Africa and Mathematics

From Colonial Findings Back to the Ishango Rods

Dirk Huylebrouck (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

XV, 229 Seiten

2019 | 1st ed. 2019
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-04036-9 (ISBN)

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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.

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.

"Africa and Mathematics is an excellent source for anyone interested in the history of mathematics, and it is a major asset in ethnomathematics. It will be useful to undergraduates, postgraduates and teachers as well as the general reader." (Firdous Ahmad Mala, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 106 (566), July, 2022)
"The book will be of interest for undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as for non-mathematical readers and researchers in various fields. It is a good survey of African history, culture, arts, popular games and daily life." (U. D'Ambrosio, Mathematical Reviews, April, 2020)
"This book fills a gap in studies on ethnomathematics in Central Africa. ... This book is not particularly about mathematics itself; readers will enjoy the book as asurvey of African art, culture and history. The book does contain beautiful figures, imprints and photographs in colour. Highly acclaimed!" (Robert W. van der Waall, zbMath 1417.01001, 2019)

Erscheinungsdatum	10.04.2019
Reihe/Serie	Mathematics, Culture, and the Arts
Zusatzinfo	XV, 229 p. 217 illus., 110 illus. in color.
Verlagsort	Cham
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	529 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
	Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Angewandte Mathematik
	Mathematik / Informatik ► Mathematik ► Geschichte der Mathematik
Schlagworte	African fractals • crystallography • Ethnomathematics • hieroglyph algorithm • Ishango rod • sand drawings
ISBN-10	3-030-04036-4 / 3030040364
ISBN-13	978-3-030-04036-9 / 9783030040369
Zustand	Neuware