ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Mathematical Notes as a Cognitive Tool: A Mesopotamian Perspective

• In Event: Mathematics and Practical Knowledge

English Abstract

Written notes have long been a tool in mathematical research, something as true in the ancient world as it is today. At the same time, current research suggests that mathematical representations are culturally and socially sanctioned tools to redeploy experiences handling the physical world as a resource in mathematical work. Such notes produce a kind of “generative feedback loop” that drives the formation of new knowledge. In short, they are a culturally dependent cognitive tool designed to stabilize, employ, and produce knowledge. With this in mind, the current presentation will examine mathematical notes in ancient Mesopotamia. It will ask, how do notes appear in Mesopotamia? What do they contain? And why were they produced? Focus will be on the Old Babylonian Period (c. 2000-1600 BCE) in ancient Iraq. In the end, we will discover cuneiform tablets as mathematical notes and issues surrounding these objects.

Author

• Robert Middeke-Conlin, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology