A Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical Texts

The book analyzes the mathematical tablets which are in the possession of a private collector, Martin Schoyen. This collection contains all sorts of tablets, some similar to classical ones but also others with fascinating new material. Here the author translates their mathematical content, compares it with previous known material, then evaluates the period of the tablet and its purpose. This allows the author to provide new insights into the interpretation of some classical tablets, as for example Plimpton 322 which has an exclusive appendix. This new text from Jöran Friberg, the leading expert on Babylonian mathematics, presents 130 previously unpublished mathematical clay tablets from the Norwegian Schøyen collection, and provides a synthesis of the author's most important work. Through a close study of these tablets, Friberg has made numerous amazing discoveries, including the first known examples of pre-Classical labyrinths and mazes, a new understanding of the famous table text Plimpton 322, and new evidence of Babylonian familiarity with sophisticated mathematical ideas and objects, such as the three-dimensional Pythagorean equation and the icosahedron.