of Babylonians history of astronomy would remain undiscovered in museums and libraries all over the world.
Abstract: This paper gives an insight into the Mathematics used by the American Indians. The history of American Indians and how they incorporated mathematics into their lives is scarce. However from the information retrieved by Archeologists, we have an idea of the type of mathematics that was used by American Indians.
Archimedes was a Greek mathematician who created multiple inventions, formed new mathematical techniques, and made advances in geometry that we use in everyday mathematics. Regarded as one of the utmost mathematicians of all time (“Archimedes c.287 B.C.-212 B.C.”), he is responsible for improving the arithmetical meaning of infinity and how we use mathematical models in the real world (Noel, 28). He opened many doors in the world of geometry and math, making very important contributions to our lives today.
Mesopotamia’s first invention was a form of writing called cuneiform which was written on clay tablets with a sharp reed called a stylus. This permitted for recording events and writing formal laws. The Sumerians, a civilization in Mesopotamia designed the wheel which was used to help transfer heavy objects to and from places. They also began constructing daggers, spears and chariots, which has led to their successful wars. The Mesopotamians were also responsible for the first laws and the discoveries of glass, sailboats, and ziggurats. With interest high in religion and mythology, Sumerians and their successors worshiped gods and goddesses just like Egyptians, Greeks, and Aegean cultures.
When discussing the topic of the development of early writing systems, one cannot do so without first thinking of the Mayans. The Mayans were the only ones to form the only writing system that was native to the Americas, and were also considered to be the masters of the art of mathematics. The Mayan writing system was often referred to as hieroglyphics, due to their resemblance to the method of Egyptian writing, although there is no relation. These symbols, called glyphs, were a combination of symbols used for the phonetic spelling of words today, and other characters. It is the only writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World that can completely represent spoken language to the same degree as the written language of the old world. Translating the Maya writings has been a long, and very tedious process. Some parts of it were first translated in the late 19th and early 20th century (mostly the parts having to do with numbers, the calendar, and astronomy), but major developments started in the 1960s and 1970s and kept coming thereafter, and now, the majority of Mayan texts can be read almost completely in their original languages. During the translation of the Ma...
The first primary civilization was located in Southern Mesopotamia, known as Sumer. The Sumerians invented the first writing known as Cuneiform. We are left with tens of thousands of written records on many aspects of the Sumerians, the most notable of these being the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is an a...
The earliest writing in Mesopotamia was a picture writing invented by the Sumerians who wrote on clay tablets using long reeds. The script the Sumerians invented and handed down to the Semitic peoples who conquered Mesopotamia in later centuries, is called cuneiform, which is derived from two Latin words: cuneus , which means "wedge," and forma , which means "shape." This picture language, similar to but more abstract than Egyptian hieroglyphics, eventually developed into a syllabic alphabet under the Semites (Assyrians and Babylonians) who eventually came to dominate the area.
These concepts had a major influence on many civilizations of the future, including most of the world today. The first basic forms of arithmetic were introduced, leading to advancements in many other aspects of life, such as architecture. Hieroglyphics were symbols used as a form of writing and communication. Either painted or carved into stone, they left behind a record of their world. These hieroglyphics were often complex symbols, so hieratic numerals were shaped as a more general form of writing to create more efficiency in their everyday lives (Oliver 6). “Egyptian priest-astronomers studied the heavens, mapping constellations and charting the movements of the planets” (Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis et al. 32). Using this knowledge, the egyptians developed the 365 day calendar which obviously had a major imprint on society today. They used their skill and intellect to build great structures and monuments (the Great Pyramids are some of the most sophisticated ones known today). Above all, the world 's first national government was organized, which was a foundation of their society. Pharaohs ruled with the assistance of a chief minister who would oversee the business of government. These chief ministers would keep track of many important things like tax collection, management of irrigation systems, and farming (Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis et al. 25). They had thousands of scribes that put forth instruction to
In the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, many civilizations have developed. One of these civilizations was ancient Sumer, the first civilization to have a written language. Written language was used in ancient times to keep records of information such as profit gained from goods and taxes. Writing has existed since 3,200 B.C. Since ancient Sumer, writing has developed in flourished all over the world in places like Mesoamerica, Egypt, China, and eventually Western Civilization. Written language has become extremely important because it allows us to communicate with others, record information, and spread ideas.
The history of mathematics has its roots on the African continent. The oldest mathematical object was found in Swaziland Africa. The oldest example of arithmetic was found in Zaire. The 4000 year old, Moscow papyrus, contains geometry, from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt was the cradle of mathematics. The great Greek mathematicians, including Pythagoras, Thales, and Exodus all acquired much of their mathematics from Egypt, including the notion of zero. This paper will discuss a brief history of mathematics in Africa. Starting with the Lebombo bone and the Ishango Bone, I will then present Egyptian mathematics and end with a discourse on Muslim mathematics in African. “Most histories of mathematics devote only a few pages to Africa and Ancient Egypt... Generally they ignore the history of mathematics in Africa … and give the impression that this history either did not exist or, at least …is not knowable.”
The 17th Century saw Napier, Briggs and others greatly extend the power of mathematics as a calculator science with his discovery of logarithms. Cavalieri made progress towards the calculus with his infinitesimal methods and Descartes added the power of algebraic methods to geometry. Euclid, who lived around 300 BC in Alexandria, first stated his five postulates in his book The Elements that forms the base for all of his later Abu Abd-Allah ibn Musa al’Khwarizmi, was born abo...
Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first of the ancient civilizations. It formed in present-day northeastern Egypt, in the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shaped region of good farmland created by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The first people to settle in Mesopotamia made important contributions to the world, such as wheeled vehicles, and an early form of writing called Cuneiform. Later, the Phoenicians here developed an alphabet much like the one we use today. Also, the Sumerians of this region developed algebra and geometry. Most importantly, the Sumerians made extensive irrigation systems, dikes, and canals to protect their crops from floods. The Great Hammurabi of Babylon, another empire in the Fertile Crescent, made the Code of Hammurabi. It was the first significant set of laws in history. Also, the Hittites and the Lydians settled in Mesopotamia. The Hittites developed a way to produce strong plows and weapons. The Lydians created a system of coined money. The contributions from the region of Mesopotamia in ancient times are still used today and are very useful.