A fragment of clay in the British Museum, written somewhere between 350 and 50 BC and found near the Esagila temple in Babylon, carries a calculation of how far Jupiter moves across the sky.
I find it curious that there isn't more information about Sumaria. It is all hidden in Museums around the world. I think the reason is that it disputes Darwinism and incidently, Avraham came from Ur in Sumaria.
The Greeks had regular communication with the nations of western Asia, as well as with Egypt. knowledge gleaned from conversations with Assyrians and Babylonians could well have included scientific and mathematical knowledge that the older civilizations had determined.
The Babylonian trapezoid calculation on this clay fragment is a profound testament to the sophistication of ancient mathematical thought. Long before the time of Pythagoras, these scribes were clearly engaging with concepts that require an understanding of geometry and trigonometry. Calculating Jupiter’s movement by determining the area of a trapezoid demonstrates not just numerical skill but also spatial reasoning and the abstraction of motion into geometric form.
This suggests that the Babylonians possessed a working knowledge of geometric principles that predates the formalization of such knowledge in Greek mathematics. Their ability to translate celestial motion into shapes and areas implies an intuitive grasp of relationships akin to what we now call trigonometry. While Pythagoras and his followers systematized these ideas, the groundwork appears to have been laid long before, by civilizations who observed patterns in the heavens and expressed them with remarkable precision in clay and cuneiform.
Ultimately, this artifact challenges the narrative that advanced geometric and trigonometric thinking began with the Greeks. Instead, it reflects a continuum of human curiosity, where the Babylonians were already exploring the universe with tools of reasoning centuries ahead of their time.
I find it curious that there isn't more information about Sumaria. It is all hidden in Museums around the world. I think the reason is that it disputes Darwinism and incidently, Avraham came from Ur in Sumaria.
The Greeks had regular communication with the nations of western Asia, as well as with Egypt. knowledge gleaned from conversations with Assyrians and Babylonians could well have included scientific and mathematical knowledge that the older civilizations had determined.
The Babylonian trapezoid calculation on this clay fragment is a profound testament to the sophistication of ancient mathematical thought. Long before the time of Pythagoras, these scribes were clearly engaging with concepts that require an understanding of geometry and trigonometry. Calculating Jupiter’s movement by determining the area of a trapezoid demonstrates not just numerical skill but also spatial reasoning and the abstraction of motion into geometric form.
This suggests that the Babylonians possessed a working knowledge of geometric principles that predates the formalization of such knowledge in Greek mathematics. Their ability to translate celestial motion into shapes and areas implies an intuitive grasp of relationships akin to what we now call trigonometry. While Pythagoras and his followers systematized these ideas, the groundwork appears to have been laid long before, by civilizations who observed patterns in the heavens and expressed them with remarkable precision in clay and cuneiform.
Ultimately, this artifact challenges the narrative that advanced geometric and trigonometric thinking began with the Greeks. Instead, it reflects a continuum of human curiosity, where the Babylonians were already exploring the universe with tools of reasoning centuries ahead of their time.