Topic outline

  • Courtesy of Lanterna at Flickr
  • Introduction

    Take a look at Babylonian mathematics - which is still in use when you work with time (60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour...) and astrology. In this short course, you will learn how a series of discoveries have enabled historians to decipher stone tablets and study the various techniques the Babylonians used for problem-solving and teaching.

    Learning Outcomes

    After studying this unit you should be able to:

    • know something about cuneiform how it was used to represent numbers for mathmatical problem solving and computation;
    • understand the relationship between a decimal place-value system and a sexagesimal one;
    • appreciate the advanced understanding of mathematics in Ancient Mesopotamia in relation to anyone in medieval Christian Europe 3000 years later.
  • Lessons

    Follow along with the lessons to begin to learn how to Babylonian mathematics worked.

  • Additional resources