Somalie Prak
MATH17A
Timeline Paper
Spring 2018
Sumerian-Babylonian Mathematics
Sumer, the southernmost region of Mesopotamia was known as the “cradle of civilization”. It was said to be the birthplace of writing, the wheel, the arch and many other innovations. When civilizations began to settle and develop agriculture, Sumerian mathematics quickly developed as a response to needs for measuring plots of lands, the taxation of individuals, and keeping track of objects. Through time, the Sumerians and Babylonians developed a mathematical system called the Base 60 numerical system in which they made such extraordinary advances in mathematics and astrology. Even today, Sumerians mathematic ways still have a strong influence in our modern mathematics.
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This system was used by physically counting all twelve knuckles on one hand and five fingers on the opposite hand. This method was not only the first number system, but the first mathematical system that utilized “the place” concept. Sumerian-Babylonian was unique because their numbers used a true place-value system which stood them out from the Egyptians, Greek, and Romans. The place values to the left represented larger numbers just like our modern day decimal system, but instead of using base 10, base 60 was used. With the base 60 numeric system, numbers 1 through 59 were represented by a unit symbol and a ten symbol. The number one and sixty shared the same unit symbol so large spaces in between the cuneiforms were used to represent place values. Besides the development of the base 60 system, Sumerians-Babylonians also introduced the circle character to represent the number …show more content…
Clay tablets were found that showed evidence of Sumerians and Babylonians using multiplication, reciprocals, tables of squares, square roots, and division problems. These methods of math were used to count and track their agriculture and large building projects. Babylonian tablets were also the first evidence of the solution of quadratic formulas. This idea of quadratic formulas and square numbers were used by Sumerians to measure their land. The people of Sumer rearranged their land and homes in geometric shapes where the calculations of squares, rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids were used. One of the most famous clay tablet of Babylonian times is called the Plimpton 322. It is dated back to 1800 BCE and suggests that Babylonians knew about the measurement of right-angled triangles which was way before the Greek
From that fundamental step, many cultures have built their own number systems, usually as a written language with similar conventions. The Babylonians, the Mayans, and the people of India, for example, indented essentially the same way of writing large numbers as a sequence of digits that we use, although they lived far apart in space and time (155).
The school system of the Sumerians set the educational standards for Mesopotamia culture and other cultures to follow. Their studies included mathematics, botany and linguistics. Some students tha...
To start out, the Sumerians invented cuneiform, which had a major impact on the future. It was invented 5,000 years ago (Doc. 1). They used it to keep records about their crops, business dealings, and occasionally love letters (OI). They also used cuneiform to write myths (OI). Cuneiform was written on clay tablets, then baked
The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians discovered abstract Geometry. They developed these ideas that were used to build pyramids and help with reestablishing land boundaries. While, the Babylonians used abstract geometry for measuring, construction buildings, and surveying. Abstract geometry uses postulates, rules, definitions and propositions before and up to the time of the Euclid.
Egyptians, or more accurately, Pharaohs, did not write fractions in the formula that we are accustomed to seeing and using, today. The hieroglyphs, as explained on page 20, chapter three of, Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs, were not as efficient, then, because it did not allow for certa...
Sumerians created writing in 3200 B.C., which at the time, was used for recording and communication. However, from 10,000- 40,000 B.C., cave paintings...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is generally regarded as the greatest literature about tales of a great king. The Epic of Gilgamesh served to show us a lot of things. The time period of BCE is very blurry, and this story attempts to describe many different things in not only Sumerian beliefs, but also Sumerian's culture as a whole. Like many stories from BCE the truth itself is questionable, even though a lot of the information is fact. The factual information that Gilgamesh teaches us about Sumerian Civilization is that had had many craftsman and artistic skills, and also a strong belief in Gods.
Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the first recognizable civilization, in the area known as Sumer. In 3000 B.C. Sumer contained a dozen or more city-states, each ruled by its own king and worshiped its own patron deity. The citizens of these city-states were classified into three classes: nobles and priests, commoners, and slaves. In the center of a Sumerian city usually stood a tower culminating in a temple for the patron god of the city. The Sumerians believed that this patron god owned the whole city. The Geography of this city helped a lot with the trade, and led to mathematics as well. The Sumerians developed a precise system of mathematical notation called the sexagesimal, in which the number sixty is the main element. We even use this system in our world today! The Sumerian’ chief contribution to later civilizations was writing, even though their script was pictographic.
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.
The earliest writing systems were pictographs that varied within appearance, structure, and meanings. Some of the earliest writing systems were used in temples, where scribes recorded amounts of grain collected, as well accurate information about seasons and rituals used in practice. As time progress, the system of writing became more sophisticate within other civilizations developing more letters in their writing systems. The Egyptians developed hieroglyphics, and other writing systems. The Sumerians developed a writing system called cuneiform that was later adapted by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Ancient people developed system of mathematics, astronomy, and calendars that regulate time and know when to harvest crops. With ancient people having the ability to write, they created great feats of literature like the famous narrative poem The Epic of Gilgamesh. Ancient people like the Babylonians also developed architecture with amazing feats like ziggurats, and famous landmarks like The Hanging Gardens of
Abounding similarities exist between the Mesopotamian and Greek societies. As history progresses many cultural advances occur, but societies also adopt some of the same characteristics as preceding societies, you will notice this between the Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations. After learning about the Greek civilizations I immediately began generating connections to Mesopotamian societies. I noticed similarities in all aspects of society, whether it was religion, military, architecture or any other cultural idiosyncrasies.
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...
They constructed the 12-month calendar which they based on the cycles of the moon. Other than that, they also created a mathematical system based on the number 60 which they called the Sexagesimal. Though, our mathematics today is not based on their system it acts like a foundation for some mathematicians. They also used the basic mathematics- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, in keeping track of their records- one of their contributions to this world, bookkeeping. It was also suggested that they even discovered the number of the pi for they knew how to solve the circumference of the circle (Atif, 2013).
The history of math has become an important study, from ancient to modern times it has been fundamental to advances in science, engineering, and philosophy. Mathematics started with counting. In Babylonia mathematics developed from 2000B.C. A place value notation system had evolved over a lengthy time with a number base of 60. Number problems were studied from at least 1700B.C. Systems of linear equations were studied in the context of solving number problems.
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.