CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: D - By 2600 BCE, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia understood mathematics well enough that they were carving the earliest known multiplication tables into clay tablets. During that time, they were also working on some geometrical problems and division (the inverse of multiplication). Within eight centuries, the Babylonians were working on fractions, algebra, advanced geometrical properties (like volume), and cubic and quadratic equations. While simplistic math took place during Stone Age, it didn’t extend beyond counting, calendar making, and, possibly, a rudimentary understanding of prime numbers. The Egyptians created the first written numerals and their system of mathematics was akin to the Babylonian system in complexity. However, the Sumerians likely achieved a written understanding of then-complex math like multiplication tables as many as seven centuries ahead of the Egyptians. In the fifth or sixth centuries BCE, the Greeks became the first civilization to formalize the study of mathematics.