Who were the Mesopotamian
mathematicians ?
About a thousand miles east of the Nile lies the fertile valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, once known as Mesopotamia. During early history this land was the home of the Sumerians, Chaldeans, Assyrians and Babylonians. In some ways, their society was similar to Egypt's. Their mathematicians also belonged to the priestly caste. Unlike Egypt, Mesopotamia carried on extensive foreign trade with the people to the west in Lebanon, to the north in Asia Minor, to the east in India, and possibly even with China. What we know of their mathematics comes to us from the baked clay tablets on which they wrote. The Babylonians had advanced mathematical knowledge as far back as 2500 B.C.
We know that they inherited from the Sumerians their cuneiform, or wedge-shape, writing and numerals. We are indebted to these people for several of our basic mathematical concepts and notations.
About a thousand miles east of the Nile lies the fertile valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, once known as Mesopotamia. During early history this land was the home of the Sumerians, Chaldeans, Assyrians and Babylonians. In some ways, their society was similar to Egypt's. Their mathematicians also belonged to the priestly caste. Unlike Egypt, Mesopotamia carried on extensive foreign trade with the people to the west in Lebanon, to the north in Asia Minor, to the east in India, and possibly even with China. What we know of their mathematics comes to us from the baked clay tablets on which they wrote. The Babylonians had advanced mathematical knowledge as far back as 2500 B.C.
We know that they inherited from the Sumerians their cuneiform, or wedge-shape, writing and numerals. We are indebted to these people for several of our basic mathematical concepts and notations.
No comments:
Post a Comment