Cultural Number Systems: A Sourcebook

Description

This sourcebook presents an extensive look at cultural number systems in numeracy and writing systems. Based on a decade of research by the author, the work examines topics such as why Xerxes the First counted his army by having his men march through an enclosure big enough to hold 10,000 of them at a time, why the Hawaiian word for "twenty" means “nine and two,” why an ancient Greek mathematician was driven mad by irrational numbers, and how old counting might be and how we might know this. Along the way, the author describes topics such as dactylonomy, the ancient art of expressing and calculating numbers with the fingers; specified counting, the use of different counting sequences to count different types of objects; and the ephemeral abacus, strategies for counting that involve people and goods but not an actual device. The chapters are organized into six geographical areas (the ancient Near East, Africa, Europe, Asia/India, Oceania, and the Americas). Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction References Part I: Number Systems in the Ancient Near East Chapter 2: Sumerian Numbers References Chapter 3: Minority Traditions References Chapter 4: Akkadian Numbers References Chapter 5: Elamite Numbers References Chapter 6: Numbers in the Achaemenid Empire References Chapter 7: Egyptian Numbers References Part II: Number Systems in Africa Chapter 8: The Ishango Bone References Chapter 9: Yoruba Numbers References Chapter 10: Igbo Numbers References Chapter 11: Ngiti Numbers References Chapter 12: Numbers in Sessuto References Untitled Chapter 13: African Finger-Counting References Part III: Number Systems in Europe Chapter 14: Prehistoric Finger-Counting References Chapter 15: The Taï Plaque References Chapter 16: Non-decimal and Unusual Decimal Counting Systems References Chapter 17: Greek Numbers References Chapter 18: Roman Numerals References Chapter 19: Dactylonomy (Digital Reckoning) References Part IV: Number Systems in Asia Chapter 20: Chinese Numbers References Chapter 21: Chinese Calculating Methods References Chapter 22: Numbers in Japan References Chapter 23: Korean Numbers and Numeral Types References Chapter 24: Numbers in the Philippines References Chapter 25: Numbers in India References Part V: Number Systems in Oceania Chapter 26: Numbers in New Guinea: Body-Counting References Chapter 27: Numbers in New Guinea: Yam Counting and Other Counting Methods References Chapter 28: Numbers in Australia References Chapter 29: Numbers in Melanesia and Micronesia References Chapter 30: Numbers in Polynesia References Chapter 31: Misunderstandings, Mistakes, and Outright Frauds References Part VI: Number Systems in the Americas Chapter 32: The Arctic: Inuit Numbers References Chapter 33: Northern California: Pomo Numbers References Chapter 34: Northern California: Number Systems Based on Fours and Eights References Chapter 35: Mesoamerica: Maya Numbers References Chapter 36: Western South America: Inka numbers References Chapter 37: Amazonian Number Systems: Desana, Mundurukú, and Pirahã References Chapter 38: Conclusion References Index