Page 65 - SST Class 05

written in the Devanagari script; Urdu is written in the Arabic script while English is
written in the Roman script.

Brahmi Script Seals of Indus Devnagari Script Arabic (Urdu) Script
Valley Civilization
The Story of Numbers
Numbers are very important in your life. You need them when you want to divide the
candies with your friend, or when you want to compare your marks with those of your
friends. Early Man too needed the knowledge of numbers, but he did not have it.
When he plucked fruits or tamed animals with his community members, he needed to
divide among them. These were like his assets. He also wanted to know that all those

animals he possessed were still with him, so he needed to count and keep a record, but
he did not know counting.

In the beginning, Early Man started to keep one pebble or twig for each animal. If he
had more than one type of animal or thing, he kept different things; for example, a
pebble for a goat and a twig for a cow. Soon he thought that he could draw lines or
circles on the ground or rocks. Sometimes, he attributed a sign for a group of animals
or things, for example, a cross for three or four. He also used his fingers for counting.
He faced problem when he had a large number of things or animals. He gradually
developed signs for things, animals and numbers. It took a very long time for him to
develop some uniform symbols, like circle, cross, triangle or square etc. Different
groups developed different signs and symbols; this was how numbers were written in
different ways in different languages.

It is a matter of pride to know that the system of counting developed in India. The
concepts of zero and decimal system were evolved here. The modern numerals are

called the Indo-Arabic numbers , because they were developed in India. When the Arab
traders came here for trade, they carried this knowledge to other parts of the world.
Keeping record until this time was difficult, as paper was yet to be invented.

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 I II III IV V

6 7 8 9 10 6 7 8 9 10 VI VII VIII IX X 6 7 8 9 10

English Hindi Roman Gujarati

Growing Knowledge 65