A-B-C, Easy as 1-2-3

Mathematics has come a long way over the years and continues to make strides today.

Before we had the number system that we have today, mathematics was represented in various

ways. Some other number systems that have been used in mathematics are the Roman numerals

and the Mayan systems. Looking into it, it has been interesting to see the differences and the

similarities between the Indo-Arabic system that we use today.

The Roman system is periodically used today on things like clocks, books, and fancier

items, but isn’t used for counting too much any more. This system was started originally by the

Romans back in the 8th to 9th century. Some of its

biggest setbacks was that there wasn’t a zero in their

system and it was hard to display larger numbers and

fractions. They didn’t necessarily need place values or a

zero to hold place values because they would just use a

symbol that represented a larger number. Not having a

zero or a way to represent fractions kept them from advancing in some aspects, mathematically

and architecturally. Although, they were still able to have a great economy and empire through

this system ("The History of Roman Numerals", 2015). *the chart was found from the same

website.

Another number system that was used many years ago is the Mayan number system.The

Mayans are known for being able to figure out the calendar year based off of learning about

astronomy and mathematics. Their number system is related to their findings to the calendar

year. In the Mayan number system, there are three different symbols that are used to represent
numerals. The first one being a pie or shell shape to represent 0, a horizontal bar to represent 5s,

and dots to represent 1s. The bottom position, almost like a place value, represents the ones. The

bottom place value only goes up to 19 so anything 20 and above will go into the next number

position. The second place value is multiplied by 20 to find the value. Each place value used to

go up by the powers of 20, but “in their calendar calculations they gave the third position a value

of 360 instead of 400 (higher positions revert to multiples of 20)” because it’s closer to a

calendar year (Mastin, 2010). The place values are now 1, 20, 20 × 18, 20^2 × 18, 20^3× 18,

Etc..

(Mastin, 2010)

Unlike the Romans, the Mayans had a zero. Although, they both were not able to create

fractions like the Indo-Arabic number system that we have today. Having a zero was beneficial

since the Mayans used place value in their number system. In the Indo-Arabic number system,

place values and zeros are also used in order to represent numbers. There are other differences

that these two number systems had. The Romans would just write a larger numeral instead of

writing out the zero, because they did not have place values as mentioned before. Another

difference was that the Romans wrote their numbers horizontally like it is displayed in the Indo

Arabic number system, while the Mayans wrote theirs vertically. This doesn’t make a difference

to how their math was done, but it’s important to know when using it. Also, Roman numerals are
still seen occasionally today, while it is very rare to see the numerals that the Mayans used. On

the other hand, we use their calendar system every day, which was made possible because of

their number system.

Although they had many differences, they also had many similarities. The Roman and the

Mayan system are both impressive ways to look at numbers. Both civilizations were able to do

amazing things with the number systems that they came up with. Also, both systems had a way

to add and subtract in order to solve for missing pieces. They definitely have helped our number

system to become what it is today.

 References

Mastin, L. (2010). Mayan Mathematics. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from

https://www.storyofmathematics.com/mayan.html

McKay, K. (2017, November 29). How to Read and Write Roman Numerals. Retrieved February

13, 2019, from

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/even-when-not-in-romeyou-should-know-your-r

oman-numerals/

The History of Roman Numerals. (2015). Retrieved February 13, 2019, from

http://historylearning.com/a-history-of-ancient-rome/history-of-roman-numerals/