20th Century Mathematics in Ancient Islamic Tiles

Medieval Islamic artists produced intricate decorative patterns using geometrical techniques that were not understood by Western mathematics until the 20th century, scientists have discovered.

The combinations of ornate stars and polygons that have adorned mosques and palaces since the 15th century were created using a set of just five template tiles, which could generate patterns with a kind of symmetry that eluded formal mathematical description for another 500 years. More...