#ishango

Is it true that ancient Egyptians invented mathematics? Mathematics/proto mathematics was born further south within Africa.

The Labombo bone(35,000 YBP, Eswatini) and Ishango bone (25,000 YBP, DRC/Uganda) are the oldest mathematical objects known to mankind. Both artefacts are of a Baboons fibula with quartz. Both would have been used to calculate everything from Lunar cycles, prime numbers and multiplication. More info in the link above from the math department of the University of New York at Buffalo. As for the ancient Egyptians, they probably learned mathematics from older cultures within Africa. Or perhaps their African ancestors brought this wisdom with them north into the Nile valley 13.5 KYO. It should also be noted that their chief deity of wisdom writing and numbers took the form of a Baboon with a Lunar disk on his head. This Baboon deity was called Aani-Djehuti, and was said to predict and perceive the lunar cycles. It’s interesting because this sounds related to the aforementioned Baboons fibula-Lunar calendar(s). “row (c) seems to illustrate for the method of duplication (multiplication by 2) used more recently in Egyptian multiplication. “ - Dr Scott W. Williams, Professor of mathematics. University of New York at Buffalo Mathematics department.

Ishango-bones

Upper Paleolithic era

Let's take you to Ishango, an archaeological site on the Congolese bank of Lake Edward excavated by Jean de Heinzelin, a geologist from our Institute (@rbins), in the 1950s. He and his team discovered hundred human bones dispersed throughout the site. They corresponded to a minimum of nine people (4 adults, 1 teenager, 2 children and 2 babies), just a small portion of the hunter-gatherer population of Ishango 25,000 to 20,000 years ago. The bones belonged to Homo sapiens but had some archaic traits retained from their ancestors. So far, there have been very few bones of Paleolithic Homo sapiens found in the world. Those of Ishango are therefore of great scientific value. They are in our Institute's collections, together with animal remains (al lot of fish but also hippo, warthog, otter, buffalo, antelope, ibis, pelican,...), beautifully crafted harpoons, quartz tools (to shape the harpoons)... and bones with notches. Of those, the 10 cm long Ishango bone with notches that appear to be grouped together, is world famous. Is it the oldest trace of mathematics? Scientists are still debating about it... You can find the enigmatic Ishango Bone in our 250 Years of Natural Sciences Hall.