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Aztec numerals

The Aztec numerical system was vigesimal. Quantities up to twenty were indicated by the requisite number of dots. A flat line was used to indicate twenty, repeating it for quantities up to four hundred, while a sign like a fir tree signified four hundred. The next unit, eight thousand, was indicated by a bag, which referred to the almost innumerable contents of a sack of cacao beans.

This article formerly appeared on ScriptSource.