Base 60

Sixty can be divided by one, two, three, four, five, six, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30 and 60, in each case to give a whole number.

Contrast that with 10, which can be divided only by one, two, five and 10 and the advantages of base 60 start to become apparent.

If you’re developing numbers for very practical purposes, like taxes or dividing fields for your sons’ inheritance, having an easy way to do these mathematical operations can be really helpful.

So it was, 5000 years ago in ancient Sumeria

60 comes from the thumb counting the 12 segments on the other 4 fingers, then do this 5 times monitored by the 4 fingers and thumb on the other hand. Your hand are a natural base 60.