I think the ancient Egyptians first divided the day into 24 hours, 12 hours of day and 12 of darkness. But the base of 60 (for time and compass directions) came from the Babylonian system of counting which they may well have inherited from the Sumerians. Many of our current methods of counting and measurement come from very ancient roots! Rather than changing them let's glory in their antiquity. Also, 60 is quite convenient as it can be divided in many ways.
Last edited by Bergerie1; 15th July 2012 at 12:54.