Ancient Babylonians used a mathematical system based on the number sixty
The ancient Babylonians developed a sophisticated sexagesimal numbering system that still dictates how we measure time and angles nearly four thousand years later.
The Babylonian sexagesimal system used sixty as its base rather than the modern decimal base of ten. This choice was likely due to sixty being a highly composite number, meaning it can be easily divided by two, three, four, five, and six. This mathematical flexibility allowed ancient scholars to perform complex calculations involving fractions with incredible precision.
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