this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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I saw a video years ago where somebody was talking (with a translator) to a tribe, I forget where. He asked how do they count. They would point with one hand to the other hand. Once they've got to five they start pointing to other parts of the arm moving upwards. He then asked what if you need to count higher. They looked confused, why would they need to count higher.
For them they could exist without needing to count beyond teens.
I'm not sure how accurate that is, calenders are pretty important for being able to survive, and surely they need to figure "do we have enough food to last the rest of this season".
Maybe they have different math for that or there was an issue with translation.
These dudes lived in the tropics and lived off the fat of the land. They didn't need to worry about seasons in the way more northern/southern hemisphere people do.
Totally agree though. Maths, astrology, water sources, farming. All very important to sustain a civilisation.