The history behind the origin of number is always a big mystery. But the numbers have immensely moulded the development and civilization of human race. Today we cant imagine a life without numbers system, because almost all our daily activities are depended on numbers.
At first during prehistoric time, people counted by carving the number One repeatedly in Wood, Bone or Stone. This shows that the history of mathematics began in the same way that we begin learning number “One”!
But it was not referred to as “one” back then. It was represented exactly in the same way how we represent today – with just a simple single vertical line.Historians and Mathematician have been able to collect concrete evidence, which clearly indicates that the number “one” was first used about 20,000 years ago in the African region of Congo.
The early Egyptian used strokes to count, while the Babylonians used some wedge shaped symbols. The numbers introduced by the Romans are still in use today.
The credit for introduction of 0 (zero) goes to Indians. This was very important invention, as it helped man to count beyond 9.
Roman Number System
Roman numerals are a system of numerical notations used by the Romans. They are an additive (and subtractive) system in which letters are used to denote certain “base” numbers, and arbitrary numbers are then denoted using combinations of symbols.. The symbols are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, standing respectively for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000.
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