HISTORY

       Africa is the birthplace of the mathematical sciences, including basic and complex mathematics. Ancient Africans used measurement, calculation, algebra, and geometry as a part of daily life.

       African peoples were the first peoples in the world to develop a system for counting things. The first mathematical invention created in Africa was the tally stick, a device usually made out of a baboon bone that was used to count quantities and numbers. In 35,000 B.C., the first tally stick was developed in South Africa, with 29 notches engraved into it. Researchers suspect that the 29 markings could have represented menstrual cycles, lunar cycles, or generic measurements. In 20,000 B.C., another tally stick was developed in East Africa at the head of the Nile River. The use of baboon bones to create mathematical devices has been prevalent throughout the history of Africa, suggesting that Africans regard baboons as sacred and associated with math and time.

      Some of the oldest mathematical games and puzzles originated from Sub-Saharan Africa, including games based on chance and probability, ‘struggle-for-territory’ games, and three-in-a-row games like Tic-Tac-Toe. The use of geometry and symmetry can be observed in this region based on the repeated designs of houses, baskets, pipes, and cropping patterns. Members of the Saharan community needed to have an advanced mathematical understanding to construct homes in their villages. To create these thatched huts made of clay and straw, construction and design skills were needed to ensure that the homes were stable and that weight displacement was even.

       In around 7000 BC., the Egyptians and the Sudanese began using clay tokens to count things. By 3000 B.C., the Egyptians were using their hieroglyphic system to document large numbers. The Ancient Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to fully adopt and practice the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). They worshipped the god Thoth, the god of science, religion, philosophy, and magic. The Greeks even declared Thoth as the inventor of science, astronomy, mathematics, and geometry. The Egyptians had their own decimal system, which consisted of factors of 10, including 1, 10, 100, and so on. The Pyramids were the Egyptians’ main technological innovation, as the development of the 138 masonry structures required a lot of advanced geometry and mathematics. The Egyptians had even observed electrical principles before the advent of electricity. For example, there are documented texts with references to interacting with electric fish and lightning.