What culture first used negative numbers?
Christopher Harper
Updated on May 08, 2026
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In this manner, who first used negative numbers?
Brahmagupta
Similarly, in what century were negative numbers finally accepted? In the sixteenth century the negative numbers gained some acceptance. Only in the nineteenth century were negative numbers accepted as part of the number system.
Keeping this in consideration, what is the history of negative numbers?
The first mention of negative numbers can be traced to the Chinese in 200 B.C.E. The Chinese used red rods to represent positive numbers, but black rods to represent negative numbers. In the fourth century, the Alexandrian mathematician Diophantus said in his text Arithmetica that the following equation is absurd.
Where are negative numbers used?
Negative numbers are used in lots of different situations. You read about negative numbers in weather reports and on food packaging. The temperature -5°C is 'negative five degrees' and it means 5 degrees below zero. Read more about negative numbers on food packaging in the factsheet Storing frozen food.
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