USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Maya counting system required only three symbols: a dot representing a value of one, a bar representing five, and a shell representing zero.

Detailed explanation-2: -Nik, the Maya zero, is represented by several symbols: a seed, a snail, a seashell, a flower, a human head, and a headless torso.

Detailed explanation-3: -The first recorded zero appeared in Mesopotamia around 3 B.C. The Mayans invented it independently circa 4 A.D. It was later devised in India in the mid-fifth century, spread to Cambodia near the end of the seventh century, and into China and the Islamic countries at the end of the eighth.

Detailed explanation-4: -A remarkable feature of the classic Maya culture that is not recognized as much as it should be is the very early use of a zero as a number and placeholder in their calendar and, presumably, number system.

Detailed explanation-5: -In order to write numbers down, there were only three symbols needed in this system. A horizontal bar represented the quantity 5, a dot represented the quantity 1, and a special symbol (thought to be a shell) represented zero. The Mayan system may have been the first to make use of zero as a placeholder/number.