News Finding: Mangarevan #invention of #binary steps for easier #calculation
  #Beller and #Bender on #PNAS
  
Paper Finding: And second, even in a preliterate society like Mangareva, the frequent exchange of goods by way of tributes and redistribution within 14, and beyond island boundaries generates a need for the aforementioned operations at least to some extent.
News Context: Mangarevan #invention of #binary steps for easier #calculation
  #Beller and #Bender on #PNAS
  
Paper Context: First, addition and multiplication are already inherent in number word construction. And second, even in a preliterate society like Mangareva, the frequent exchange of goods by way of tributes and redistribution within 14, and beyond island boundaries generates a need for the aforementioned operations at least to some extent. Once this sequence is in place, abbreviation strategies lead almost automatically to certain types of basic arithmetic.