Who created mathematics? Where did it begin? To answer these questions, we need to think about what mathematics is. In their work on ethnomathematics, Borba (1990) and D'Ambrosio (1990) define the compnonents of ethnomathematics as the follows:
ethnos - within a cultural environment
mathema - explaining and understanding in order to transcend, managing and coping with reality in order to survive and thrive.
tics - techniques such as counting, ordering, sorting, measuring, weighing, ciphering, classifying, ordering, inferring and modeling.