Maya numerals

Maya numerals are a vigesimal numeral system written with dots, bars, and a shell-shaped symbol for zero. Their positional notation usually stacks values vertically, with higher powers of twenty above lower ones.

Maya dot-and-bar numerals: A Maya numeral notation in which dots represent units and bars represent groups of five. These marks form the basic digits used to write Maya numbers.
Maya numeral digit: A value from zero through nineteen represented by a combination of dots, bars, or a zero sign. Each position in a written number contains one such digit.
Mesoamerican mathematics: Mathematical knowledge and practices developed among civilizations of ancient Mesoamerica. Maya numeral writing belongs to this wider regional mathematical tradition.
Maya astronomy: The astronomical observations and knowledge developed by the ancient Maya. Maya numerals recorded cycles used to track celestial events.
Maya zero: The zero symbol in Maya notation, commonly drawn as a shell and used as a placeholder. It preserves empty positions in the system’s vertical place-value notation.
Place value: A numbering principle in which a digit’s position assigns it a power of the base. It explains why the same Maya digit has different values at different heights.
Maya civilization: A Mesoamerican civilization whose societies flourished across parts of present-day Mexico and Central America. The numeral system was created and used within Maya society.
Dresden Codex: A pre-Columbian Maya book containing astronomical tables and ritual information. Its Venus table uses numerals to count intervals in the planet’s cycle.
Vigesimal numeral system: A positional numeral system whose base is twenty. Maya numerals chiefly organize places as powers of twenty.
Base: The number of distinct digit values used before a positional system advances to a new place. Twenty is the usual base governing Maya numeral place values.

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