The Mayan Numeral System

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The concept of numbers has been undoubtedly a part of human endeavors since the origin of the human race. The earliest attempt of keeping record of a count was presumably by some tally system which involved the use physical objects (sticks or pebbles). As the people started to count frequently to numbers larger than 10, the demand to systematize and simplify the numeration occured, which led to the development of numeral systems (Smith & LeVeque, 2004). The counting system that we use today is something that we tend to take for granted. It seems almost natural to us and so we do not acknowledge other numerous systems of counting, used today and in the past. For that reason, I decided to expand my knowledge about numeral systems and perhaps …show more content…

They used a special sign to denote every power of ten, which was repeated as many times as necessary in order to represent a number. Placing the signs in groups and arranging them vertically made the numbers easier to read (Wichita State University, 2012).
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c.) The Mayan numeral system
The Mayan numeral system was a vigesimal (base 20) positional notation and the numerals consited of two symbols; a dot (used to represent the units) and a dash (used to represent five). They were also the first to symbolize the concept of zero, usually with a symbol of a shell. The Mayans supposedly used a vigesimal system because they lived in a very warm climate and they did not need to wear shoes, so they could therefore use all 20 fingers and toes to count (Wichita State University, …show more content…

The basic set of Roman numerals consised of seven different symbols which represened different numbers; I - 1, V - 5, X - 10, L - 50, C -100, D - 500, M - 1000. The number of times the letter is used, the value of the letter is repeated, however it cannot be repeated more than three times. If one or more letters are placed after a letter of greater value, their values are added and if a letter is placed before a letter of greater value, its value is subtracted from the letter of greater value. For instance 4 is IV, where V means 5, but the letter I subtracts 1 to it, yielding 4 (Wonderopolis.org, no

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