Final answer:
Scientific advancements during the Dark Ages were taking place in the Islamic world, spearheaded by scholars who preserved Greek knowledge and developed their own innovations, particularly in mathematics and science, leading to the adoption of Arabic numerals in Western Europe.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the period coined as the Dark Ages in Europe, following the fall of the Roman Empire, scientific advancements were predominantly occurring in the Islamic world, particularly within North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. During this time, while Europe was experiencing a lull in intellectual progress, Muslim scholars made significant contributions to knowledge and culture.
Notable Islamic figures such as Al-Khwarizmi, the inventor of algebra, Al-Zahrawi, known as the father of surgery, and Ibn Al-Haytham, the father of optics, were active in preserving classical Greek philosophy and science, as well as making their own original contributions.
The Muslim world also engaged in an exchange of ideas and technology through established trade routes, including those to China, and adopted the Indian numerical system, incorporating the concept of zero and leading to the eventual transformation to Arabic numerals in Western Europe, which was a cornerstone for modern mathematics and made computation, such as division, much simpler compared to the Roman numeral system.