| How ancient civilisations used mathematics |
- Where did "mathematics" come
from?
- Our first knowledge of mankind's use of
mathematics beyond mere counting comes from the Egyptians and Babylonians. Both
civilizations developed mathematics that was similar in some ways but also very
different in others.
- Did ancient civilisations
(3000-2000 BC) know any maths?
- Yes - more than you'd think. The Babylonians
knew about algebra. They invented hours, minutes and seconds too. Much is known
about Babylonian maths because they wrote it down on tablets that have survived
to this day.
And they knew about Pythagoras' rule a thousand years before
he was born!
Judging by their Pyramids, the Ancient Egyptians must have
known a lot of maths too, but almost no record of it has survived.
- How did ancient civilisations build
things?
- When building the Pyramids, the Egyptians
could contruct right angles. They knew about the power of levers and how to use
slopes to get heavy objects from one place to another. They understood how
forces worked and how to make structures strong.
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