History tells us of the origins of mathematics in the continent of Africa thousands of years ago. Various artefacts found by archaeologists in parts of Africa confirm this amazing story The Ishango bone is a bone tool, dated to the upper Palaeolithic era. The artefact, now in a museum in Belgium, was discovered in 1960 in the African area of Ishango, near the headwaters of the Nile River at Lake Edward on the border between modern-day Uganda and Congo. It was found among the remains of a small community that fished and gathered in this area of Africa. It is estimated that the artefact originated more than 20,000 years ago. On this particular bone, there are three columns of asymmetrically grouped notches, believed to imply that the implement was used to construct a numeral system, and may have been used as a counting tool for simple mathematical procedures.
This is just one example of the rich history of African mathematics. We draw our inspiration from these bits of African history. We are driven by the desire to use our skills in mathematics to assist our clients to manage risks and plan for the uncertain future.