Origins of mathematics: 8000 BC

[Martin]

John Baez (mathematician interested in quantum gravity, category theory and divers other stuff) has a kind of sporadic blog called This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics. And TWF #239 just came out

 

Baez and lady were in China for the summer and have some neat photos of life and sights you might want to look at

scroll down a couple of days here

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/august_2006.html'>http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/diary/august_2006.html

to the start of the Shanghai and Suzhou pictures

 

TWF 239 is partly about the origins of mathematics in the Mideast around 8000 BC with some clay tokens. Baez shows some photos of the tokens here

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/

and also if you scroll down a screen or so here

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/week239.html

 

this was before cunieform writing on clay tablets. Writing developed on the CLAY ENVELOPE that they used to store the tokens in. the writing was to say what was in the envelope, made with a stick when the envelope was still wet.

 

eventually they realized you didnt need the tokens, only the writing on the outside.

 

sounds like a process of abstraction

 

Baez links this archeologist website for more information:

http://it.stlawu.edu/%7Edmelvill/mesomath/