Sexagesimal was the base-60 number system ancient Mesopotamians used, influencing the 60 minutes in an hour.
Mesopotamian scribes developed sophisticated numerical methods using place value and a combination of base-60 and base-10 practices. The system is especially associated with Babylonian mathematics, whose tablets show calculations involving multiplication, division, areas, reciprocals, and geometry.
A base-60 system is convenient because 60 has many divisors, including 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30. This makes it useful for dividing quantities into equal parts. Babylonian astronomers also used sexagesimal notation for angles and time-related calculations.
Modern conventions preserve this legacy. A circle has 360 degrees, an hour has 60 minutes, and a minute has 60 seconds. The exact historical path from Babylonian mathematics to every modern convention was gradual, but the numerical connection is clear.