by examining the evidence with this mindset , and comparing plimpton 322 with madhava 's table of sines , we demonstrate that plimpton 322 is a powerful , exact ratio - based trigonometric table .
consisting of four columns and 15 rows of numbers inscribed in cuneiform , the famous p322 tablet was discovered in the early 1900s in what is now southern iraq by archaeologist , babylonian tablet plimpton 322 will make studying maths easier , mathematician says updated a small clay tablet that is 3,700 years old may be about to make studying trigonometry much easier , thanks to the work of an australian mathematician .
the main piece of evidence comes from the most famous of old babylonian tablets : plimpton 322 , which we interpret in the context of the old babylonian approach to triangles and their preference for numerical accuracy .
the team from the university , and scientists now believe they have cracked its secrets .
however , other experts on the clay tablet , known as plimpton 322 ( p322 ) , say the new work is speculative at best .
this ancient babylonian clay tablet may contain the first evidence of trigonometry tables which scientists claim are more accurate than any available today .
 
this gives us a different way of looking at trigonometry .
this is well over a millennium before hipparchus is said to have fathered the subject with his ‘ table of chords ’ .