I was wondering how did the modulus 7 system has became internationally acknowledged. Which other weekly system were used prior (and parallel) to this system, and are still some of those systems in use today (like the use of Islamic and Jewish calendars).
I know the 7 days week is taken from Genesis 1, after the Seven days of Creation. The seventh day is called "Sabbath" which means rested\ceased to work in Hebrew. As in that day god has completed his work and stopped to gaze in awe upon his creation. 7 is a Typological number which held significance in early cultures.
Yet I am all around clueless about other weekly systems used in different cultures, such as pre-Christian Rome or eastern civilizations. were there any attempts to install a 6 days system to go side by side with other time measuring units (24 hours, 12 months, 60 seconds and (originally) 360 days)?
The origin is in the moon cycle. 28 days, which can roughly be divided into 4 parts (new moon, full moon, 2x half moon), that add up to a 4-weeks-of-7 days - cycle.
This goes back to babylonic and egyptian, where the Old Kingdom of Egypt had this system in place, with each day being represented by one god.
Further read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven-day_week
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