What is the modern name of the Babylonian tablet that lists Pythagorean triples?

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The Babylonian tablet that lists Pythagorean triples is known today as Plimpton 322.

Plimpton 322 is a clay tablet written in cuneiform in the Old Babylonian period, probably during the first half of the second millennium BCE. Its rows contain sets of numbers related to right triangles, including triples that satisfy the relationship later expressed as the Pythagorean theorem.

The tablet is named after George Arthur Plimpton, whose collection included it before the item was transferred to Columbia University. Scholars continue to debate how the numerical columns were generated and what practical purpose the tablet served. Proposed interpretations include a mathematical reference table for scribal education.

Plimpton 322 is not a complete proof of the Pythagorean theorem in the modern sense. Instead, it demonstrates sophisticated Babylonian knowledge of numerical relationships centuries before Pythagoras lived. Its calculations use the Babylonian base-60, or sexagesimal, system.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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