Learning to count : an analysis of the arithmetic methods of the Egyptians and the Romans

Abstract

The Egyptians and the Romans are known for their great monuments and public works projects. Behind these buildings, however, lies a foundation of mathematics- a foundation that is unknown to the general public. This article is a brief exploration of Roman and Egyptian numerical symbolism and arithmetic methods. It examines each of the four major arithmetic manipulations of numbers (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and looks at the similarities and differences between the two ancient number systems. The paper also hypothesizes the reasons behind the development of these systems as well as other methods that may have been used to perform the manipulations.