Page "Babylonia" Paragraph 66

The Babylonian system of mathematics was sexagesimal, or a base 60 numeral system ( see: Babylonian numerals ).

From this we derive the modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 ( 60 x 6 ) degrees in a circle.

The Babylonians were able to make great advances in mathematics for two reasons.

First, the number 60 has many divisors ( 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30 ), making calculations easier.

Additionally, unlike the Egyptians and Romans, the Babylonians had a true place-value system, where digits written in the left column represented larger values ( much as in our base-ten system: 734 = 7 × 100 + 3 × 10 + 4 × 1 ).

Among the Babylonians ' mathematical accomplishments were the determination of the square root of two correctly to seven places ( YBC 7289 clay tablet ).

They also demonstrated knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem well before Pythagoras, as evidenced by this tablet translated by Dennis Ramsey and dating to ca.

1900 BC: