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Ishango bone
The Ishango bone, discovered at the "Fisherman Settlement" of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a bone tool and possible mathematical device that dates to the Upper Paleolithic era. The curved bone is dark brown in color, about 10 centimeters in length, and features a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end, perhaps for engraving. Because the bone has been narrowed, scraped, polished, and engraved to a certain extent, it is no longer possible to determine what animal the bone belonged to, although it is assumed to have been a mammal.
The ordered engravings have led many to speculate the meaning behind these marks, including interpretations like mathematical significance or astrological relevance. It is thought by some to be a tally stick, as it features a series of what has been interpreted as tally marks carved in three columns running the length of the tool, although it has also been suggested that the scratches might have been to create a better grip on the handle or for some other non-mathematical reason. Others argue that the marks on the object are non-random and that it was likely a kind of counting tool and used to perform simple mathematical procedures.
Other speculations include the engravings on the bone serving as a lunar calendar. Dating to 20,000 years before present, it has been described as "the oldest mathematical tool of humankind", although older engraved bones are also known, such as the approximately 26,000-year-old "Wolf Bone" from Dolni Vestonice in the Czech Republic, and the approximately 42,000-year-old Lebombo bone from southern Africa.
The Ishango bone was found in 1950 by Belgian Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt while exploring what was then the Belgian Congo. It was discovered in the area of Ishango near the Semliki River. Lake Edward empties into the Semliki, which forms part of the headwaters of the Nile River (now on the border between modern-day Uganda and D.R. Congo). Some archaeologists believe the prior inhabitants of Ishango were a "pre-sapiens species". However, the most recent inhabitants, who gave the area its name, have no immediate connections with the primary settlement, which was "buried in a volcanic eruption".
On an excavation, de Heinzelin discovered a bone about the "size of a pencil" amongst human remains and many stone tools in a small community that fished and gathered in this area of Africa. Professor de Heinzelin brought the Ishango bone to Belgium, where it was stored in the treasure room of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels. Several molds and copies were created from the petrified bone in order to preserve the delicate nature of the fragile artifact while being exported. A written request to the museum was required to see the artifact, as it was no longer on public display.
The artifact was first estimated to have originated between 9,000 BCE and 6,500 BCE, making it from between 8,500 and 11,000 years in age, but numerous other analyses suggested the bone could be as old as 44,000 years. The dating of the site where it was discovered was re-evaluated, however, and it is now believed to be about 20,000 years old (dating from between 18,000 BCE and 20,000 BCE). The dating of this bone is widely debated in the archaeological community, as the ratio of carbon isotopes was upset by nearby volcanic activity.
The 168 etchings on the bone are ordered in three parallel columns along the length of the bone, each marking with a varying orientation and length. The first column, or central column along the most curved side of the bone, is referred to as the M column, from the French word milieu (middle). The left and right columns are respectively referred to as G and D, or gauche (left) and droite (right) in French.
The parallel markings have led to various tantalizing hypotheses, such as that the implement indicates an understanding of decimals or prime numbers. Though these propositions have been questioned, it is considered likely by many scholars that the tool was used for mathematical purposes, perhaps including simple mathematical procedures or to construct a numeral system.
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Ishango bone
The Ishango bone, discovered at the "Fisherman Settlement" of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a bone tool and possible mathematical device that dates to the Upper Paleolithic era. The curved bone is dark brown in color, about 10 centimeters in length, and features a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end, perhaps for engraving. Because the bone has been narrowed, scraped, polished, and engraved to a certain extent, it is no longer possible to determine what animal the bone belonged to, although it is assumed to have been a mammal.
The ordered engravings have led many to speculate the meaning behind these marks, including interpretations like mathematical significance or astrological relevance. It is thought by some to be a tally stick, as it features a series of what has been interpreted as tally marks carved in three columns running the length of the tool, although it has also been suggested that the scratches might have been to create a better grip on the handle or for some other non-mathematical reason. Others argue that the marks on the object are non-random and that it was likely a kind of counting tool and used to perform simple mathematical procedures.
Other speculations include the engravings on the bone serving as a lunar calendar. Dating to 20,000 years before present, it has been described as "the oldest mathematical tool of humankind", although older engraved bones are also known, such as the approximately 26,000-year-old "Wolf Bone" from Dolni Vestonice in the Czech Republic, and the approximately 42,000-year-old Lebombo bone from southern Africa.
The Ishango bone was found in 1950 by Belgian Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt while exploring what was then the Belgian Congo. It was discovered in the area of Ishango near the Semliki River. Lake Edward empties into the Semliki, which forms part of the headwaters of the Nile River (now on the border between modern-day Uganda and D.R. Congo). Some archaeologists believe the prior inhabitants of Ishango were a "pre-sapiens species". However, the most recent inhabitants, who gave the area its name, have no immediate connections with the primary settlement, which was "buried in a volcanic eruption".
On an excavation, de Heinzelin discovered a bone about the "size of a pencil" amongst human remains and many stone tools in a small community that fished and gathered in this area of Africa. Professor de Heinzelin brought the Ishango bone to Belgium, where it was stored in the treasure room of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels. Several molds and copies were created from the petrified bone in order to preserve the delicate nature of the fragile artifact while being exported. A written request to the museum was required to see the artifact, as it was no longer on public display.
The artifact was first estimated to have originated between 9,000 BCE and 6,500 BCE, making it from between 8,500 and 11,000 years in age, but numerous other analyses suggested the bone could be as old as 44,000 years. The dating of the site where it was discovered was re-evaluated, however, and it is now believed to be about 20,000 years old (dating from between 18,000 BCE and 20,000 BCE). The dating of this bone is widely debated in the archaeological community, as the ratio of carbon isotopes was upset by nearby volcanic activity.
The 168 etchings on the bone are ordered in three parallel columns along the length of the bone, each marking with a varying orientation and length. The first column, or central column along the most curved side of the bone, is referred to as the M column, from the French word milieu (middle). The left and right columns are respectively referred to as G and D, or gauche (left) and droite (right) in French.
The parallel markings have led to various tantalizing hypotheses, such as that the implement indicates an understanding of decimals or prime numbers. Though these propositions have been questioned, it is considered likely by many scholars that the tool was used for mathematical purposes, perhaps including simple mathematical procedures or to construct a numeral system.