Math & science · c. 3,000 BCE

Numerals and arithmetic

Sumerian scribes turn tallies into written numerals and rules for adding, multiplying and dividing.

Clay tokens and then cuneiform numerals in Mesopotamia recorded grain, labour and taxes by about 3000 BCE. Written arithmetic made large-scale administration, trade and every later branch of mathematics possible.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Writing (cuneiform) 3200 BCE
Tally marks 20k BCE

What it led to 8

365-day civil calendar 2800 BCE
Great Pyramid of Giza 2560 BCE
Babylonian mathematics 1800 BCE
Abacus 500 BCE
Maya script 300 BCE
Decimal place value 458
Llull's Ars Magna 1305
Public-key cryptography 1976

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

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