Asal-usul dan makna angka
Perjalanan konsep bilangan dari India, dunia islam hingga Eropa
Abstract
This study explores the origins and meanings behind numbers through a literature-based approach that traces the development of numeral systems from early civilizations to the modern era. The main focus of this research includes the invention of the concept of zero by the Indians, the role of Islamic civilization in transmitting and advancing the Indian numeral system, and the process by which this system entered Europe and eventually became known as Arabic numerals. Beyond the historical perspective, this study examines the mathematical and symbolic meanings of numbers across various cultures, demonstrating that numbers function not only as tools for calculation but also as symbols reflecting cultural worldviews and belief systems. The findings indicate that the development of numbers is a long evolutionary process shaped by practical needs, cultural contexts, and intellectual progress. Understanding the history of numbers is relevant to contemporary numeracy, particularly in improving society’s ability to interpret numerical information critically. Therefore, integrating historical and cultural perspectives into mathematics education is recommended to strengthen conceptual understanding and enhance numeracy skills in the information age.
Downloads
References
Abdussakir, A. (2006). Pola matematika pada surat al-Ashr, al-Kautsar, dan an-Nashr. https://repository.uin-malang.ac.id/1753/
Abdussakir, A., Aliviana, R., & Rohmawati, Y. (2011). Analisis matematik terhadap azimat numerik dan alfabetik. https://repository.uin-malang.ac.id/1757/
Adelia Putri Lubis, Carlia Dermasari Sirait, Elvi Mailani, Luciana Chris May Purba, Maya Alemina Ketaren, & Sofia Maharaja. (2024). Efektivitas Pembelajaran Matematika Berbasis Etnomatematika Untuk Penguatan Nilai Budaya. Algoritma : Jurnal Matematika, Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Kebumian Dan Angkasa, 2(5), 228–235. https://doi.org/10.62383/algoritma.v2i5.242
Alghar, M. Z., Rizqiyah, A., & Radjak, D. S. (n.d.). Al-Muhajirin International Conference.
Almaghfiroh, V., Efendy, M. A., & Rosyidah, N. M. (2023). Development of an encyclopedia of mathematics in the Qur’an for Islamic Junior High School. MaPan: Jurnal Matematika Dan Pembelajaran, 11(2), 285–306. https://repository.uin-malang.ac.id/21198/
Ayonrinde, O. A., Stefatos, A., Miller, S., Richer, A., Nadkarni, P., She, J., Alghofaily, A., & Mngoma, N. (2021). The salience and symbolism of numbers across cultural beliefs and practice. International Review of Psychiatry, 33(1–2), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2020.1769289
Azman, N. A., & Maat, S. M. (2021). Integration of the History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education: A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(4), Pages 1035-1057. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i4/9768
Bhattacharyya, S. (2021). Zero—a Tangible Representation of Nonexistence: Implications for Modern Science and the Fundamental. Sophia, 60(3), 655–676. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11841-021-00870-4
Burnett, C. (2006). The Semantics of Indian Numerals in Arabic, Greek and Latin. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 34(1–2), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-005-8153-z
Chorlay, R., Clark, K. M., & Tzanakis, C. (2022). History of mathematics in mathematics education: Recent developments in the field. ZDM – Mathematics Education, 54(7), 1407–1420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-022-01442-7
Day, S., Lury, C., & Wakeford, N. (2014). Number ecologies: Numbers and numbering practices. Distinktion: Journal of Social Theory, 15(2), 123–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/1600910X.2014.923011
Díez-Palomar, J., Ramis-Salas, M., Močnik, I., Simonič, M., & Hoogland, K. (2023). Challenges for numeracy awareness in the 21st century: Making visible the invisible. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1295781. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1295781
Febrian Afriadi & Hoktaviandri. (2024). Analisis Pengaruh Peradaban Islam di Andalusia Terhadap Kebangkitan Ilmu Pengetahuan di Eropa. Jurnal QOSIM Jurnal Pendidikan Sosial & Humaniora, 2(2), 129–138. https://doi.org/10.61104/jq.v2i2.444
Frank, R. M. (2021). Exploring the Evolutionary Pathways from Number Sense to Numeracy. In N. Gontier, A. Lock, & C. Sinha (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution (1st ed., pp. 481–514). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198813781.013.24
Gaber, D., & Schlimm, D. (2015). Basic mathematical cognition. WIREs Cognitive Science, 6(4), 355–369. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1351
Gattei, S. (2022). Liber Abbaci: Leonardi Bigolli Pisani vulgo Fibonacci Edited by Enrico Giusti with the assistance of Paolo d’Alessandro. The Mathematical Intelligencer, 44(4), 399–404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-022-10174-1
Gobets, P., & Lawrence Kuhn, R. (2024a). The Origin and Significance of Zero: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. BRILL. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004691568
Gobets, P., & Lawrence Kuhn, R. (2024b). The Origin and Significance of Zero: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. BRILL. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004691568
Hasanah, U., Putrawangsa, S., Setiawati, F. A., & Purwanta, E. (2024). Statistical literacy in primary education: An analysis of Indonesian fifth-graders’ data interpretation and analysis skills. Journal on Mathematics Education, 15(4), 1335–1356. https://doi.org/10.22342/jme.v15i4.pp1335-1356
Hoogland, K. (2023). The changing nature of basic skills in numeracy. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1293754. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1293754
Kusuma, A. B., Hanum, F., Abadi, A. M., & Ahmad, A. (2024). Exploration of ethnomathematics research in Indonesia 2010-2023. Infinity Journal, 13(2), 393–412. https://doi.org/10.22460/infinity.v13i2.p393-412
M. Kamal. (2022). Mazhab-Mazhab Sintaksis Bahasa Arab Nahwu (Basrah, Kufah, Bagdad, Andalusia, Mesir). Jurnal Bina Ilmu Cendekia, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.46838/jbic.v3i1.119
Maor, E., & Ifrah, G. (2001). The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. The American Mathematical Monthly, 108(4), 382. https://doi.org/10.2307/2695263
Mohamad Hasim, S., Rosli, R., & Halim, L. (2024). A quantitative case study of secondary school students’ level of statistical thinking. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(4), em2421. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/14358
Nuh, Z. M., Hasanah, N., & Hanafi, I. (2021). Kontruksi Matematika Berbasis Budaya Melayu Sebuah Pendekatan Etnomatematika. Nusantara; Journal for Southeast Asian Islamic Studies, 17(2), 76. https://doi.org/10.24014/nusantara.v17i2.16521
Overmann, K. A. (2021). Finger-Counting and Numerical Structure. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 723492. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.723492
Padmanabhan, T., & Padmanabhan, V. (2019). The Indo-Arabic Numerals. In T. Padmanabhan & V. Padmanabhan, The Dawn of Science (pp. 69–78). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17509-2_7
Pratama, R. A., & Yelken, T. Y. (2024). Effectiveness of ethnomathematics-based learning on students’ mathematical literacy: A meta-analysis study. Discover Education, 3(1), 202. https://doi.org/10.1007/S44217-024-00309-1
Prosiding, C. (2025a). Cover Prosiding. Prosiding Fakultas Agama Islam Universitas Dharmawangsa, 5. https://doi.org/10.46576/pfai.v5i0.543
Prosiding, C. (2025b). Cover Prosiding. Prosiding Fakultas Agama Islam Universitas Dharmawangsa, 5. https://doi.org/10.46576/pfai.v5i0.543
Rachma, R. (2023). Kajian literatur: Kemampuan numerasi pada perkembangan peserta didik di lingkungan sekolah. Cakrawala Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang Sains, 2(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.28989/cakrawala.v2i1.1456
Riskiyana, N., Ginting, H. P. O., & Sitepu, D. (2025). Integrasi Konsep Matematika dalam Budaya dan Tradisi Masyarakat Karo di Sumatera Utara. Primary Education Journals (Jurnal Ke-SD-An), 5(2), 700–707. https://doi.org/10.36636/primed.v5i2.5662
Rojo-Garibaldi, B., Rangoni, C., González, D. L., & Cartwright, J. H. E. (2021). Non-power positional number representation systems, bijective numeration, and the Mesoamerican discovery of zero. Heliyon, 7(3), e06580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06580
Rosenberg, A. L., & Trystram, D. (2020). Numbers I: The Basics of Our Number System. In A. L. Rosenberg & D. Trystram, Understand Mathematics, Understand Computing (pp. 99–126). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58376-7_4
Safari, Y., & Herman, A. R. (2025). Konsep Bilangan Pecahan dan Kaitannya dengan Kehidupan Sehari-hari dalam Pembelajaran Matematika Sekolah Dasar. Karimah Tauhid, 4(6), 3379–3384. https://doi.org/10.30997/karimahtauhid.v4i6.19025
Serepinah, M., & Nurhasanah, N. (2023). Kajian Etnomatematika Berbasis Budaya Lokal Tradisional Ditinjau Dari Perspektif Pendidikan Multikultural. Scholaria: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, (2), 148–157. https://doi.org/10.24246/j.js.2023.v13.i2.p148-157
Siagian, P. P. G., Mutiara, A. A., Daryani, S., Marpaung, S. E., & Pangaribuan, S. O. (2025). PERKEMBANGAN MATEMATIKA HINDU. Jurnal Review Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran, 8(1), 3098–3104. https://doi.org/10.31004/jrpp.v8i1.43191
Sigler, L. (2002). Fibonacci’s Liber Abaci. Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0079-3
Sunarni, N., Kurnia Firmansyah, E., Abdul Malik, Z., & Rohmayani, Y. (2020). CONTRASTIVE APPROACH TO NUMERIC USAGE IN JAPAN AND IN THE ABAJADUN METHOD. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(3), 928–939. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8397
Umbara, U., Wahyudin, W., & Prabawanto, S. (2021). Exploring Ethnomathematics with Ethnomodeling Methodological Approach: How Does Cigugur Indigenous People Using Calculations to Determine Good Day to Build Houses. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(2), em1939. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9673
Wibawa, F. S., Hariri, D. D., Mahmudah, H., & Kania, N. (2025a). Bridging mathematics and culture: A systematic review of indigenous mathematical concepts in Indonesian traditions. Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, 6(2), ep25013. https://doi.org/10.30935/conmaths/17076
Wibawa, F. S., Hariri, D. D., Mahmudah, H., & Kania, N. (2025b). Bridging mathematics and culture: A systematic review of indigenous mathematical concepts in Indonesian traditions. Contemporary Mathematics and Science Education, 6(2), ep25013. https://doi.org/10.30935/conmaths/17076
Copyright (c) 2026 Husnul Khotimah

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.



