Re: "kaida" pictographic script and "suuchuuma" numerals

--- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "Stephen Chrisomalis" <forthright@...>
wrote:

> I know this message has spawned quite a discussion on the nature of

scripts

> (writing systems?), but I have some specific factual information on

the

> suuchuma numerals that may be of use. There is an interesting if

very

> outdated article on the suuchuma numerals:
>
> Chamberlain, Basil Hall. 1898. A quinary system of notation

employed in

> Luchu on the wooden tallies termed sho-chu-ma. Journal of the
> Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 27: 383-395.
>
> As far as I can tell, this is the only paper on the subject in any

Western

> language (I have no Japanese). Chamberlain indicates that he was

told that

> even then, the system was no longer in use.
>
> I include a section on these numerals in my dissertation, "The

Comparative

> History of Numerical Notation". However, my only real source is
> Chamberlain. If anyone has additional information, I'd be very

interested

> in learning more about this very peculiar notation system.
>
> Steve Chrisomalis
> forthright@...
> http://phrontistery.50megs.com

Thank you very much for your informative post.

I'm thinking that perhaps "sho-chu-ma" used to be used all over the
Ryukyus (since AFAIK Chamberlain was pretty much based from the Big
Island), and that they may have still been in in use in Yonaguni
(yonakuni) when Chamberlain wrote that, but perhaps he wasn't aware
of it. (Yonaguni was and still is the most remote part of the Ryukyus)

Now I'm wondering if the numerals were the same throughout the
Ryukyus, or if there were major variations by region...

best wishes,
Mark