This paper discusses the tendency to neglect socio-affective dimensions when researching cultural artifacts. It regards such an omission as a missing link in ethnomathematics research activities and that ignoring such aspects of artifacts predisposes one to make the information obtained thereof abstract and meaningless to the learner. It acknowledges the need to incorporate into the classroom both the artistic motif and the messages coded therein. The paper ends by suggesting the seniority reputational research approach as an alternative research method to investigating mathematical concepts in cultural artefacts.
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