Mathematics has been in people's lives from the beginning of time. Even in prehistory was a person required to perform mathematical tasks. The number of hunters, tools or members of a family were probably shown by the fingers on one or more hands, which is probably why today's number systems are based on the number 5 or 10.
The second step probably arose out of the need to organise greater quantities: such as between young and older hunters, light or heavy weaponry, large or small hides.
The first number appeared before the creation of letters. By making carvings into pieces of wood, traders and surveyors were able to make their calculations. Egyptian pyramids are in fact the result of the early use of mathematics.
In 3,000 B.C., people first started using theoretical tools and numbering systems in Mesopotamia (Babylon) and Egypt. The mathematician and scholar Euclides started his famous school of mathematics in Alexandria, as such laying the corner stone of mathematics. The Egyptians used a decadic numbering system, which is based on the number 10 and still in use today. They also introduced characters used to describe the numbers 10 and 100, making it easier to describe larger numbers. Geometry started to receive great attention and served in surveying land, cities and streets.
The Egyptians knew how to count in fractions and used defined rules to calculate geometric objects. For example, they managed to almost perfectly calculate the surface area of circles. The number p , which amounts to roughly 3.1415926, was calculated very closely by the Egyptians at about 3.16.