• Revisiting the Mathematics of our Ancestors

    Author(s):
    Joshua Abah ABAH (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Subject(s):
    Ethnology, Cultural property, Nigeria, West Africa, Africa, Area studies
    Item Type:
    Book
    Tag(s):
    Ethnomathematics, Scoping Review, Nigerian Peoples and Cultures, Indigenous knowledge, African Traditional Mathematics, Ethnography, Cultural heritage, African studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/pj1v-za49
    Abstract:
    Long before the advent of publishing, the people of Nigeria are known to openly display their rich cultures and traditions. Embedded in this expressive culture are tangible evidence of mathematical elements in the form of geometric shapes, numbers, counting systems and exotic patterns. Ancient Nigerian peoples and cultures devised numbering systems, counted objects, constructed homes, and designed works of art based on mathematical principles that are presently taught in schools under different names. Still, many indigenous perspectives in mathematics are fading into oblivion, further mystifying the subject. This book use the scoping review framework to showcase early revolutionary reactions to the suppression of information on the development of indigenous mathematics in Nigeria. It traces ample scholarly evidence of Nigerian’s skills in the use of numbers and other elements of mathematics long before the arrival of the White Men. This work is intended to serve as a bridge to our noble mathematical past as preserved by great thinkers from diverse fields, locations and cultures. It sought to beam the searchlight on what we are missing as modern academic societies when we turn our back on rich instructional aids hidden in the cultural practices of our people.
    Notes:
    Revisiting the Mathematics of our Ancestors is a publication of the Network for Grassroots Science and Mathematics Education (The VillageMath Network), Department of Mathematics Education, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, NIGERIA
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Book     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.5281/zenodo.4706229
    Publisher:
    Network for Grassroots Science and Mathematics Education (The VillageMath Network), Department of Mathematics Education, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, NIGERIA
    Pub. Date:
    2020
    ISBN:
    978-978-58675-0
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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