The Mayans were one of the first cultures for the idea of zero. The Mayans use a number ideology called the positional system. The positional system is based on 20’s as we are based on 10’s. In our decimal system we move to the left as where the Mayan vigesimal system moves the places upwards as they reach 20. (Document
The Ancient Greeks laid foundations for the Western civilizations in the fields of math and science. Euclid, a Greek mathematician known as the “Father of Geometry,” is arguably the most prominent mind of the Greco-Roman time, best known for his composition in the area of geometry, the Elements. (Document 5) To this day, Euclid’s work is still taught in schools worldwide.
Another remarkable achievement by the Mayans was the creation of their unique number system as shown in the Note and Picture on Document C which comes from Whitlock in his book Everyday life of the Maya. This
For numbers they used a decimal system. They did not have numerals for 2 - 9 or zero. They just had numbers for factors of 10 such as 1, 10, 100, etc. In order to write the number 3 they would write down three number 1s. To write the number 40, they would write down four number
The scale of the cities were undoubtedly enormous, as they were able to fit millions of citizens. Lastly, the Mayan number system was their most remarkable achievement. They were one of the few civilizations to discover the concept of zero, which displays how intelligent the Mayans were. Moreover, their number system aided in creating their calendars, as the calendars had twenty days in a month. Through these achievements and inventions, the Mayans were able to flourish in economy and success.
He found the first “reliable figure” for π(pi) (Source A). In ancient Greece, the crude number system was very inefficient, and Archimedes made it easier to understand and count to higher numbers (Source B). Finally, he used the first known form of calculus while studying curved surfaces under Euclid, not to be later worked on for 2,000 years by Isaac Newton (Source A).
Some of these things are geometry, trigonometry, and the Thales intercept theorem. Trigonometry was invented by Hipparchus, geometry was invented by Euclid, and the inventor of the intercept theorem was obviously Thales. They did even more than this by improving methods in math. They also made one of the most important numbers in the world! This was known as pi, the 16th letter in the Greek alphabet.
For example, the Sumerians used a system of counting based on 60. Today, we use this concept in clocks, 60 minutes in a hour and in circles, 360 degrees. Also, they created the first system of writing called cuneiform. It later developed into arithmetic and language. Sumerians created wheeled transportation, the potter’s wheel as an artifact, glass, and the first city-states.
This form of math was created by Al-Khwarizmi, he studied Indian sources and later wrote a textbook about this type of math (Document 4). Muslim scholars also made many advances in trigonometry, astronomy and mapmaking. They developed ways to study astronomy and to create maps, by using trigonometry and other forms of math (Document 5). There was also great advances in science, science was used in many different parts of Islamic culture, such as religion were "The faithful... relied on" "astronomers to calculate the times of prayer and the direction on Mecca" (Document 1). Scholars also used astrolabes and armillary sphere 's in order to study the skies, so that they could "make calculations for their calendars and maps" (Document 5).
The understanding of mathematics also led them to advancements in astronomy and mapmaking. Document 5 states, “They used astrolabe (figure A) and the armillary sphere (Figure B) to study the skies and make calculations for their calendars and maps.” The two advancements mentioned in the evidence are both still
The numerical system that the Maya created was very important because of how and why it was used. The Maya's number system was based on dots, dashes, and shells. The Maya used this to their advantage because it made them make really accurate astronomical predictions. This also impacted how they made their calendar and how the numerical system connects to the calendars. The criteria for this achievement is also scale, effort, genius, and significance.
The Maya were one of the first civilizations to grasp the concept of zero, and they put it in their simple but effective number system. It was based on the number twenty, and despite working like ours, it only had 3 characters: the dot (the equivalent of 1), the bar (5), and the shell (0). English numbers move to the left when ten is reached: The Maya, whos number system was based on 20, moved upward. The shell made multiples of ten easier to write, and because of this simple number system, the Maya had easier time communicating, keeping records of things like currency and trades, and overall easier life and counting- all because of three symbols making up a number system.
The Mayans lived in Mesoamerica and was home to them for 3,000 years. Until 500 years ago, the Maya lived in isolation from the rest of the world practice agriculture and hunting. As their culture developed the Mayans built amzanging cities, royal palaces, ball courts and temple topped pyramids. The Mayan later abandoned many of their cities in 900 CE. While about five million still live in Mesoamerica speaking more than two dozen dialects of the Mayan languages and practicing some of the old ways but the Mayan have come up with many great ideas Trade Network, Architecture, Calendar but one that really stands out is the Number System because of the genius it took to create, mental effort to learn, the scale for how many people used it, and
The reason the Mayan number system was so remarkable and genius was because they only had 3 symbols. One of the symbols was a dot which stood for 1, the other a line which stood for 5, and the last was a shell which stood for 0. They used a shell to represent 0 because shells were special to the Mayans. The scale was very large, it affected everyone.
One of the reasons why I believe the mathematics calendar was the mayans greatest achievement is because they were the only empire/tribe that thought of this idea. Moving forward, mathematic helped them with communication and symbols. They are very smart when it comes to their math abilities. For example, they used symbols for numbers, carved math into walls, and used it for communication.
