The Garden of Learning

Geography

Which pre-Columbian civilization invented a zero before Europe used it widely?

  • The Maya
  • The Inca
  • The Olmec

The answer is The Maya. In their calendar math.

Mesoamerican Long Count calendar

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is a non-repeating base-20 and base-18 calendar used by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya. For this reason, it is often known as the Maya Long Count calendar. Using a modified vigesimal tally, the Long Count calendar identifies a day by counting the number of days passed since a mythical creation date that corresponds to August 11, 3114 BCE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. The Long Count calendar was widely used on monuments.

Wikipedia · Mesoamerican Long Count calendar