Ancient Numerical Systems

Last week in class, we started learning about Numeration Systems.  I found it interesting to learn about the Mayan, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Roman numerical systems and their similarities and differences, along with how different they are from the number system we use today (the Indo -Arabic system).  It was also interesting to see how the systems developed and progressed into the system we use today.

Below in some information about some of the earlier Numeration Systems.

Egyptian System

*The egyptian system was created in 3400 B.C.
*This system used hierogyphics as symbols for each number.
*This system has no place value (contains no zero).
Below is a visual representation of the Eygyptian System.  
*base 10
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Egyptian_numerals.html

Roman System
* The "Roman Numeration System" is actually the Roman Numerals that are still occasionally used today- Think of book indexes, movie and television show copywrite numbers, chapter numbers in books, outlines, etc.
* There are many rules involved in using the Roman System.
-> powers of 10 (I, X, or C) can be subtracted from another number (symbol), and only a single letter can be subtracted from a single numeral.
->Don't subtract a letter from another letter that is more than ten times greater. 
*base 10
* 1=I     6=VI     40=XL
   2=II   7 = VII   50=L
   3=III  8=VIII    100= C
   4 =IV  9=VIV   10,000= X (with a line over it)
   5=V    10=X
   

Mayan System
*The Mayan system includes 3 symbols, including zero. 
*The symbol for zero can vary- it can look like an eye or a conch shell.
*base 20 & 18x20


  * http://www.basic-mathematics.com/mayan-numeration-system.html This is a helpful website that shows the mayan symbols and gives examples on how to use them.
   
Babylonian System
*includes 3 symbols:  a "martini glass" and a "boomerang" shape.  The third symbol is a combination of the other two.
* base 60
*does not include zero (no place holder)


*Although this doesn't seem specifically related to these systems, i found this to be a very useful hint, which I was reminded of  in class last week:  the word number refers to the value of the numeric symbol being used.  (e.g. the number 7 is greater than the number 4). The word numeral refers to the symbol itself. (e.g. the numeral 4 is greater than the numeral 7). *