The numeral in modern english

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, numerals, symbols and collections of symbols used to represent small numbers, together with systems of rules for representing larger numbers. Just as the first attempts at writing came long after the development of speech, so the first efforts at the graphical representation of numbers came long after people had learned how to count. Probably the earliest way of keeping record of a count was by some tally system involving physical objects such as pebbles or sticks. Judging by the habits of indigenous peoples today as well as by the oldest remaining traces of written or sculptured records, the earliest numerals were simple notches in a stick, scratches on a stone, marks on a piece of pottery, and the like. Having no fixed units of measure, no coins, no commerce beyond the rudest barter, no system of taxation, and no needs beyond those to sustain life, people had no necessity for written numerals until the beginning of what are called historical times. Vocal sounds were probably used to designate the number of objects in a small group long before there were separate symbols for the small numbers, and it seems likely that the sounds differed according to the kind of object being counted. The abstract notion of two, signified orally by a sound independent of any particular objects, probably appeared very late. A numeral system (or system of numeration) is a writing system for expressing numbers; that is, a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using digits or other symbols in a consistent manner.

REFERENCES:

1. 
   What is a numeral?.
   
2. 
   Blunt, Joseph (1 January 1837). "The Shipmaster's Assistant, and Commercial Digest: Containing Information Useful to Merchants, Owners, and Masters of Ships". E. & G.W. Blunt – via Google Books.
   
3. 
   Ezard, John (2 Jan 2003). "Tolkien catches up with his hobbit". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 Apr 2018.
   
4. 
   Hammarström (2009, page 197) "Rarities in numeral systems"
   
5. 
   UCL Media Relations, "Aboriginal kids can count without numbers" Archived 2018-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
   
6. 
   Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, 1993, Merriam-Webster
   
7. 
   "Hat trick, n.". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
   
8. 
   "Shock, n.2". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
   
9. 
   "How Do You Say 2010?".
   
10. 
    "What is a partitive numeral?".
    
11. 
    Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 22. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1993. ISBN 0020130856
    

1^ What is a numeral?.

2^ Blunt, Joseph (1 January 1837). "The Shipmaster's Assistant, and Commercial Digest: Containing Information Useful to Merchants, Owners, and Masters of Ships". E. & G.W. Blunt – via Google Books.

3^ Hammarström (2009, page 197) "Rarities in numeral systems"

4^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, 1993, Merriam-Webster