Ishango bone

Common card · No. 254139

The Ishango bone, discovered at the "Fisherman Settlement" of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a bone tool and possible mathematical device that dates to the Upper Paleolithic era. The curved bone is dark brown in color, about 10 centimeters in length, and features a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end, perhaps for engraving. Because the bone has been narrowed, scraped, polished, and engraved to a certain extent, it is no longer possible to determine what animal the bone belonged to, although it is assumed to have been a mammal. The ordered engravings have led many to speculate about the meaning behind these marks, including interpretations involving mathematical significance or astrological relevance. It is thought by some to be a tally stick, as it features a series of marks that have been interpreted as tally marks carved in three columns running the length of the tool, although it has also been suggested that the scratches might have been to create a better grip...

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