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The First Calculators – Bones
Last updated at May 7, 2026 by Teachoo
Class 9
Chapter 3 Class 9 - The World of Numbers (Ganita Manjari I)
-
The Human Need to Count
- Exercise Set 3.1
- The Revolution of Śhūnya
- Integers
- Exercise Set 3.2
Transcript
The First Calculators – Bones THE HEART OF COUNTING Before written equations, early humans recording natural numbers deep in Africa carved tallies into bone.THE LEBOMBO BONE: A TIME COUNTER ~35,000 YEARS AGO Lebombo Mountains (S. Africa & Swaziland)29 DISTINCT NOTCHES Feature: 29 uniform notches. Probable Use: Lunar phase counter or menstrual calendar. Time tracking with numbers.THE ISHANGO BONE: A MATH MARVEL □ ~20,000 BCE Nile Headwaters (D.R. Congo) Feature: Three columns of diverse notches. A math marvel with specific groupings. SPECIFIC GROUPINGS & INTERPRETATIONS PRIME NUMBERS BETWEEN 10 & 20 DOUBLING (MULTIPLICATION BY 2) Another column seems to demonstrate doubling (x2).ABSTRACT NUMBERS ARE ANCIENT These artifacts prove that the abstract concept of a "number" is indeed tens of thousands of years old.
