It has long been one of the world’s greatest mathematical mysteries, but experts believe they have finally cracked the origin of the zero symbol.
Scientists have discovered evidence of the symbol in the Indian Bakhshali manuscript – a mathematical text discovered in 1881.
Carbon dating indicates that the manuscript dates from as early as the 3rd century, making it the world’s oldest recorded origin of the zero symbol that we use today.
It has long been one of the world’s greatest mathematical mysteries, but experts believe they have finally cracked the origin of the zero symbol. Scientists have discovered evidence of the symbol in the Indian Bakhshali manuscript – a mathematical text discovered in 1881
Researchers from the University of Oxford conducted the first ever radiocarbon dating on the Bakhshali manuscript and revealed that it dates from as early as the 3rd century – five centuries older than previously believed.
This means that the manuscript predates a 9th-century inscription of zero on the wall of a temple in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, which was thought to be the oldest example of a zero.
Professor Marcus du Sautoy, who led the study, said: ‘Today we take it for granted that the concept of zero is used across the globe and is a key building block of the digital world.
‘But the creation of zero as a number in its own right, which evolved from the placeholder dot symbol found in the Bakhshali manuscript, was one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of mathematics.
‘We now know that it was as early as the 3rd century that mathematicians in India planted the seed of the idea that would later become so fundamental to the modern world.
‘The findings show how vibrant mathematics have been in the Indian sub-continent for centuries.’
The zero symbol that we use today evolved from a dot that can be seen throughout the Bakhshali manuscript.
The zero symbol that we use today evolved from a dot that can be seen throughout the Bakhshali manuscript
Rather than being used on its own, the dot was used as a ‘placeholder’ to indicate orders of magnitude in a number system – for example, the zero denoting a lack of tens in 101.
While the use of zero as a placeholder was seen in several different ancient cultures, including the Mayans, the researchers say the symbol in the Bakhshali manuscript it significant for two reasons.
Firstly, this dot evolved to have a hollow centre that we see in the zero symbol today.
And secondly, it was only in India that this zero developed into a number in its own right, when Brahmagupta, an Indian astronomer, wrote a text called Brahmasphutasiddhanta in the sixth century, which is the first document to discuss zero as a number.
The Bakhshali manuscript was found in 1881 by a local farmer. The manuscript was buried in a field in a village called Bakhshali, near Peshawar, in what is now a region of Pakistan
Previous studies have suggested that Bakhshali manuscript dates from between the 8th and 12th century, based on the style of writing.
But the new carbon dating reveals that the manuscript, which consists of 70 fragile leaves of birch bark, is composed of material from at least three different periods.
Richard Ovenden, librarian at the Bodley Library, which houses the manuscript, said: ‘Determining the date of the Bakhshali manuscript is of vital importance to the history of mathematics and the study of early South Asian culture and these surprising research results testify to the subcontinent’s rich and longstanding scientific tradition.’
The Bakhshali manuscript will go on public display at the Science Museum in London as part of the exhibition Illuminating India: 5000 Years of Science and Innovation, opening 4 October 2017.