Nothing to See Here: India’s Oldest Use of Zero Found

The Bakhshali manuscript consists of 70 leaves of birch bark.

Credit: Copyright Bodleian Libraries/University of Oxford

The concept of zero as the number representing absolute nothingness paved the way for algebra, calculus and computer science. The first text to discuss zero in the numerical sense is the Indian astronomer Brahmagupta's work "Brahmasphutasiddhanta," which was written in A.D. 628.

Previously, researchers had tried to determine the age of the Bakhshali manuscript by looking at its style of writing and language. A recent Japanese study concluded that the text was likely written between the eighth and the 12th centuries.

Thefront page of the folio dates to A.D. 224-383.