Counting before numbers

Before the invention of written numbers, people used many different ways 【小题1】 count things.

At first, people used 【小题2】 (they) fingers, and even their toes. 【小题3】, they could only count small numbers in this way.

After that, they began to make small 【小题4】 (mark) on sticks and bones. This helped them count 【小题5】 (big) numbers. They used them to count things 【小题6】 the days of month, the amount of food and the number of animals they had.

Then people began to use tokens made from clay 【小题7】 small stones. This helped them count even bigger numbers. They often put the tokens on pieces of string so that they could carry them around 【小题8】 (easy). This developed into tools like the abacus.

Finally, people began to develop systems of 【小题9】 (write) marks to show different numbers, and this 【小题10】 (lead) to the Hindu-Arabic system (0-9). We are still using this system today.