Babylonian mathematics
Babylonian mathematics (also known as Assyro-Babylonian mathematics) is the mathematics produced or performed by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia from the time of the early Sumerians to the decades after Babylon's collapse in 539 BC. The Sumerian culture swiftly distinguished itself from others through the development of mathematics, especially arithmetic and algebra. The sexagesimal (base 60) numeric system was used in Mesopotamian mathematics and science. This is where the 60-minute hour, 24-hour day, and 360-degree circle come from. The Sumerian calendar was lunisolar, with a lunar month divided into three seven-day weeks. This type of mathematics proved useful in the creation of early maps.
The Babylonians also developed theorems for calculating the area of various forms and solids. They calculated the circumference of a circle to be three times the diameter and the area to be one-twelfth the square of the circumference, which is right if remained constant at 3. The volume of a cylinder was calculated as the product of the area of the base and the height; however, the volume of a cone or square pyramid's frustum was calculated improperly as the product of the height and half the total of the bases. In addition, a tablet was discovered recently that was marked as 25/8 (3.125 instead of 3.14159). The Babylonians are also known for the Babylonian mile, a unit of measurement equivalent to approximately seven contemporary miles (11 km). This distance measurement was subsequently changed to a time-mile, which was used to measure the Sun's journey and so represented time.
