The Babylonian trigonometric table of 3700 years made the history of human mathematics rewrite

We all know that the Greeks were the father of trigonometry, but according to a recent finding, it turns out that the history of trigonometric mathematics we still know has been completely wrong. The Babylonians are the ones who invented trigonometry.

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Australian scientists have deciphered a clay plate dating back to 3,700 years that is the oldest Babylonian trigonometric table in the world. The text was named Plimptom 322, found by American archaeologist Edgar Banks around the beginning of the 20th century in southern Iraq. Plimptom 322 before Hipparchus, the Greek astronomer was hailed as the father of trigonometry by inventing a spreadsheet of the lengths of arcs and arcs respectively over 1,000 years.

The Babylonian trigonometric table of 3700 years made the history of human mathematics rewrite Picture 1
Hipparchus, Greek astronomer.

Plimpton 322 has 4 columns and 15 rows, according to archaeologists' research, describing the structure of the right triangle based on the ratio, not by angle or circle. These 15 rows describe a series of 15 right-angled triangles with declining inclination angles.

The upper left corner of the board was broken, but researchers believe that Plimptom 322 initially had 6 columns and 38 lines.

The Babylonian trigonometric table of 3700 years made the history of human mathematics rewrite Picture 2

Researchers say Plimptom 322 could be used to build ancient buildings such as temples, palaces and pyramids.

The Babylonian trigonometry uses hexadecimal (system 60), while our modern trigonometry uses the decimal system (system 10). Currently, this trigonometric table is outdated but according to experts, it can provide us with a much simpler and more accurate trigonometric method than the one we are using in the field. investigation, computer graphics and education.

The study was published in Historia Mathematica.