Who Invented Numbers? (2024)

Wonder of the Day #2071

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Who Invented Numbers? (1)

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Have You Ever Wondered...

  • Who invented numbers?
  • Which famous mathematicians helped to develop numbers?
  • What impact did numbers have on developing societies?

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Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Sarah from Leander, TX. Sarah Wonders, “Where did our numbers 1-9 come from?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Sarah!

One plus one equals two. There are 60 seconds in one minute. Sixty minutes equals one hour. There are 24 hours in one day. One year consists of 365 days. These are all basic facts that we know by heart, but they highlight the importance of one thing: numbers.

Can you imagine a world without numbers? It's safe to say that society as we know it today would never have developed without numbers. The scientific and technological advances upon which society is built depend upon mathematics, which in turn depends upon numbers.

Despite their importance, the development of numbers remains mostly a mystery. That's because the first ancient prehistoric people who likely developed simple methods of counting didn't leave any records behind to explain themselves.

Common sense and ancient evidence points to the idea that numbers and counting began with the number one. Although they probably didn't call it "one," prehistoric people likely counted by ones and kept track by carving lines on a bone.

Evidence that this occurred as long as 20,000 years ago can be found on an ancient artifact known as the Ishango Bone. Found in Africa in 1960, the Ishango Bone (a fibula of a baboon) features a series of lines that look like what we would call "tally marks" today.

Keeping track of small numbers of items with tally marks was sufficient for individuals and small groups. As societies began to form and grow, however, trade became more complex, requiring the development of numbers to perform simple mathematical calculations.

Historians believe numbers and counting expanded beyond one around 4,000 B.C. in Sumeria, which was located in southern Mesopotamia in what is now southern Iraq. One of the first civilizations to feature cities that were centers of trade, the people of Sumeria needed new methods of counting and record-keeping.

While new numbers and counting systems were being developed in Sumeria, so were the basics of arithmetic and writing. Keeping track of goods being traded required writing and basic addition and subtraction in addition to an expanded number and counting system.

All of these foundational ideas developed simultaneously as cities grew and trade flourished. Some historians believe that some of these same ideas developed independently in other areas of the world, too.

For example, the Arabic numeral system we're all familiar with today is usually credited to two mathematicians from ancient India: Brahmagupta from the 6th century B.C. and Aryabhat from the 5th century B.C.

Eventually, numbers were necessary for more than simply counting things. We can thank the ancient Egyptians for making the leap from using numbers to count to using them to measure things. Historians believe their use of numbers for measurement allowed the ancient Egyptians to build the pyramids and lay the foundation for advanced mathematics concepts, such as geometry.

Standards: CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.W.9, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2

Wonder What's Next?

Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day features a cataclysmic ending!

Try It Out

Are you ready to count? Don't forget to check out the following activities with a friend or family member:

  • Can you believe that some of the oldest evidence of numbers was found on a bone? Jump online to check out the Mathematical Treasure: Ishango Bone page to learn more about this interesting artifact. If you had found this bone, would you have had any idea what it showed and how important it was?
  • Do you rely heavily on numbers on a daily basis? You might be surprised! Try going as long as you possibly can without using any numbers. That means no television, since you need numbers to choose the proper channel. You also can't throw a snack in the microwave, since you'd need numbers to program it to cook for a certain amount of time. How else do numbers come up? Once you start thinking about it, you'll be amazed at how interwoven numbers are in your daily life!
  • You're familiar with the normal base-10 number system that uses 0-9, but did you realize there are a variety of other number systems out there, such as base-8, base-2, and even base-16? Check out Number Systems online to learn how these other interesting number systems work!

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Wonder Contributors

We’d like to thank:

Alexis from KY, Trevor and Sarah
for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!

Keep WONDERing with us!

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Who Invented Numbers? (2024)

FAQs

Who Invented Numbers? ›

Answer and Explanation: Archaeological remains that are tens of thousands of years old have been found that represent rudimentary markings systems. However, the first true system of numbers was invented by the Sumerians in about 3400 BC. No one known the name of the person who invented this system.

Who first invented numbers? ›

Numerals. Numbers should be distinguished from numerals, the symbols used to represent numbers. The Egyptians invented the first ciphered numeral system, and the Greeks followed by mapping their counting numbers onto Ionian and Doric alphabets.

Who invented the number 0 9? ›

Hindu-Arabic numerals, set of 10 symbols—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0—that represent numbers in the decimal number system. They originated in India in the 6th or 7th century and were introduced to Europe through the writings of Middle Eastern mathematicians, especially al-Khwarizmi and al-Kindi, about the 12th century.

Who invented knowing our numbers? ›

Indians codified the arithmetic with zero. They are the first to use a notation reminiscent of our modern Arabic numerals. so, we can conclude that Aryabhata is the father of the number system because he developed the place-value notation in the $5^{th}$ century.

Who found zero? ›

The origin of zero in India came from a well-known astronomer and mathematician of his time, Aryabhatta. The well-known scientist used zero as a placeholder number. In the 5th century, Aryabhatta introduced zero in the decimal number system and hence, introduced it in mathematics.

Why does 10 come after 9? ›

The simple answer is that we usually use a base 10 system for counting. With 10 fingers to count and all. Plus, it is easier to comprehend like when we go from 1–10. After counting all your fingers, you would start with another set of 10 and so forth and so on.

Who created algebra? ›

In the 9th century, a Persian mathematician named Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi discovered a simpler way to dissect math problems. His contributions to the field of mathematics are now taught in classrooms every day.

Who is the father of mathematics? ›

Archimedes is widely regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians in history, earning him the title of the "Father of Mathematics." Born in Syracuse, Sicily, in 287 BC, Archimedes was a polymath who made significant contributions to a wide range of fields, including mathematics, physics, engineering, and astronomy.

How was ten written before zero? ›

Actually there are two ways to write numbers. One is symboling form and other is alphabetic form. Before the discovery of zero, people used to represent the numbers largely alphabetically like saying 'ten', 'hundred' and so on.

When was math invented? ›

From around 2500 BC onward, the Sumerians wrote multiplication tables on clay tablets and dealt with geometrical exercises and division problems. The earliest traces of the Babylonian numerals also date back to this period. The Babylonian mathematical tablet Plimpton 322, dated to 1800 BC.

Who invented 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9? ›

For example, the Arabic numeral system we're all familiar with today is usually credited to two mathematicians from ancient India: Brahmagupta from the 6th century B.C. and Aryabhat from the 5th century B.C. Eventually, numbers were necessary for more than simply counting things.

Who founded 1? ›

Answer: Number 1 to 9 were invented by the Arabians.

Why is 6 special? ›

Cultural Significance

Many cultures consider six to be a symbol of harmony and balance. In ancient Greek philosophy, it was associated with the idea of perfection and completeness, while in Chinese culture, it is often linked to good fortune.

Who discovered infinity? ›

The earliest recorded idea of infinity in Greece may be that of Anaximander (c. 610 – c. 546 BC) a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. He used the word apeiron, which means "unbounded", "indefinite", and perhaps can be translated as "infinite".

Who found pi? ›

The first calculation of π was done by Archimedes of Syracuse (287–212 BC), one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world.

Who destroyed zero? ›

During the battle, both One and Mikhail are killed, then Zero is killed by a male clone of One created as a fail-safe in the event of Zero's victory.

Who invented real numbers? ›

Mathematician Richard Dedekind asked these questions 159 years ago at ETH Zurich, and became the first person to define real numbers.

What was the first number to ever exist? ›

Common intuition, and recently discovered evidence, indicates that numbers and counting began with the number one. (Even though in the beginning, they likely didn't have a name for it.) The first solid evidence of the existence of the number one, and that someone was using it to count, appears about 20,000 years ago.

Who is known as the father of numbers? ›

An Indian mathematician Aryabhatta is the father of the number system.

Who invented whole numbers? ›

Bob sinclar discovered whole numbers in 1968. Whole Numbers? The subset of the number system that consists of all positive integers including 0 is defined as a whole number. The whole number counts from zero to positive infinity.

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