1. Number Stories of Long Ago AMATYC Denver 2017 Janet Teeguarden
Fun With Math
Number Stories of
Long Ago
AMATYC Denver 2017
Janet Teeguarden

2. One
Two
Many
Ching

3. One
Two
Three
Many
An-am

4. One
Two
Three
Four
Many
Menes

5. Many centuries later…..

6. In Ancient Egypt
Story Time….

7. Ca 3000 BC – 300 BC
Ahmes

8. Red sea

9. The Priest’s 27,529

10. Heiroglyphics,
Base Ten
An additive system
In Egypt… BC

12. Egyptian numeral for 4124

13. Egyptian Numerals Can you write the Egyptian numerals for 1,243
121,036
Egyptian Numerals

14. Egyptian Numerals Question:
Ahmes can write the number for 1,000,000 with just 1 symbol, the “astonished man!”
But just one number less ????
How many symbols would Ahmes have to use to write the number 999,999?
Egyptian Numerals

15. Cross Number Puzzle
(Work together)
Egyptian Numerals

16. In Babylon in Mesopotamia
Story Time….

17. Ca BC
Lugal

19. Pressed a pointed stick on damp clay
Cuneiform symbols –
(Wedge-shaped)

20. Babylonian Numeration
Two distinct symbols were used,
a unit symbol
and a ten symbol  
Babylonian Numeration

21. Babylonia (Babylon)… 2000 BC
First to use place value
Base 60 system
But NO Zero!
Babylonia (Babylon)… 2000 BC

22. Base 60 Place Values _______ _______ _______ _______
_______ _______ _______ _______
216000’s ’s ’s ’s
Base 60 Place Values

24. Babylonian Numerals

25. Babylonian 424,000

26. Cross Number Puzzle
(Work together)
Babylonian Numerals

27. In Ancient China
Story Time……

28. BC
Chang

30. Simple Numerals

31. Complex Numerals

32. The complex numerals are used on cheques, banknotes and coins and are the equivalent of writing 'one', 'two', 'three', etc, rather than 1, 2, 3. The simple numerals are used for everything else.

33. 123, Simple and Complex

34. Cross Number Puzzle
(Work together)
Chinese Numerals

35. In the Ancient
Roman Empire
Story Time….

36. 753 BC – 476 AD
Titus

37. Ancient Roman Empire

38. Roman Numerals

39. Addition – oh my!

40.
What’s wrong here?

41. Cross Number Puzzle
(Work together)
Roman Numerals

42. Ancient Mayan Civilization
Story Time….

43. 250 AD – 900 AD
(Early Maya 2000 BC AD)
Kawil

44. Ancient Maya

45. Mayan – 300 AD Only 3 symbols Base twenty (mostly)
First to use a symbol for zero as a place holder (36 BC)
Vertical numbers
Mayan – 300 AD

46. Mayan

47. Mayan

48. Mayan Place Values _____ 18 x (144000’s) _____ 18 x (7200’s)

50. Cross Number Puzzle
(Work together)
Mayan Numeration

51. Today’s Numbers
(Hindu-Arabic)
The rest of the story…

52. Arabic/Islamic Peoples to
India to
Arabic/Islamic Peoples to
Europe (ca 1200 AD)
(thanks to Fibonacci)

54. MacTutor website –
But just type MacTutor in your browser
and then click on History Topics Index
Look at Indian Mathematics and Arabic Mathematics
(Click on Indian numerals and Arabic numerals)

55. Thank you for coming!
to request BIBLIOGRAPHY POWERPOINT ANSWER KEY to the cross-number puzzle