Today I got a really great request: some information about the Mayan system of performing mathematical calculations. It's well-known that Mayan reckoning of time is some of the most accurate in the history of the world - how did they do it? Turns out they used a vigesimal, or base-20, system. Euro-Westerners use a decimal, or base-10 system. The Mayans also had the concept of zero long before anyone in this part of the world even thought of it. Among the Maya, who inhabited parts of Mexico and areas of Central America between about 1000-1675, zero was represented by the sign of a shell, 1 was represented by a dot, and 5 a stick or line, grouped together with the horizontal lines below and the dots arranged horizontally above. To create larger numbers another group was simply placed vertically atop the previous group, and this upper group of signs increased by the power of 20, allowing for much larger numbers. I don't get to do much math, or much investigation into ancient hieroglyphic either - in my mind, I was Indiana Librarian today.
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