The Mayan Numbering System
Rather than a system of math based on the number ten digits (like we use today), the Maya used a
base number of 20. They also used representations of bars and dot as a record of counting. A dot stood
for one and a bar stood for five. Interestingly, the Maya were the earliest known culture to have a
concept of "zero" that they actually applied to their sciences and maths.
Here is a brief breakdown of their numbering system:
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0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
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5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
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10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
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Because the base of the number system was 20, larger numbers were written down in powers of 20. We
do something similar in our decimal system, too: for example 32 is 3 x 10 + 2. In the Maya system, this
would be 1 x 20 + 12 with 20 as the base.
So for the Maya, calculations became a quick and easy system of counting, or subtracting dots and bars.
Maya traders often used cocoa beans as symbols to represent the various quantities of items of value.
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