𒐕 𒐖 𒐗 𒐘 𒐙
Babylonian numerals
A place-value system in base 60, with no zero.
StructurePositional — a digit's value depends on the column it sits in
Base60
ZeroNone — the system never needs one
RegionMesopotamia
Datesc. 2000 BCE; a placeholder sign appears only c. 700–300 BCE
UnicodeU+12400–U+1247F
Status historic
Curatorial note
The first positional system anywhere, and it ran on base 60. Two wedge shapes build the digits 1–59, and their column decides their value. For most of its life it had no zero at all — an empty column was simply a gap, and the reader supplied the magnitude from context. Sixty is still on every clock face and every protractor.
Specimen
The digits, at size 56 𒐕 𒐖 𒐗 𒐘 𒐙
40 𒐕 𒐖 𒐗 𒐘 𒐙
26 𒐕 𒐖 𒐗 𒐘 𒐙
17 𒐕 𒐖 𒐗 𒐘 𒐙