Babylonian mathematics and Plimpton 322
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
The Babylonians used a base-60 number system. Our 60-minute hour and 360-degree circle come from it. The clay tablet known as Plimpton 322 lists numbers we now call "Pythagorean triples". What the tablet was written for is debated.
For specialists
Plimpton 322 (Old Babylonian, c. 1822–1762 BCE, Larsa) contains fifteen rows of integer pairs corresponding to the sides of right triangles, plus a column of ratios. Mansfield and Wildberger read it as "exact sexagesimal trigonometry", a table based on ratios instead of angles. Robson argues it is a teacher's list of problems generated with the reciprocal-pair method.
Claims
Evidence
Supporting
The rows are ordered so that they form right triangles whose side ratios change steadily.[2]
Challenging
The reciprocal-pair method is common on school tablets of the period and readily generates the table's numbers. The concept of angle is not attested in Babylonian mathematics.[1]
Connections
Parent
MathematicsThis topic is a stop on these journeys
Sources
- Article (2001). Neither Sherlock Holmes nor Babylon: a reassessment of Plimpton 322. Historia Mathematica 28(3), 167–206DOI 10.1006/hmat.2001.2317archive
- Article (2017). Plimpton 322 is Babylonian exact sexagesimal trigonometry. Historia Mathematica 44(4), 395–419DOI 10.1016/j.hm.2017.08.001archive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). Babylonian mathematics and Plimpton 322. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/babil-matematigi/
@misc{athena_babil_matematigi,
title = {Babylonian mathematics and Plimpton 322},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/babil-matematigi/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history