instance, writing the number 87 in the Egyptian system would require 15 symbols: eight heels and seven vertical marks. The new Greek system would need only two symbols: π for 80, and ζ for 7. (The Roman system, which supplanted Greek numbers, was a step backward toward the less sophisticated Egyptian system. The Roman 87, LXXXVII, requires seven

How would a Babylonian write the number 60? The number 1 was easy to write: . Unfortunately, 60 was also written as ; the only difference was that was in the second position rather than the first.