What mathematical system did the Mayas use?
The Mayas didn’t use the decimal system, which means that they didn’t count in units of 10, but instead in units of 20. For this reason, their system is known as a ‘vigesimal’. It could be that our decimal system is based on the 10 fingers on our hands. So maybe the Mayas took into consideration the 10 toes, too! With the dots and bars, they could count up to the number 19. If we include the number 0, we can say that there were 20 numbers. After this point, they had to repeat the same numbers, but not like we do from left to right, but instead from the bottom up. This seems a little strange to us, but for them it was very normal – that’s how plants grow, after all!
