Mathematical Treasure: Clay Tablets from Sumer

The oldest known clay tablet containing mathematical computations (Schøyen MS 3047) is today held in the Schøyen Collection. It is a multiplication table from 27th century BCE Sumer (now Iraq) giving area as a product of recorded lengths. Note the token impressions, which you can read more about in another Convergence article, "Mathematical Treasure: Mesopotamian Accounting Tokens." The tablet measures less than 3 inches in height and width and is less than an inch thick.

Below: A circa 1950 BCE clay tablet (Schoyen MS 1844), probably from pre-Babylonian Larsa (now in Iraq), contains a problem on the distribution of an inheritance: If a sum of money is to be divided among seven brothers so that the first gets two units of money and each other brother 1/7 more than his immediate predecessor, what are the shares to be? This tablet has a radius of about 4 1/3 inch and is over an inch thick.

The images above are presented through the courtesy of the Schøyen Foundation.

Index to Mathematical Treasures