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WK1 History of Mathematics M100

The document discusses the history of mathematics from prehistoric times to early number systems used by different civilizations. It describes how during the Paleolithic Age, people lived nomadic lifestyles as hunter-gatherers and made tools from stone. In the Neolithic Age, humans established villages and developed ideas around farming, trade, and basic quantities. It then examines ethnomathematics and the numerical systems used by Native Americans, Mesoamericans, Mayans, Incans, and some African groups which were often based on counting body parts or vigesimal and quinary systems.

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Johara Abdullah
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200 views14 pages

WK1 History of Mathematics M100

The document discusses the history of mathematics from prehistoric times to early number systems used by different civilizations. It describes how during the Paleolithic Age, people lived nomadic lifestyles as hunter-gatherers and made tools from stone. In the Neolithic Age, humans established villages and developed ideas around farming, trade, and basic quantities. It then examines ethnomathematics and the numerical systems used by Native Americans, Mesoamericans, Mayans, Incans, and some African groups which were often based on counting body parts or vigesimal and quinary systems.

Uploaded by

Johara Abdullah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
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HISTORY OF

MATHEMATICS
Early Number Systems
History of Mathematics

• History of mathematics is an area of study that explores on the


persons, events, and places that bear notably on the growth of
mathematical ideas. This narration ranges from thousands of
years before Christ to the beginning of mathematics as a science
in the 15th Century and spilling over into the new millennium.

• Mathematics continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. There is


no end in sight, and the application of mathematics to science
becomes greater all the time.
THE BEGINNINGS
A. Prehistoric Times

• Prehistory refers to the period before


people kept written records. This is called
Stone Age.
PALEOLITHIC AGE

• often referred to as the Old Stone Age


• the longest part of prehistoric times
• people had no permanent places to live; lived in caves
and made temporary homes by using plants and animal
skins to make tents; more preoccupied with looking
for food in order to survive; made weapons for hunting
like daggers and spears made of stones, bones, or
sticks.
NEOLITHIC AGE

• often referred to as the New Stone Age


• marked with changes from crude ways of doing things
to a more refined form
• developed farming, tamed wild animals; learned
pottery making; weaving, and working with metals;
and established villages
• developed ideas of trade, private property, and
quantity
B. Ethnomathematics

Definition and Foundation


• It is the mathematics that is persistent in particular cultural
groups.
• It is derived from ethnos (within a cultural background),
mathema (explaining and understanding in order to
transcend, managing and coping with reality in order to
survive and thrive, and tics (techniques such as counting,
ordering, sorting, measuring, weighing, ciphering,
classifying, inferring, and modeling.
Numerical Terms and Systems
of Early Civilizations
1. Native Americans

• used quinary counting


(based on five)
2. Mesoamerican

• used vigesimal number


system (based twenty
system) using only three
symbols: a shell-like
symbol representing 0, a
dot representing 1, and
a line representing 5
3. Mayans

• Dresden Codex (a
treatise on astronomy)
• used vigesimal number
system
• used two calendars:
ritual calendar and civil
calendar
4. Incans

• kept detailed and clear


information on census taxes owed
or collected, output of mines,
and composition of work forces
• used Quipu to encode the
numerical details
• used a base ten number
• used a counting board, called
Yupana, to solve mathematical
problems
5. Africans

• words for certain


numbers are based
upon the parts of the
human body
• applied geometric
patterns and designs in
the hair braiding
INSTRUCTOR: MS. PRINCESS T. DOMINGO

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