Scientists recently claimed that mathematics did exist long before numbers were written down and artefacts were made based on mathematical calculations! They have made this claim after examining a clay pot from the Mesopotamian civilisation, which dates back to approximately 6,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Archaeologists are quite certain that the Halafian culture of northern Mesopotamia painted floral patterns on clay pots that follow mathematical systems, such as geometry, symmetry and spatial long division. The recent study published in the Journal of World Prehistory has revealed how mathematics was known even during prehistoric times, without even the existence of numbers. Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered the pottery from a prehistoric culture, known as the Halafian. This society used to live in northern Mesopotamia from 6200 to 5500 BCE. Analysis of the flower motifs on them showed that they were placed in a particular pattern and archaeologists have discovered around 700 fragments with such depictions.

Professor Yosef Garfinkel and Professor Sarah Krulwich of the Hebrew University have informed the press that they traced the oldest consistent use of plant imagery in human art to more than 8,000 years ago. “The findings show that early farming communities carefully painted flowers, shrubs, branches and trees, arranging them in ways that reflect deliberate geometric structure and numerical order,” they stressed. Interestingly, one of the most notable discoveries involves the way flowers were arranged on the pottery. A number of bowls display floral patterns with petal numbers that follow clear numerical sequences, including 4, 8, 16, 32 and even groupings of 64 flowers. Researchers have argued that evidence of algorithms predating the invention of numbers has become clear in these clay vessels, saying that no older documented evidence of mathematical calculations has been found.

According to historians, numbers were not invented in a single day or in a particular place. It is widely believed that the numbers – one to nine – were discovered in Mesopotamia around 5,000-6,000 years ago. Meanwhile, the Hebrew University researchers have claimed that mathematics existed in Mesopotamia before the invention of numbers. They believe that the way flowers were painted on clay pots was not possible without the knowledge of geometrical dimensions.

Previously, all the ancient vessels discovered by archaeologists had images of animals or humans painted on them. However, images of flowers on ancient vessels have not been found (although people had an idea about the usage of flowers and leaves at that period of time). Hence, the clay pots from Mesopotamia are an exception.

According to the study authors, it is difficult to know how much mathematical ability prehistoric communities had without the existence of written evidence. However, the discovery and analysis of the vegetal decoration of Halafian pottery vessels “enables some understanding of these aspects“. Professor Krulwich has mentioned in a statement: “These patterns show that mathematical thinking began long before writing. People visualised divisions, sequences and balance through their art.” She believes the Halafians were using these concepts in their daily lives, such as for “sharing harvests or allocating communal fields“.

For his part, Professor Garfinkel has stated that the mathematical concepts on these pottery are years older than the first written mathematical texts from Sumer in southern Mesopotamia.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das