1
$\begingroup$

How did ancient Egyptians know that they have to choose the symbols for multiple of 10 in their Egyptian number system, since at that time hindu-arabic system was not there and no one knows what is 1,2,3,...or 10?

$\endgroup$
8
  • $\begingroup$ Somebody write please! $\endgroup$
    – user9281
    Dec 31, 2018 at 7:40
  • $\begingroup$ See Egyptian numerals. $\endgroup$ Dec 31, 2018 at 9:58
  • $\begingroup$ But I am asking after reading Wikipedia $\endgroup$
    – user9281
    Dec 31, 2018 at 9:59
  • $\begingroup$ What does it mean "at that time hindu-arabic system was not there and no one knows what is 1,2,3,...or 10?" Of course the hindu-arabic numerals were not yet available... thus, they used different numerals (symbols for numbers). Ancient Greeks used difefrent numerals, ancient Romans dufferent, and so on. $\endgroup$ Dec 31, 2018 at 10:00
  • $\begingroup$ how do we know that the Egyptians counting symbols correspond to power of 10 in today's language $\endgroup$
    – user9281
    Dec 31, 2018 at 10:05

1 Answer 1

2
$\begingroup$

The Egyptian language, like most languages of the world, has a counting system based implicitly on base 10. This is much older than any system of mathematical notation. When the Egyptians began writing numbers they reflected the counting system which existed in their language.

$\endgroup$
0

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.