1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910338250003321

Autore

Huylebrouck Dirk

Titolo

Africa and Mathematics : From Colonial Findings Back to the Ishango Rods / / by Dirk Huylebrouck

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2019

ISBN

3-030-04037-2

Edizione

[1st ed. 2019.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (234 pages)

Collana

Mathematics, Culture, and the Arts, , 2520-8578

Disciplina

514.742096

Soggetti

Mathematics

History

Social sciences

Africa, Sub-Saharan—History

History of Mathematical Sciences

Mathematics in the Humanities and Social Sciences

History of Sub-Saharan Africa

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Foreword -- Introduction -- Part I: Mathematics in the Heart of Africa -- 1. Rationale and Sources -- 2. Storytelling and Music -- 3. Creative Counting -- 4. Drawings -- 5. Reasoning Without Writing -- 6. Multiplication in the Yoruba and "Ethiopian" Way -- Part II: The Ishango Rod(s) -- 7. The Ishango Site -- 8. Mathematical Carvings -- 9. Missing Link -- 10. Not Out of Africa -- 11. A Second Rod -- Part III: Epilogue -- 12. Museum Visit, Teaching, Research -- References.

Sommario/riassunto

This volume on ethnomathematics in Central Africa fills a gap in the current literature, focusing on a region rarely explored by other publications. It highlights the discovery of the Ishango rod, which was found to be the oldest mathematical tool in humanity's history, thereby shifting the origin of mathematics to the heart of Africa, and explores the different scientific hypotheses that emerged as a result. While it contains some high-level mathematics, the non-mathematical reader can easily skip these portions and enjoy the book’s survey of African history, culture, and art.