The Lebombo & Ishango Bones shows where the first known mathematical tools were discovered and is the third activity in the ECG Black History Month (BHM) series. Starting with:
Activity #1: The Original People
Activity #2: What Makes Black People Black
This 20-Activity series provides supplemental learning for each school day of the month of February 2023. The first activity was FREE but each subsequent activity will be offered at a discount during BHM. Activities will be uploaded throughout the month of February. Come back each day for the latest activity.
The activities contain a vocabulary section to ensure students are comprehending the material, a reading section which includes much of the vocabulary and introduces students to the topic, a STEM section which requires students to scientifically think about the material and may include vocabulary, and a writing section which requires students to reflect on the material or answer the prompt using evidence or by making inferences.
The Lebombo & Ishango Bones is the third activity in the ECG Black History Month (BHM) series. Starting with Activity #1: The Original People, and Activity #2: What Makes Black People Black, this 20-Activity series provides supplemental learning for each school day of the month of February 2023. The first activity is FREE but each subsequent activity will be offered at a discount during BHM. Activities will be uploaded throughout the month of February. Come back each day for the latest activity.
Photo courtesy of https://afrolegends.com/2019/05/17/the-lebombo-bone-the-oldest-mathematical-artifact-in-the-world/
The Brief Student Reading:
The Lebombo Bone is a very ancient African math tool. It is the first mathematical instrument known in history.
Some sources date the bone at 35,000 BC and some sources say it’s even older. It has 29 known notches on it and some scholars think it may have first been used by women to calculate their moon cycles.
It was found in the country known as the Kingdom of Eswatini (once Swaziland), in southern Africa.
The Ishango Bone was found in the Ishango area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt, a Belgium anthropologist, uncovered it in 1950.
It is speculated to be a tally stick but researchers are unsure and it is estimated to have been created between 20,000-25,000 years ago. It is now located in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. It is one of thousands of African artifacts looted by a European nation.
Remember, every activity contains a vocabulary section to ensure students are comprehending the material, a reading section which includes much of the vocabulary and introduces students to the topic, a STEM section which requires students to scientifically think about the material and may include vocabulary, and a writing section which requires students to reflect on the material or answer the prompt using evidence or by making inferences.
End of Brief Student Reading!
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