In the Pre-Columbian Americas前哥伦布美洲, the Maya civilization that flourished in Mexico and Central America during the 1st millennium一千年 AD developed a unique tradition of mathematics that, due to its geographic isolation, was entirely independent of existing European, Egyptian, and Asian mathematics. Maya numerals utilized利用 a base of 20以20为基数, the vigesimal以二十为基数的 system, instead of a base of ten that forms the basis of the decimal十进制的 system used by most modern cultures. The Mayas used mathematics to create the Maya calendar as well as to predict astronomical phenomena天文现象 in their native Maya astronomy. While the concept of zero had to be inferred推断 in the mathematics of many contemporary同时代的 cultures, the Mayas developed a standard symbol for it.