November 9, 2023

Audrey Tran

11th Grade

Fountain Valley High School

Origins of Zero

The number zero represents nothing, an empty quantity. This prevalent symbol surprisingly only arrived and was accepted in the West in the late 12th century, though with resistance. Since then, the development of the number zero has transformed prior numbering systems and revolutionized calculations in mathematics and science. But, prior to that, ancient civilizations did not need a value to represent nothing. Counting usually involves physical objects like the number of people in a tribe or animals in a herd, so it wouldn’t make sense to count zero objects. So why was zero invented and when and where did this symbol first appear? 

Early Forms of Zero

The earliest recorded version of zero occurred in the third century B.C. ancient Babylon. The Babylonians used a sexigesimal system which operated with numbers based on 60. Since they had no place value for zero, Babylonian scribes would often leave spaces between numerals to indicate an absence of a value. For instance, 207 would be written as 2 7. However, this often led to confusion on whether the number was 27, 207, or 2007, as the system was not standardized. Because of this need for a placeholder, the Babylonians developed a symbol, two wedges, to differentiate various magnitudes. Still, this symbol for zero was not generally accepted amongst the wider society.

Later in the fourth century B.C., the symbol for zero independently arose with the Mayans in Central America. With their complex system for keeping times and their multiple calendars, scribes began to develop multiple symbols (a bowl-like object to a complex face) that represented an empty quantity. Still, like the Babylonians, they did not understand zero in the modern sense, since zero to them was just a placeholder. Due to the Mayans' complex numbering system even with the breakthrough of zero, mathematical advances in calculations were limited. The concept of zero being a value with its own properties was still vague and abstract at this time.

Journey to the Modern Zero

Zero as we know it today first appeared in the seventh century B.C. India, although it is often debated by historians if the Babylonian zero had traveled there. It was first introduced in the fifth century by astronomer and mathematician, Aryabhatta, as a placeholder and incorporated into the decimal number system. Later in the seventh century, Brahmagupta, a mathematician, and others used small dots under numbers to show zero as a placeholder. In addition to that, they recognized that zero was a null value, naming it “sunya.” Hindu numbers were written as symbolic words which were advantageous in their grasp of the importance of zero and how it represented the absence of a quantity. This allowed for major progress in mathematics because mathematicians could use zero in written calculations, leading to a greater interest in the rules of calculation.

Soon, zero made its way through Cambodia to China, and eventually to the Middle East. There it was accepted, in the form of the familiar oval shape we know, into the Arabic numeral system: which are numbers we still use today. The acceptance of zero by the Arabs revolutionized mathematics and science in the Middle East because of the ease of calculation it offered. Mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khowarizmi, studied and added on to Indian arithmetic, showing how zero functioned in a system of formulas he called “al-jabr,” now known as algebra. 

Zero in the West and Today

Around 1200 A.D. Italian mathematician Fibonacci introduced zero in Europe and other mathematicians like Descartes and Newton used zero in their works, transforming mathematics in areas like geometry and calculus. Here, the benefits of zero did not only reside in mathematics, as European merchants found zero to be an invaluable tool in business and commerce. However, the arrival of zero did not come without resistance, particularly from the Christian Church since they believe its concepts contradicted Aristotle's rejection of a vacuum and raised unsettling philosophical questions. Nevertheless, the role of zero in numerous aspects of life like mathematics, science, engineering, physics, and economics, was immensely significant. 

Today the number zero is present in various fields and still surprisingly provokes intellectual questions. For instance, can zero be divided? Can a number even be divided by zero? Is zero positive or negative? The answer may now be simple and defined but the reasoning behind those claims is not always obvious. To this day, this unique and fascinating number still sparks debate among the mathematical community. Its long and gradual journey over the centuries through various civilizations, aided by the works of talented mathematicians, resulted in zero now existing as the number we know today: an empty quantity.