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From Numbers to Numerals 9
the lack of other writing materials led the people to gam- p inscriptions
on clay bricks with sticks which usually were triangular
with sharp edges. The cuneiform numerals for t, 2, and 3 are
Y YT TIT. These numerals first appear on the clay bricks of
the Sumerians and the Chaldcans, but they were used afterwards
by the Babylonians, the Hittites, the Assyrians, and other ancient
races. They have been found as far west as Egypt, as far north
as Asia Minor (Anatolia), and as far east as Iran (Persia). They
are known to have been used about five thousand years ago, and
to have continued in use for about three thousand years.
Sumerian Tablet in thelStatc Museum, Berlin. In the second column, line 2,
is the number 6o + to ÷ to ÷ to ÷ to, or too. (From Menninger,
Zahlwort and Ziffer.)
In writing numerals, the Babylonians sometimes used a stick
with a circular cross section, which gave the "one" the shape of
a pebble or a bead.- They thus had two types of numerals, as may
be understood from the following table:
Y
Triangle Y r
Circle 0 0 D 10
Value t to 6o 6o x to
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