5 in Maya
× 1
A single bar represents five.
ANCIENT · BASE 20
Maya
Dots represent one, bars five, and a shell-shaped sign zero. Vertical positions count powers of twenty.
Convert numbers- Place
- Mesoamerica
- Period / variant
- Pre-Columbian; living mathematical heritage
EXAMPLES
42 · Base 20
Two twenties above two units.
Worked example
Write 42 in Maya
The bottom level counts ones; each level above is worth 20 times the level below.
42 ÷ 20 = 2, remainder 2. Start with 2 in the 20s level, then write the remainder in the lower levels.
- × 20
2 dots give 2. In the 20s level, it contributes 2 × 20 = 40.
- × 1
2 dots give 2. At the bottom level, it contributes 2.
Check
2 × 20 + 2 = 42
Sources and notation notes
These levels use powers of 20. The Long Count calendar instead uses 360 in the third place.
Meet the symbols
Each tile shows one digit and its value. These are the 20 digits used by this display. Combine them using the rules below.
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
How the symbols fit together
Read a stack of number signs. First count the dots and bars on each level, then use the level’s value.
- A dot means one and a bar means five. Three bars and four dots on the same level make 15 + 4 = 19.
- Start at the bottom of this base-20 teaching layout: the bottom level counts ones, the next counts twenties, and the next counts four hundreds.
- For 42, the upper level has two dots. Those mean two twenties, giving 40.
- The bottom level has two dots, giving two ones. Add 40 + 2 = 42. A zero sign keeps an empty level in place.
19 in Maya
× 1
Three bars and four dots.
42 in Maya
× 20× 1
Two twenties above two units.
400 in Maya
× 400× 20× 1
One in the third level, with zero in the lower two.
This is ordinary vigesimal notation. The Long Count calendar uses a modified third position worth 360, which this converter does not use. The shell is one of several attested zero forms.
History
Maya scribes recorded numbers in monuments and manuscripts using dots for units, bars for fives, and several forms of zero. Numbers were used in astronomical and calendar records. This display uses the familiar dot-and-bar forms rather than the elaborate head variants.
How to read it
Read a stack of number signs. First count the dots and bars on each level, then use the level’s value.
- A dot means one and a bar means five. Three bars and four dots on the same level make 15 + 4 = 19.
- Start at the bottom of this base-20 teaching layout: the bottom level counts ones, the next counts twenties, and the next counts four hundreds.
- For 42, the upper level has two dots. Those mean two twenties, giving 40.
- The bottom level has two dots, giving two ones. Add 40 + 2 = 42. A zero sign keeps an empty level in place.
Limits
This is ordinary vigesimal notation. The Long Count calendar uses a modified third position worth 360, which this converter does not use. The shell is one of several attested zero forms.
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