Why did our asncestors start counting, measuring, and describing the shapes of objects at some point?

Question

Why did our asncestors start counting, measuring, and describing the shapes of objects at some point?

Answer 1

Because they didn't have tv. and got really bored

Answer 2

because, if you want to make something that is just as good, say a wood spear, than the best way to do it is to make note of its size and shape, so that they can more accurately reproduce it.

Answer 3

They did not have TV.

Answer 4

Necessity is the mother of invention I have been told.

Answer 5

to assert that they were not alone.

It's a belief that the anscestors we have were all quite mad from being so isolated with the lack of communication.

Physical everyday things are a great way to build up a relationship, at the time this would have been a great game. Everyday in the tribe, people would come together and share the words they created for what they had seen

Answer 6

Essentially to communicate and organize in order to be effective hunters and to trade.

Answer 7

Bartering and trading required counting and communication. Can you imagine "How much for that stuff?" "Oh how about that much to that."

Answer 8

Cause at some point their brains were sufficiently developed to notice things around them and having language.  Like say the "little woman" was out picking berries for her lazy husband and she had a little basket to put them in.   Well he started to notice that sometimes she would return and the basket wasn't full and somehow he figured hey the *****'s basket is only half full.  See without say contemplating what half meant he would of course notice that the pile of berries wasn't as high as it should be.  Then because he couldn't trust her (knowing she'd been eating "his" berries) he started to take more notice of the pile of berries as the days went by and because he had lots of time to just stare out of his cave and think about things he developed a way to think Mmmmm this time it is only a quarter full not even half and maybe he started drawing lines in the earth representing each bunch of berries his devious mate was bringing to his table.    So really with a brain and with cunning his knowledge of numbers would develop because he'd devised a way to count and so on and so forth.

Also looking at the moon his brain was programmed to recognize the shape of it and maybe compare it to a "round" pebble and find a word to mean "round" and that some people were shorter than others;  or making a bow and making arrows he'd devise the shapes needed to make them work - like he wouldn't want a crooked arrow would he?

I also think things like straight lines, circles etc. are ingrained in our brains and that is part of being human.

Answer 9

Because they watched the sky change, and they wanted to imitate what they saw up there, and that's how the first calenders were invented, 20,000+ years ago...

Answer 10

Hands.  Remember when you were young. You made shapes of shadows with your hands. You can count on your fingers like a child.  You can communicate with your hands. You need your hands to survive. You give with hands and you get with hands. You punish with hands and you heal with hands. If you have nothing else to do you look at your hands. Ancient secrets are in the hands.