Origin of the Sexagesimal System: Interaction of Language and Writing

Abstract

The origin of the sexagesimal system has been much debated, but all past theories have neglected the linguistic evidence of the ancient cuneiform lexica. The problem or origin is twofold: 1) the origin of counting with sixty as a base and 2) the origin of sexagesimal place notation. The first problem is linguistic and anthropological in nature and must be studied through the ancient lexica. The second can be elucidated by a combined analysis of the Sumerian number words and the symbols used to represent them. Such an analysis indicated that sexagesimal place notation arose from an interaction between the numerational framework of the Sumerian language and the symbols used to write those numbers, but the sudden appearance of place notation about 2050 B.C. indicates that the final step toward the creation of place notation was an act of conscious invention.