Counting before numbers

Before the invention of written numbers, people used many different ways to count things.

At first, people used their fingers, and even their toes. However, they could only count small numbers in this way.

After that, they began to make small marks on sticks and bones. This helped them count bigger numbers. They used them to count things like the days of the month, the amount of food and the number of animals they had.

Then people began to use tokens made from clay or small stones. This helped them count even bigger numbers. They often put the tokens on pieces of string so that they could carry them around easily. This developed into tools like the abacus.

Finally, people began to develop systems of written marks to show different numbers, and this led to the Hindu-Arabic system (0–9). We are still using this system today.

Grammar

A Cardinal and ordinal numbers

B Instructions about numbers