To expand search, see Sub-Saharan Africa. Laterally related topics: The Bushoong, TheTshokwe, The Mursi of Ethiopia, The Bambara of Sudan, South Africa, Ghana, The Bakuba of Zaire, BeninCity, Nigeria, 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.
Bogoshi, Jonas; Naidoo, Kevin and Webb, John. The oldest mathematical artefact. Math. Gaz. 71 (1987), no. 458, 294. (Reviewer: M. P. Closs.) SC: 01A10, MR: 89a:01003.
As the authors note, the oldest mathematical artifact known may be a piece of baboon fibula with 29 notches, dating from around 35,000 BC, and discovered in the mountains between South Africa and Swaziland. By comparison, the Ishango bone dates from about 9000 BC, and the Czechoslovakian wolf's bone with 57 notches dates from about 30,000 BC. Bushmen clans in Nambia apparently use similar bones for calendar sticks today. Includes photo. Closely related topics: TallySystems, South Africa, and Archaeology.