Zero

At least as far back as Ancient Egypt, the number system has been in use. For a very long time, however, the concept of zero was not included in that. Math and geometry have been completely devoid of the concept of nothing for years, if not millennia, which has obviously complicated ordinary computations.

Around 300 BC, ancient Babylonia became the first society to develop a practical understanding of 0; yet, it was only applied to numerals that had a 0 between them, never at the start or end. While it was an excellent way to tell apart numbers like 68 from 608, for example, the idea was never expanded to include calculations of a more intricate kind. Around six centuries later, the Mayans experimented with the idea as well, but only for dates and days in their incredibly complicated calendar systems.

Ancient India was the first culture to truly understand zero as we understand it today. While other eminent Indian mathematicians over the ages made significant contributions to the theory, Brahmagupta was the first to accurately clarify its application and operation in the year 628.