Ethnomathematics – a rich cultural diversity
Useful sites
Aussie Educator
A comprehensive list of mathematics teaching resources for a range of age groups.
Base valued numbers (Poseidon Software and Invention, USA)
Presents some historical aspects of numbers (eg, 'Trading and numbers') and gives examples of different number base systems (eg, 'Base 2 (binary)' and 'Base 5 (hand)').
Indigenous mathematics – a rich diversity (Glen Lean Ethnomathematics Centre, Australia)
An overview of the different counting systems and other mathematical concepts that are used in Papua New Guinea and Oceania.
A variety of simple maths-based games.
Maths 'needs to listen' to other cultures (News Online, Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Explores the connections between mathematics and different cultures.
Ethnomathematics in Australia (The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Studies)
Provides a series of articles on Aboriginal mathematics.
Links to Pacific Islander ethnomathematics (International Study Group for Ethnomathematics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA)
Included in the available links are 'Oceania – mathematics and the liberal arts' and 'Glen Lean Ethnomathematics Centre in Papua New Guinea'.
Ethnomathematics Digital Library (EDL) (Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, USA)
A new online database of ethnomathematics materials, with links to relevant websites.
University of St Andrews (Scotland)
Mayan mathematics
An overview of the mathematical achievements of the Mayan civilisation.
Mathematics of the Incas
Describes how the ancient Incas used knots in strings (quipu) as a method of recording numerical information.
Page updated June 2007.