Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th century, Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano formalized arithmetic with his Peano axioms, which are highly important to the field of mathematical logic today. History The prehistory of arithmetic is limited to a small number of artifacts, which may indicate the conception of addition and subtraction, the best-known being the Ishango bone from central Africa, dating from somewhere between 20,000 and 18,000 BC, although its interpretation is disputed. The earliest written records indicate the Egyptians and Babylonians used all the elementary arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as early as 2000 BC. These artifacts do not always reveal the specific process used for solving problems, but the characteristics of the particular numeral system strongly influence the complexity of the methods. The hieroglyphic system for Egyptian numerals, like the later Roman numerals, descended from tally marks used for counting. In both cases, this origin resulted in values that used a decimal base, but did not include positional notation. Complex calculations with Roman numerals required the assistance of a counting board (or the Roman abacus) to obtain the results. Early number systems that included positional notation were not decimal; these include the sexagesimal (base 60) system for Babylonian numerals, and the vigesimal (base 20) system that defined Maya numerals. Because of the place-value concept, the ability to reuse the same digits for different values contributed to simpler and more efficient methods of calculation. The continuous historical development of modern arithmetic starts with the Hellenistic period of ancient Greece; it originated much later than the Babylonian and Egyptian examples. Prior to the works of Euclid around 300 BC, Greek studies in mathematics overlapped with philosophical and mystical beliefs. Nicomachus is an example of this viewpoint, using the earlier Pythagorean approach to numbers and their relationships to each other in his work Introduction to Arithmetic. Greek numerals were used by Archimedes, Diophantus and others in a positional notation not very different from the modern notation. The ancient Greeks lacked a symbol for zero until the Hellenistic period, and they used three separate sets of symbols as digits: one set for the units place, one for the tens place, and one for the hundreds. For the thousands place, they would reuse the symbols