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POPULAR ARCHAEOLOGY: Decimal system in use in Japan well over 2,000 years ago

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KASUGA, Fukuoka Prefecture--Prehistoric people in Japan apparently used an advanced system of weights and measurements on a decimal basis, excavations at a Yayoi Pottery Culture Period (1000 B.C.-A.D. 250) site here suggest.

Researchers identified what is known as a decuple weight with 10 times the reference unit mass of 11 grams among artifacts unearthed at a series of archaeological sites collectively known as the Sugu group, where many measurement weights have previously been discovered, the Kasuga municipal board of education said.

Board officials said Sept. 1 that the decuple weight, the first artifact of its kind to be found in Japan, offers valuable insight into Yayoi culture.

The stone, which is cylindrical in shape, weighs 116.3 grams.

For the full article, please see: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14437190