Native American mathematics

Summary: There is no question that native cultures in the New World exhibit many forms of mathematical development. This Native American mathematics can best be described by considering the nature of the concepts found in a variety of individual New World cultures. Unlike modern mathematics in which numbers and concepts are expressed in universal mathematical notation, the numbers and concepts found in native cultures occur and are expressed in many distinctive ways. Native American Mathematics, edited by Michael P. Closs, is the first book to focus on mathematical development indigenous to the New World.

Record details

ISBN: 9780292711853 (paperback)
ISBN: 0292711859
ISBN: 0292755317
ISBN: 9780292755314
ISBN: 0292755371
Physical Description: print
431 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Publisher: Austin : University of Texas Press, [1986]
Copyright: ©1986

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-431).

Formatted Contents Note:

Native American number systems -- Numerical representations in North American rock art -- Some notes on quantification and numerals in an Amazon Indian language -- Calendrical and numercial systems of the Nootka -- Cultural ecology of mathematics -- Tallies and the ritual use of number in Ojibway pictography -- Survey of Aztec numbers and their use -- Decipherment and some implications of Aztec numerical glyphs -- Mathematical ideas of the Incas -- Mathematical notation of the ancient Maya -- Zero in the Mayan numercial notation -- In search of Mesoamerican geometry.