Info about the Sumerian pictograph writing system?

[Kyriakos]

One some other site i was shown the following image, about those pictographs:

I would like to ask if anyone knows how correct that is as a deciphering of the numbers in the images, and also if you can direct to more info on the numbering system those people used

I am mostly interested due to (as far as i know) the mesopotamians first setting 360 as the degrees to be counted in a circle, and am trying to find why they used that number.
Also the so-called Vedic circles tie to 360 as well (and any other number perfectly divided by 9), through their 9 segments (ie in parts of 40 degrees).

 

[Gordy]

As I understand it, the 360 degree system was based on the base-60 system of Babylonians (itself a compromise between a base-6 and a base-10 system).

edit: now that I look at your piccy again, my point seems to have been suggested in the diagram.

 

[Kyriakos]

I already knew all that. You are not helpful



60 is argued to have been a main possibility due to easy (perfect) division by the first 6 integers anyway, but already that would install 10 there.

I am mostly wondering if anything is known for a non-practical basis for choosing 360 as the number of degrees.

 

[Amallric]

One thing that comes to mind is the duration of the year. 10 is useful for arithmethics(mostly with arab numeral though), but 12/60/360 is better for astronomy.

 

[Kyriakos]

Thanks again... It seems it is a rather obscure point. Afaik the entire work on (supposed or not) Sumerian math is sort of guess-work. :\
At any rate, if one goes by the Greek view of that since the 7th century BC (Thales/Anaximander) it seems that mesopotamian math was not theorem-based, and they likely did not have theorems as part of it at all (but used math in a more practical way through trial and error).