ETHNOMATHEMATICS AND COMPLEXITY: MANIFESTATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE IN AMAZONIAN SOCIOCULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS

Abstract

The overspecialization of knowledge into disciplines, aimed at creating “pure” models of world representation, increases the gap between so-called scientific and traditional knowledge. In contrast, this article reflects on the fruitful dialogue between traditional and scientific knowledge, recognizing its potential for the human cognitive process, especially when considering mathematical knowledge. In this vein, the article aims to propose a dialogue between ethnomathematics and the epistemology of complexity to discuss the knowledge manifested in the process of crafting the tipiti and producing manioc flour in riverside communities of Parintins, a municipality in the interior of the state of Amazonas, Brazil.

The adopted methodology is qualitative in nature, allowing for triangulation between the results of two studies conducted in Parintins. The findings indicate that the tipiti, a press used to dry manioc pulp and studied in the first research, proved to be a representative element of Amazonian culture. Its construction follows a complex mathematical pattern materialized in the weaving of plant fibers. The second study identified, in the stages of manioc flour production, multiple forms of knowledge that constitute ethnomathematical practices developed in planting, harvesting, roasting, and pricing-actions in which modes of measuring, quantifying, and evaluating are manifested, learned through observation and reproduction of techniques that are elaborated and/or adapted to address situations specific to riverside environments.