The Babylonians used a base-60 (or sexagesimal) positional numeral system borrowed from the Sumerians. Sexagesimals still survive to this day, in the form of degrees, minutes, and seconds in trigonometry and the measurement of time.

A common theory is that sixty was chosen due to its prime factorization 2*2*3*5 which makes it divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30. Integers and fractions were represented identically - a radix point was not written but rather made clear by context.

The numerals were written in cuneiform, using a wedge-tipped reed stylus to make a mark on a soft clay tablet which would be exposed in the Sun to harden to create a permanent record.

External link

• Babylonian numerals (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Babylonian_numerals.html)
• Cuneiform numbers (http://it.stlawu.edu/%7Edmelvill/mesomath/Numbers.html)