When did the Egyptians adopt this number system?
The Ancient Egyptian Number system dates back to around 3000 BC. For some context, Stonehenge was built around this time, and bronze was the go-to metal, as iron had not yet been made useful by humans. So, it goes without saying that this system of numbering is quite old. The numbers can be found printed on or carved into many ancient artifacts, including pottery, structural building stones, and even papyrus.
Egyptian Papyrus
This type of paper is what most numbers would have been written on. Papyrus is similar to paper today, except that is much thicker and made with native Papyrus that grew along the Nile River.
Additional History
The Standard Number System of Ancient Egypt changed over time, however it used a similar format over the several thousand years, eventually improving upon the way that larger more complex numbers were written.
Here is an example of the revised, “newer” version of the number system, know as “Hieratic Numerals.
The Egyptians developed proper papyrus later on, as well as the Hieratic System, so this newer system was seen more on papyrus than carved in stone. On these stones, however, is where they used the traditional Hieroglyphic Number System.
