The Legacy of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian civilizations developed a sexagesimal, base-60 numbering system, which has survived to the present day in the division of the hour into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds, as well as in the division of the circle into 360 degrees. This system coexisted with decimal-based elements and enabled notable advances in arithmetic, elementary algebra, and the calculation of roots, documented on mathematical tablets such as the well-known Plimpton 322.