An ancient clay tablet shows that Babylonian scholars might have invented trigonometry
A new interpretation into the nature of an ancient clay tablet known as Plimpton 322 claims that ancient Babylonians might have developed an advanced form of trigonometry — long before Greek mathematicians are commonly believed to have invented the concept.
That’s the theory put forward by two mathematicians from the University of New South Wales, Daniel F. Mansfield and Norman Wildberger, who published their study in the latest issue of Historia Mathematica. They claim that the tablet demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of mathematics, and that modern assumptions of the field should be reexamined in light of the interpretation.
The tablet in question is approximately five inches wide by three inch tall, and dates back to...