The Gifted Four stood silently in one corner of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. Felix asked, “Why are we here, and what is this?” pointing at a circular small clay tablet.
“Why does this tablet have rectangles, squares, triangles, and such geometrical figures?” said a curious Scorch.
“This is Si.427, a small circular clay tablet from Babylonia (present-day Iraq) that is almost 3,700 years old. It was dug out in 1894 in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The figures on it are called trigonometry. It is a sub-branch of geometry.
It was earlier believed that these figures were developed by ancient Greeks, such as Pythagoras. But a math professor named Daniel Mansfield recently concluded his study of this tablet and found out that they were created 1,000 years before Pythagoras was born!” said an excited Verum.
“So, trigonometry was actually from Babylonia. Should we pay a visit?” said Orak.
“According to Daniel, yes! Let’s go there,” said Verum with a smile. In no time, the Gifted Four were in Babylonia, 3,700 years in the past. Despite being a desert area, the Mysticals could see fertile land all around. Mud-houses were scattered in the region. The Gifted Four looked around in awe.
“So, where is mathematics?” said Felix.
“Oi, could you fly high enough to get an aerial view of this area? Compare the markings on the tablet to the land around,” said Verum, who was projecting the clay tablet on her crystal ball.
They were surprised that the markings matched a piece of land.
“Now you see! This tablet here is just like the map. In Babylonia, lands were marked with boundaries using trigonometry. It shows that 1,000 years before the Greek civilization, Babylonia people used Math to chart out lands on such clay tablets,” concluded Verum.
“Wow, every day, I learn something new,” said Orak, “Thank you, Verum.”