The proof of the Pythagorean Theorem was found on a Babylonian tablet dated 1,000 years before the birth of Pythagoras

The discovery of one ancient Babylonian tablet dating from 1,770 BC. overturns what we’ve known so far about it Pythagorean theorem and his “father”. One only has to think that Pythagoras was born around 570 BC. i.e. many centuries later.

Also, another plate from 1,800-1,600 BC. depicts a square with the triangles marked inside it, which proves that the ancient Babylonian mathematicians knew the theorem as well as other mathematical concepts.

“The conclusion is inevitable. The Babylonians knew the relationship between the length of the diagonal of a square and its side,” writes mathematician Bruce Ratner in a paper on the subject, according to iflscience. “This was probably the first number known to be unspoken. However, this also means that they were familiar with the Pythagorean Theorem – or, at least, with the diagonal of a square – more than a thousand years before the great sage for whom the theorem is named.’

So why was this attributed to Pythagoras? No original writing by Pythagoras survives. What we know about him was handed down by others, particularly the Pythagoreans – members of a school he founded in what is now southern Italy.

“A reason for the scarcity of original sources of Pythagoras was that Pythagorean knowledge was passed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth, as written material was scarce,” Ratner continued. “Furthermore, out of respect for their leader, many of the discoveries made by the Pythagoreans were attributed to Pythagoras himself; this would explain the term ‘Pythagorean Theorem’.” Although Pythagoras did not create the theory, his school certainly popularized it and was associated with it for the next thousand years, at least.