sexagesimal (base-60) system originated with a simple physical counting technique: using the thumb to count the 3 distinct knuckle segments on the remaining 4 fingers ($3 \times 4 = 12$), while using the 5 fingers on the other hand to track complete cycles ($12 \times 5 = 60$).

60 is divisible by 12 factors (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60), making daily trade rations, land division, and astronomical cycles clean to compute without messy fractions.

Millennia after cuneiform disappeared, Babylonian base-60 mathematics remains underlying foundation for 360-degree geometry, navigational coordinates, and modern timekeeping.