The Ishango Bone
The Ishango bone was discovered by Belgian geologist Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt on the shores of Lake Edward in the Ishango region, near the border of Uganda, buried in layers volcanic ash. The bone dates back some 22,000 years. The bone is dark brown and appears to be the fibula of a baboon, with a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end for engraving. How does it work? The Ishango bones are actually two (2) bones, 10 to 14 cm long, with several incisions on each face. The smaller of the two bones carries several incisions organized in groups of three columns. CNN Report on the Ishango bone
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Abacus
In earlier times before numbers existed, the earliest counting device was the human fingers and toes. As even larger quantities (larger than ten human-fingers and toes could represent) were counted, various natural items like pebbles and twigs were used to help keep count. Then, the Abacus was developed to count large numbers.
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