Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by esnible3 3481 days ago
Nice photo of the oldest zero known, at Angkor Wat, Cambodia, dated 683 AD http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/origin-number-zero-180...

The previous contender was the zero at Gwalior in India, dated 876 AD http://www.ams.org/samplings/feature-column/fcarc-india-zero

1 comments

Wow... thanks, I never knew about that. As background to those unfamiliar with the region, ancient Southern Indian voyagers established Hindu kingdoms throughout this region (Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam). As such it follows that Indian systems of numeracy had also penetrated what is now central Vietnam (the Champa kingdom) and Indonesia (Srivijaya/Palembang).