Part of the decimal metric system , the second derives its name from the sexagesimal system .
Which originated with the Sumerians and Babylonians , and divides a base unit into sixty minutes , minutes into sixty seconds , seconds into sixty tierces , etc .
Although part of the decimal metric system , the second derives its name from the sexagesimal system , which originated with the Sumerians and Babylonians , and divides a base unit into sixty minutes , minutes into sixty seconds , seconds into sixty tierces , etc .