WASHINGTON, Feb 22: Designs on surface tiles in the Islamic world during the Middle Ages reveal their makers’ understanding of mathematical concepts not grasped in the West until 500 years later, according to a US study published on Thursday.

Many medieval Islamic buildings’ walls have ornate geometric star-and-polygon, or `girih’, patterns, which are often overlaid with a swirling network of lines.

Researchers widely believed medieval artisans made the patterns with a straight edge and compass. But Peter Lu of Harvard University and Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University, writing in the journal Science, found that `by the 13th century artisans had begun producing the patterns using a small set of decorated polygonal tiles, which the authors term 'girih tiles’,” according to a statement by journal’s publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“This girih tile method was more efficient and precise than the previous approach, allowing for an important breakthrough in Islamic mathematics and design,” the statement said.—AFP