1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is almost everyone’s first memory of maths, the enjoyment of being able to count. However, I have been very naive in my thinking and believed that number systems and counting have been around forever. I have recently discovered that this is not the case.
Some of the earliest evidence of mankind considering mathematically thinking can been seen on marked bones from Africa dating back to around 20,000 years ago (The Story of Mathematics, 2010). It is thought that mankind could identify the difference between having one of something and having two but they had not discovered a way of communicating this through words or symbols. It has been suggested that early mankind made markings on bone to track occurrences such as the phases of the moon, the seasons and time (All Worlds, 2015).
The first steps made towards the mathematical systems we have now were suggested to have been made for bureaucratic needs and the development of agriculture. A shared mathematical system was needing to measure land and work out taxes (The Story of Mathematics, 2010).
This video explains mankind’s first signs of mathematical thinking by looking at the Ishango Bones.
I have read through many articles while writing this post to see if there has been any final determination of what the markings on the Ishango Bones mean, however it is still unknown. The most commonly found assumption I have read is that early mankind were making these markings to track the phases of the moon but again, whether or not this is true is still unknown.
References:
All Worlds (2015) PREHISTORIC MATHEMATICS, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLqTfKtpCA (Accessed on: 6th October 2017)
International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (2015), The Ishango Bone. An enduring symbol of mankind’s intellectual progress and a star of archaeology from the heart of Africa, Available at: http://www.iocd.org/v2_PDF/IOCD-IshangoBrochure2015bp.pdf (Accessed on: 6th October 2017)
The Story Of Mathematics (2010), Prehistoric Mathematics, Available at: http://www.storyofmathematics.com/prehistoric.html (Accessed on: 6th October 2017)
