To expand search, see Sub-Saharan Africa. Laterally related topics: The Bushoong, TheTshokwe, The Mursi of Ethiopia, The Bambara of Sudan, South Africa, The Bushmen (southern Africa), Ghana, The Bakuba of Zaire, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, and The Kpelle of Guinea.
The Mathematics and the Liberal Arts pages are intended to be a resource for student research projects and for teachers interested in using the history of mathematics in their courses. Many pages focus on ethnomathematics and in the connections between mathematics and other disciplines. The notes in these pages are intended as much to evoke ideas as to indicate what the books and articles are about. They are not intended as reviews. However, some items have been reviewed in Mathematical Reviews, published by The American Mathematical Society. When the mathematical review (MR) number and reviewer are known to the author of these pages, they are given as part of the bibliographic citation. Subscribing institutions can access the more recent MR reviews online through MathSciNet.
Crowe, Donald W. The geometry of African art. II. A catalog of Benin patterns. Historia Math. 2 (1975), 253--271. (Reviewer: M. P. Closs.) SC: 01A15 (20H15), MR: 58 #9986b.
Discusses the strip patterns and plane patterns occurring in Benin art. All 7 strip patterns and 12 of the 17 frieze patterns occur, though about five of the frieze patterns which do occur are rare: two may only occur once, and one of these may be based on a European model. The author compares the Benin patterns with the Bakuba patterns. Glide reflections are more rare in Benin art than in Bakuba art, possibly because glide reflection symmetries may arise most naturally from weaving patterns. Benin art also tents to be more representational, Bakuba art more abstract. The author also considers Benin patterns to be less varied than Bakuba patterns. However, it appears that the bronzework itself is nearly unsurpassed. A catalog is given with most of the strip patterns the author has found in Benin art, along with one example of each of the 12 plan patterns that occur. The author does not discuss this, but some patterns combine elements of different symmetries: the authors example of a p1 symmetry would have been classified differently if either of its two motifs were removed. Also see the erratum, Crowe, Donald W., Erratum to: "The geometry of African art. Closely related topics: Frieze Patterns, Plane Patterns, The Bakuba of Zaire, Weaving, and Bronzework.