Numbers. Cuneiform writing arose in Mesopotamia around 3500-3100 B.C., primarily for the purpose of recording numbers and commodities. How certain signs and tokens used in this earliest writing for grain and field measurements came to represent abstract numbers is fundamental to the understanding of the development of mathematics. Exactly when this happened is not known, but certainly it had occurred by the end of the Uruk Period (Table 1). It is known that as early as the end of the fourth millennium, proto-literate Sumerian scribes had established a well-developed system of numbers and measures. Even as early as the Ubaid Period, Mesopotamian architects building temples were familiar with certain geometric principles. The square was one of the most important elements of Ubaid architectural design, and triangles also played a significant role. Types of triangles used in designing Ubaid temples included the 3:4:5 and 5:12:13 triangles, and the 1:2, 1:4, and 8:5 isosceles triangles. In this regard, it is intriguing that mathematics, particularly geometry, appears to have preceded the advent of writing. A 72-cm cubit (28.8 in) was the standard unit of linear measurement in Ubaid time, and precise multiples of this 72-cm cubit were used in laying out floor plans for temples and other buildings. Later cubit measurements used in the Near East were smaller: 52 cm (20 in), 45 cm (18 in), and 30 cm (12 in). The Mesopotamians were quite sophisticated in the mathematics they used. Besides geometry, their capacity to work with very large and very small numbers can be traced back to proto-literate (Uruk and Jemdet Nasr) time. Economic archaic tablets from Uruk show an advanced accounting system where cuneiform ledgers contain single entries, subtotals, and one final total. Weight and bulk of barley grains were connected to weights and measures in these accounting systems; also, Sumerian weights were used to weigh wool-fleece and other commodities. Later in time (the theorem attributed to him had been derived by Mesopotamian mathematicians. The Babylonians also ascertained the number for pi (π), but interestingly, they did not have a special numerical sign for zero. Dope concept if you think about it......
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 06:14:14 +0000
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