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The Evolution of Man
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Origin of numbers: Report suggests Neanderthals might have learnt to count before modern humans: https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/...2021-06-03, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01429-6
Archaeologists are looking for evidence of ancient numerical systems to detail some of the first pre-historic developments. Learning to count and the ability to compute has pushed humans to new heights of technological development. However, a new observation at the Les Pradelles near Angoulême in France show that modern humans might not have been alone in developing a system of numerical notations, Neanderthals might have been the first. Neanderthals are the closest extinct relatives of Homo sapiens, or humans who used a diverse set of tools, controlled fire, lived in shelters, made and wore clothing, were skilled hunters and ate plant foods, animals. According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, "Both fossil and genetic evidence indicate that Neanderthals and modern humans evolved from a common ancestor between 700,000 and 300,000 years ago. Neanderthals and modern humans belong to the same genus and inhabited the same geographic areas in western Asia for 30,000-50,000 years." https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/...2021-06-02 A report published in Nature states that there is not a lot of agreement over the origin of numbers and cognitive scientists, anthropologists and psychologists are looking at contemporary cultures to understand differences among existing number systems. Archaeologists have also begun looking for evidence of ancient numerical systems to detail some of the first pre-historic development of the numerical system. https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/...2021-05-28 Francesco d’Errico, an archaeologist at the University of Bordeaux, who examines carved artefacts, believes that hyena bones found in the 1970s at the archaeological sites in France could have been more useful than just a tool that might encode numerical information. While India credits itself for the discovery of zero, information around the origin of numbers and the root of the system still requires heavy research. https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/...2021-06-01 The hyena bone found at the site has nine notches that are similar and parallel denoting they meant something and its analysis could provide insight into how the early system was developed. The archaeologist, who has studied the bone under a microscope said that their shapes, depths and other details are "so alike that it seems they have been made using the same tool in a single session." The nature report stated that the archaeologist has also analysed the seven notches on a 40,000-year-old raven bone from a Neanderthal site in Crimea, which too are spaced with "the same sort of regularity." Also Read: Archaeologists discover 2000-year-old cat figure etched on hillside in Peru desert: https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/...2020-10-19 Similar notches were also observed on a 42,000-year-old baboon fibula at Border Cave in South Africa, where 29 notches were carved using four distinct tools that represent four counting events. D’Errico suspects that modern humans living there at the time used the bone to record numerical information. While the archaeologist states that there are gaps in the information channels, it is not clear what cultural or social factors might have encouraged Neanderthals to begin marking bones as a tool to count numbers. The Evolution of Cognitive Tools for Quantification (QUANTA), a project to provide insights into whether number systems are unique to modern humans will study the new developments to find the social factors that might have led to the decision. Markings made on a hyena bone by a Neanderthal. Credit: Francesco d'Errico, Nature: Researchers think that people cut notches into this baboon bone some 40,000 years ago. Credit: F. d'Errico & L. Backwell, Nature: |
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