The Indus Civilization c8.30

c8.30

One measure only has been discovered, and this merely a fragment, consisting of a slip of shell marked with divisions of 0·264 inch, of which nine remain. The mean error of graduation on this scale is only 0·003 inch, and two different marks on it indicate that it was once part of a longer measure on the decimal system. Probably, in its original state the complete scale consisted of many pieces joined together by metal bands, and the choice of shell for this purpose was an excellent one, for it could neither warp, expand, nor contract in varying temperatures. It is certain that the decimal system of notation was also practised outside India at this time, or even earlier, as it occurs on the Proto-Elamite tablets and on others from Jemdet Nasr in Mesopotamia.