Long before Newton or Leibniz, a Babylonian scholar was plotting planetary motion with surprising mathematical sophistication. In a time when most cultures used arithmetic for practical tasks, this ancient astronomer charted Jupiter’s path through the sky using geometric concepts that resemble integral calculus—1,400 years ahead of its accepted birth.
Discovery in the British Museum
Mathieu Ossendrijver of Humboldt University uncovered this mathematical insight while examining ancient cuneiform tablets at the British Museum. Among them, one stood out—it used trapezoids to estimate the distance Jupiter traveled over time, a technique unknown before the 14th century. These shapes were not drawn in physical space but in an abstract framework plotting velocity against time.
Mathematics Beyond Its Time
Previously, Babylonian tablets showed knowledge of trapezoid area calculations and planetary motion using simple arithmetic. However, this tablet, dated between 350 and 50 B.C., demonstrated a leap: plotting Jupiter’s speed on an x-y graph and using trapezoids to approximate distance traveled. This method approximated the area under a curve—a concept fundamental to integral calculus.
From Temple to Theory
Though unsigned, the tablet likely came from a temple to Marduk, with Jupiter as his celestial form, suggesting it was authored by a temple astronomer-priest. The method may have remained obscure, perhaps too abstract for contemporaries. Yet, the finding changes our understanding of ancient science. It shows at least one Babylonian thinker was not only watching the sky but also pioneering new ways to measure it.
Over 2,000 years ago, a Babylonian scholar used geometric reasoning to track Jupiter in a way no one expected—by calculating the area under a curve.
This tablet reveals how ancient astronomers nearly invented calculus long before it emerged in Europe…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/rAnce5J7LZ
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