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  • Introduction 2

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    zehra15
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    Early humans first used their fingers as a tool for calculation. To represent large numbers, early humans used materials available to them like bones. One such bone found near the Nile River in Congo, called the Ishango bone estimated to be around 20,000 years old, had tally marks carved into three columns which are believed to be some of the earliest demonstrations of either prime numbers or a lunar calendar.

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    history of math

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    Early humans first used their fingers as a tool for calculation. To represent large numbers, early humans used materials available to them like bones. One such bone found near the Nile River in Congo, called the Ishango bone estimated to be around 20,000 years old, had tally marks carved into three columns which are believed to be some of the earliest demonstrations of either prime numbers or a lunar calendar.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    1 views1 page

    Introduction 2

    Uploaded by

    zehra15
    Early humans first used their fingers as a tool for calculation. To represent large numbers, early humans used materials available to them like bones. One such bone found near the Nile River in Congo, called the Ishango bone estimated to be around 20,000 years old, had tally marks carved into three columns which are believed to be some of the earliest demonstrations of either prime numbers or a lunar calendar.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 1

    1.

    Prehistoric time
    The first tools used for calculations aids by man were almost
    certainly fingers. To represent large numbers, early man used
    readily available materials. The Ishango bone, found near the
    headwaters of the Nile river (northeastern Congo), may be as
    much as 20,000 years old and consists of a series of tally
    marks carved in three columns running the length of the bone.
    Common interpretations are that the Ishango bone shows
    either the earliest known demonstration of sequences of prime
    numbers or a six-month lunar calendar.

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