ISBN:
9781556523502
Language:
English
Pages:
Online-Ressource (369 p)
Edition:
3rd ed
Edition:
Online-Ausg. 2013 Electronic reproduction; Available via World Wide Web
Parallel Title:
Print version Africa Counts : Number and Pattern in African Cultures
Keywords:
Ethnomathematics ; Africa, Sub-Saharan
;
Games ; Africa, Sub-Saharan
;
Electronic books
;
Electronic books
Abstract:
This fascinating study of mathematical thinking among sub-Saharan African peoples covers counting in words and in gestures; measuring time, distance, weight, and other quantities; manipulating money and keeping accounts; number systems; patterns in music, poetry, art, and architecture; and number magic and taboos. African games such as mankala and elaborate versions of tic-tac-toe show how complex this thinking can be. An invaluable resource for students, teachers, and others interested in African cultures and multiculturalism, this third edition is updated with an introduction covering t
Description / Table of Contents:
Front Cover; Copyright; Dedication; CONTENTS; FOREWORD TO THE 1999 EDITION; FOREWORD TO THE 1973 EDITION; PREFACE TO THE 1973 EDITION; SECTION 1 THE BACKGROUND; MAPS: Africa Today; Peoples Discussed in the Text; 1 African Mathematics?; 2 Historical Background; Africa: Geographic Features and Ancient Cities; Old Sudanic Kingdoms; SECTION 2 NUMBERS-WORDS, GESTURES, SIGNIFICANCE; 3 Construction of Numeration Systems; 4 How Africans Count; Distribution of Numeration Systems in Africa; 5 Taboos and Mysticism; SECTION 3 NUMBERS IN DAILY LlFE; 6 The African Concept of Time; 7 Numbers and Money
Description / Table of Contents:
8 Those Familiar Weights and Measures!9 Record-Keeping: Sticks and Strings; SECTION 4 MATHEMATICAL RECREATIONS; 10 Games to Grow On; 11 The Game Played by Kings and Cowherds-and Presidents, Too!; 12 Magic Squares; SECTION 5 PATTERN AND SHAPE; 13 Geometric Form in Architecture; 14 Part I: Geometric Form and Pattern in Art; 14a Part II: Geometric Symmetries in African Art, By D. W. Crowe, with Original Drawings; SECTION 6 REGIONAL STUDY: SOUTHWEST NIGERIA; 15 History of the Yoruba States and Benin; Sixteenth-Century States of the Nigerian Region; 16 Systems of Numeration; 17 Significant Numbers
Description / Table of Contents:
18 Time-Reckoning19 Markets and Currency; SECTION 7 REGIONAL STUDY: EAST AFRICA; Eastern Africa: Countries and Peoples; 20 History of East Africa; 21 Spoken and Gesture Counting; 22 Number Superstitions; 23 East African Time; 24 Wealth Means Cattle-and Other Livestock; SECTION 8 PAST AND FUTURE; 25 Pure Mathematics in Africa; 26 Update: Twenty-Five Years Later; APPENDIX; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; CHAPTER REFERENCES AND NOTES; BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: Marianne Schmidl; D. W. Crowe; Frank E. Chapman, Jr.; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX; Section A. Africa: Peoples, Languages, Geography; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K
Description / Table of Contents:
LM; N; P; R; S; T; U; V; X; Y; Z; Section B. Subjects and Selected Authors; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; W
Note:
Description based upon print version of record
,
Electronic reproduction; Available via World Wide Web
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