I just stumbled upon this great little video about Ancient Numeration Systems. It does not go into depth on any particular system, but it wanders through the following:
- Tally marks
- Sumerian symbols
- Babylonian symbols
- Egyptian symbols
- Roman symbols and modifications of it
- Number systems based on the body (Zulu)
- Commerce-based number systems (Yoruba in Nigeria)
- Number systems involving knots and string (Persians, Incans)
- Numerals 0-9 (invented in India)
- Place value
- Fractions as a solution for “fair-share” situations in culture
- Unit Fractions (Egyptians)
- Fractions with base-60 (Sumerians and Babylonians), still used for time measurements today
- Abacus (Chinese)
- Use of the “bar notation” in modern-day fractions
- Computation by the double-half method (Russian)
- Computation by a doubling procedure (Egyptian)
- Computation by an abacus (Europe and Asia), the “handheld calculator of its day”
- Introduction of Arabic Numerals in Europe
- Importance of mental math algorithms to check for reasonableness
This would be a great introduction video to a unit that involves Numeration Systems.
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