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When did humans first learn to count?

  • Written by Peter Schumer, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, Middlebury College
When did humans first learn to count?Where did our written numbers come from?Nikita Rogul/shutterstock.com

The history of math is murky, predating any written records. When did humans first grasp the basic concept of a number? What about size and magnitude, or form and shape?

In my math history courses and my research travels in Guatemala, Egypt and Japan, I’ve been especially...

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