Maya numerals
The ancient
Maya civilization used a
vigesimal (
base-20)
numeral system.
The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero (egg shape), one (a dot) and five (a bar).
For example, 19 is
....
____
____
____
Digits are stacked with the higher significant digits at the top, so
.
.
=
would be read as 1 11 in base 20 (one "twenties" and eleven "ones") or decimal 31.
See also: Numeral system, Arabic numerals, Armenian numerals, Babylonian numerals, Chinese numerals, Greek numerals, Hebrew numerals, Indian numerals, Roman numerals.