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One of the leading theories about the invention of written numbers and arithmetic is to handle accounting for debts that would last longer than a few weeks or i
by dsr_ 9y ago
One of the leading theories about the invention of written numbers and arithmetic is to handle accounting for debts that would last longer than a few weeks or involve many people -- that is, as a supplement to memory for the purpose of credit/debt.
So at the dawn of agriculture, people weren't using barter -- they were using credit unions.
- naravara 9y agoAnd it's easy to speculate how someone would come up with something like that to help adjudicate disputes after having enough he said/she said arguments. Literally chisel some hash-marks into a rock so people don't "forget" and problem solved.