Zero as a number seems obvious now, but most ancient cultures had none. The Maya developed a symbol for zero independently, shaped like a shell, and used it in their calendar inscriptions.
Truth label: Established. Strong evidence and broad agreement among experts.
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Counting in twenties
Maya numbers used base 20, written with dots, bars and the shell for zero.
Others who got there
Babylonians used a placeholder sign, and Indian mathematicians later treated zero as a number in its own right, the version we use today.
Learn
- The Long Count. Maya dates counted days from a starting point in 3114 BCE. The famous 2012 date was just the end of one cycle.
Test yourself
What base did Maya numbers use?
20. They counted in twenties.
Sources
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