Title: The material origin of numbers : insights from the archaeology of the ancient Near East /
Authors: Overmann, Karenleigh A. 1957-
Year: 2019
Subjects: Numeration History; Counting History.; Mathematics Philosophy History.; Mathematics Middle East History.; Mathematics Middle East Philosophy History.; Number theory History; Grammar, Comparative and general Numerals; Ethnology Middle East; Counting; Ethnology; Grammar, Comparative and general Numerals; Mathematics; Mathematics Philosophy; Number theory; Numeration; Middle East
Abstract: "The Material Origin of Numbers examines how number concepts are realized, represented, manipulated, and elaborated. Utilizing the cognitive archaeological framework of Material Engagement Theory and culling data from disciplines including neuroscience, ethnography, linguistics, and archaeology, Overmann offers a methodologically rich study of numbers and number concepts in the ancient Near East from the late Upper Paleolithic Period through the Bronze Age"--
Contents: Introduction -- Numbers through a different lens -- What's a number, really? -- Assembling an elephant, one bit at a time -- Behavioral traces -- Language in holistic context -- Ancient languages and Mesopotamian numbers -- Fingers and tallies -- The Neolithic clay tokens -- Numerical notations and writing -- The role of materiality in numerical concepts -- Concluding remarks and questions.