| The majority of human civilizations the world has been host to have counted using base 10 numbering systems, the motivation clearly being the 10 fingers.
A few, including the Mayans and the Eskimos or Inuit, developed a base 20 counting system, fingers and toes.
The Sumerians and Babylonians used a base 60 number system. This is speculatively based on counting variations where the thumb counts off the knuckles of one hand, while the other hand tallys the knuckle count. These civilizations are the only ones to have developed the base 60, or sexagesimal system of counting, though the knuckle counting scheme given has been used historically in the middle east and indo-china.
This numbering system is responsible for the intervals of hours, minutes, seconds and degrees that we still use today. | 
