Pacific Ethnomathematics: A Bibliographic Study

This ground-breaking bibliography by distinguished Pacific researcher Nicholas Goetzfridt examines mathematical concepts and practices in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. It covers number systems, counting, measuring, classifying, spatial relationships, symmetry, geometry, and other aspects of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Goetzfridt, Nicholas J. (Author)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Honolulu University of Hawaii Press [2007]
Subjects:
Online Access:DE-1046
DE-1043
DE-858
DE-859
DE-860
DE-739
DE-473
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Summary:This ground-breaking bibliography by distinguished Pacific researcher Nicholas Goetzfridt examines mathematical concepts and practices in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. It covers number systems, counting, measuring, classifying, spatial relationships, symmetry, geometry, and other aspects of ethnomathematics in relation to a wide range of activities such as trade, education, navigation, construction, rituals and festivals, divination, weaving, tattooing, and music. In compiling nearly five hundred citations, Goetzfridt makes use of the vast resources of writing about the Pacific from the 1700s to the present. In addition to discussing Pacific knowledge systems in general, his introductory chapter includes a helpful overview of the relatively new field of ethnomathematics and important theoretical reflections on the discipline as a research program.Extensive subject and geographic indexes provide numerous ways to experience the rich heritage and history of Pacific ethnomathematical concepts covered in this book, including: the 256 possible knotted fates enabled by the Carolinian sky god Supwunumen, etak segmentation concepts in stellar based voyaging, the highly diverse counting systems of Papua New Guinea, the alignment of stone structures with stars to mark the appearance of the equinox and solstice, and contemporary educational issues in the standardized teaching of Western mathematics
Item Description:Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Jul 2021)
Physical Description:1 online resource (342 pages)
ISBN:9780824874643
DOI:10.1515/9780824874643

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