Zero, a history
From the Bodleian Library
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Briefly
India's contribution to the numeral zero is significant. The concept of zero as a placeholder and symbol in mathematical calculations was developed in India, and the earliest known written representation of the concept dates back to the 9th century CE.
The Indian mathematician Brahmagupta is credited with developing the rules for arithmetic operations using zero. The numeral system that includes zero, known as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, eventually spread to other parts of the world and is now used globally. The symbol for zero, which looks like a small circle, is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word "shunya," which means "empty" or "void." The invention of zero was a breakthrough in mathematics and paved the way for new developments in fields such as algebra and calculus.
First recorded use in mathematics: 3rd/4th century A.D.
Timothy Revell | Sept 2017| New Scientist
History of zero pushed back 500 years by ancient Indian text
The earliest recorded use of zero
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
HIGHLIGHTS
- A manuscript with the Oxford University has been carbon dated back to 3rd/4th century AD
- This is now thought to be the first example of using '0' as a digit in mathematics
- Until now, the oldest recorded use of zero was believed to be around 9th century
The symbol “0” is a familiar sight, but its origins are far from certain. A recent batch of carbon dating is causing the history of mathematics to be rewritten, as it has discovered zeros dating back to a period 500 years before previously seen.
The numbers appear in an ancient Indian text called The Bakhshali Manuscript, which consists of 70 leaves of birch bark, filled with mathematics and text in the form of Sanskrit. “It seems to be a training manual for Buddhist monks,” says Marcus du Sautoy at the University of Oxford.
The manuscript was first discovered by a local farmer in 1881, and was named after the village it was found in, in what is now Pakistan. It’s been housed by the University of Oxford’s Bodleian library since 1902.
Now, for the first time, the manuscript has been carbon dated – and this has immediately upturned some commonly held beliefs. It was originally thought that manuscript was from the 9th century, but the dating methods revealed that the oldest pages are from somewhere between 224 AD and 383 AD.
This means that the manuscript predates a 9th century inscription of zero on the wall of a temple in Gwalior, India, which was previously considered to be the oldest recorded example of a zero.
From the Bodleian Library
Across the text there are hundreds of zeros denoted using a dot. It’s this dot that will later evolve to be the symbol with a hole in the middle that we know today. The dot was originally used as a placeholder, like how “0” is used in the number 505 to denote that there are no tens, but was not yet a number in its own right.
The use of zero as a placeholder appeared in several different ancient cultures, such as the ancient Mayans and Babylonians. But only the Indian dot that would eventually go on to gain true number status, first described in 628 AD by the Indian astronomer and mathematician Brahmagupta.
What does maths sound like? Find out with composer Emily Howard and mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, at New Scientist Live in London
“Some of these ideas that we take for granted had to be dreamt up. Numbers were there to count things, so if there is nothing there why would you need a number?” says du Sautoy. The concept of zero, initially banned as heresy, was eventually allowed for the development of calculus, and underpins the digital age. “The whole of modern technology is built on the idea of something and nothing,” he says.
Dating it had always been tricky because not all of the pages come from the same date, with as many as 500 years between the oldest and youngest pages. “There’s still some mystery about how all of these leaves got collected together,” says du Sautoy.
See also
Mathematics in Ancient India: Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta, etc
Zero, a history
