From a historical and cultural perspective as well as a critical ethnographic approach, this work analyses the numerical relationships that take place within the social practices of the Tseltal Mayan community. In this social group, children learn to identify numbers through the use of cultural artefacts and natural elements, as well as collaborating with adults and other children, bringing body, emotions and cognition into play. We describe how for Tseltal Mayan children, numbers constitute a way of naming the world.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BarrigaF. (2006). La numerología maya. Doctoral Dissertation. México: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
2.
LaveJ. (2010). Apprenticeship in critical ethnographic practice. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
3.
MicalcoM. (2013). The use of numbers of embroidery in Tzeltal Mayan communities: Journal cultural-historical psychology no.3. Moscú: Moscow State University.
4.
RogoffB. (2012). Learning without lessons: Opportunities to expand knowledge. Infancia y Aprendizaje, 35, 233–252. doi:10.1174/021037012800217970
5.
SaxeG. (1988). The mathematics of child street vendors. Child Development, 59, 1415–1425. doi:10.2307/1130503
