β All ancient topics
How did people count big numbers?
Fingers, knots and clever symbols
Ever wonder how you would count a massive flock of sheep if you only had ten fingers?
1/5
- Long ago
Body counting
You start by counting on your ten fingers and toes. But what happens when you run out of digits?
The big idea
Long ago, people invented clever tools and symbols to count way past ten.
Fun facts
- β¨ The ancient Maya were one of the very first groups of people to use a symbol for zero!
- β¨ The word 'digit' means a finger or toe, and it also means any number from 0 to 9!
- β¨ Roman numerals do not have a symbol for zero, which made doing big math really tricky!
Science words
- Quipu β A set of knotted strings used long ago to store numbers and information.
- Tally β A mark made to keep track of a count, one by one.
- Digit β A single symbol used to make numbers, or one of your fingers or toes.