Ishango STEM Summer Camp 2023

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Ishango I STEM Summer Camp

Solving an Ancient African Numerical Riddle as a STEM Didactic Exercise

The “Ishango Rods” are two archaeological artifacts discovered by geologist and archaeologist Jean de Heinzelin at a site high above the origin of the Semliki River as it emerges out of Lake Edward (de Heinzelin 1957, 1962). The discoveries range in age from c. 25,000 BP and 16,000 BP (Brooks et al 1995). The Ishangian Culture is taught in schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the historical origin of the peoples of the Congo, broadly defined.

De Heinzelein (1962) described the more complete of the two specimens as bearing a “deliberately planned” complex of notches on a bone tool that had a quartz flake affixed to one end (Fig. 1). Arranged in three columns on the bone (Fig. 2) the first column of numbers show four groupings of notches that are the prime numbers between 10 and 20. Could it be that a people in the interior of Africa at this very early time “had a number system based on 10 as well as a knowledge of duplication and of prime numbers,” as de Heinzelin hypothesized?

This exercise will use the anthropological, biological, geological, and ecological contexts of this important African World Heritage site to teach STEM basic concepts in mathematics. The lessons taught will be appropriate to students worldwide, but may be of particular relevance in engaging students of recent African descent.

Date:

Ongoing

Time:

Ongoing

Location:

New College Institute
191 Fayette Street
Martinsville VA 24112

Ishango STEM Summer Camp 2023

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