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The Mayan's number system was based on the number 20. Our number system is based on 10. Why did the Mayans use the number 20? A number system doesn't function unless the number zero is included. The Babylonians knew about the concept of zero.
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library.thinkquest.org/11577/numbers.htm
library.thinkquest.org/11577/numbers.htm
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Simple Mayan Mathematics ... This means that, instead of the number in the second postion having a value 10 times that of the numeral (as in 11 - 1 × 10 + 1 × 1), in the Mayan system, the number in the second place has a value 20 times the value of the numeral.
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www.hanksville.org/yucatan/mayamath.html
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Because the base of the number system was 20, larger numbers were written down in powers of 20. We do that in our decimal system too: for example 32 is 3*10+2. In the Maya system, this would be 1*20+12, because they used 20 as base.
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www.michielb.nl/maya/math.html
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Maya numerals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Pre-Columbian Maya civilization used a vigesimal (base-twenty) numeral system. The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (shell shape), one (a dot) and five (a bar). For example, nineteen (1...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_numerals
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The Mayan system of writing numbers was very simple. The way they wrote out numbers was using bars and dots. Each dot represents a "1" and each bar represents a "5". Using this system, you could write out any number from one to twenty by placinig bars and dots on top of each other.
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www.niti.org/mayan/lesson.htm
www.niti.org/mayan/lesson.htm
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The Mayan Number System ... The Mayan number system dates back to the fourth century and was approximately 1,000 years more advanced than the Europeans of that time. ... The Mayan system used a combination of two symbols. A dot (.) was used to represent the units (one through four) and a dash (-) was used to represent five.
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www.math.wichita.edu/history/topics/num-sys.html
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Surprising and advanced features of the Mayan number system are the zero, denoted by a shell for reasons we cannot explain, and the positional nature of the system. However, the system was not a truly positional system as we shall now explain.
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www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Mayan_mathemati...
www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Mayan_mathematics.html
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The Mayan number system was developed by the ancient Maya civilization of Central America. Similar to the number system we use today, the Mayan system operated with place values. To achieve this place value system they developed the idea of a zero placeholder.
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mathcentral.uregina.ca/RR/database/RR.09.00/hubbard1/
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Mayan Numbering System ... In the table above is some of the Mayan numbers and their names. Their number system is based on base 20, known as the "vigesima system." ... In the Mayan system, there are two kinds of elements in each place: dots and bars. A full place looks like this and can be expressed as 19 in our system:
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www.students.dsu.edu/rummelf/numbering_system.htm
www.students.dsu.edu/rummelf/numbering_system.htm
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