We all have heard of the huge amount of clay tablets
that were found over the centuries in the Near East and more specifically in
the area of ancient Babylon .
While a great number of them are still resting in the vaults of museums all
over the world and an unspecified number are still waiting to be excavated from
known and unknown archaeological sites, we do have an impressive collection at
hand to work with. Unfortunately, scholars capable of reading and/or deciphering
the cuneiform tablets are limited meaning that significant texts from these
tablets only surface occasionally, sometimes with very revealing results.
At present, we have a 3,700-year-old tablet
from the collection of Columbia
University proving that dear old Pythagoras was
not the true inventor of his famous theorem. Pythagoras was born in Samos , probably around 570 BC, and lived till the age of 75 or even 80 years. His theorem has become common knowledge over the
centuries and we may never have heard of this mathematician, scientist, and
philosopher otherwise.
The tablet mentioned above, however, is proof
that Pythagoras’ theorem existed
already some 1,000 years earlier. Also, the same tablet contains a series of
trigonometry tables which according to scientists are more accurate than our
modern counterparties. Trigonometry as such is said to be invented by Hipparchus of Nicaea, an astronomer,
geographer, and mathematician who lived probably from 190 to 120 BC. The
abovementioned cuneiform, however, shows that the Babylonians were totally
familiar with trigonometry more than one thousand years earlier. Besides, this
tablet reveals a greater accuracy with clear advantages when compared to our
modern trigonometry.
A team from the University
of New South Wales in Sydney concluded after an
in-depth study that this tablet is the world’s oldest and the only completely
accurate trigonometric table. This little but important tool could effectively
be used in surveying fields as well as in the building process of constructions
like temples, palaces, and pyramids. It seems that even in our modern world, the
tablet could have practical applications in computer graphics and education as
well.
What eluded researchers till now was the true
purpose of this tablet but today they established that the Babylonians used a
novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios instead of angles and circles. Using
the number 60 instead of our 10 (decimal) as the base for their calculations
enabled the Babylonians to reach more accurate fractions and in the present
case, the system proves to be an absolute genius.
Nothing new
under the sun, one could say. I am often itching to see more of these cuneiform
tablets be deciphered although they have already revealed some key moments
in history (see also: The
Cyrus cylinder and ancient Persia: a new beginning; Alexander
the Great and the Magi; The troops of the King deserted him; and Two
key Afterthoughts on Gaugamela).
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