As ancient number systems arose and evolved over time, the number zero evolved as well. For the mathematicians who pioneered the various number systems of the past, zero did not seem like an obvious start for the natural numbers. Having a symbol that basically meant "nothing" appeared in a few cultures, but usually long after the initial creation of the culture's number system and was sometimes a controversial idea. (Textbook)The delay in adding zero to number systems was most likely due to the fact that in most cultures early number systems were additive. This meant that they had symbols to represent certain numbers and simply added them together to get the number they wanted. The symbols could be arranged in any order. This type of system did not require a symbol to represent zero in order to create other numbers. Such systems are limited and eventually evolved into systems in which the position of symbols within a number changed their meaning. These positional systems are part of what created the need for a "placeholder" symbol, which later became the number zero. (Textbook, article scientificamerican.com) For example, the Egyptian hieroglyphic number system was additive and did not have a zero symbol. It dates back to 3,500 BC and is one of the earliest known numbering systems. This system used images to represent the numbers 1, 10, 100, 1000, etc. Since order didn't matter, the Egyptians didn't even need a symbol to represent empty space. Eventually, the Egyptians created their hieratic system. Hieratic was a more difficult system with more symbols (1-10, 20, 30, etc.) but still did not use a symbol to represent zero as a number. There is evidence that the Egyptians used their symbol for "good"....... middle of paper ...... a small circle was used for the number zero. (Kaplan) Independently, the Mayans created several symbols for the number zero in their vigesimal (base 20) number system. Mayan culture was at its peak between 300 BC and 900 AD and during this period there are many examples of glyphs being used to represent zero. The most common was a stylized shell. Others included faces, animals, flowers and different types of shells. (Kaplan)The number zero now has many uses besides being the smallest natural number. It is used in set theory, logic (0 is used as the truth value for false), category theory, etc. Its position as the origin in graphs and number lines is essential for bridging the gap between negative and positive numbers. It is obvious that without this, mathematics as we know it would not exist and, although its creation seemed to have been delayed, it was inevitable..