The nine digit-signs that became the world's standard numerals evolved from the Brahmi numerals used in inscriptions of the Mauryan period and afterwards. Over centuries these forms were standardised and combined with place value, producing a compact set of glyphs that could be written quickly and read unambiguously. Transmitted westward, they were described by Arab mathematicians as the 'numbers of India' (hence 'Hindu numerals') and reached Latin Europe through translations, displacing the cumbersome Roman system. The shapes of today's 1 to 9 descend directly from this Indian lineage.
These numerals gave commerce, accounting and engineering a fast, error-resistant notation, underpinning the bookkeeping of merchant cities and the calculation of land subdivision and built form. Their adoption was a precondition for modern surveying, finance and statistics.
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