Crafting string figures — a tradition found across the globe — might reveal a shared cultural heritage that spans thousands of years.
New research combines ancient creativity with modern mathematical tools to trace the evolution and spread of this timeless practice.
Patterns of Tradition Across Cultures
Researchers from the University of Helsinki, Aarhus University, the National Museum of Denmark, and Seattle University collaborated to study the cognitive, cultural, and historical importance of traditional string figures. These games involve using the fingers to manipulate a loop of string into intricate patterns. The study aimed to uncover whether specific string figures developed independently in different regions or share a common origin.
Analyzing 826 string figures from 92 cultures worldwide, the researchers identified 83 recurring designs. Their findings revealed that some figures are globally widespread, hinting at ancient cultural connections that may trace back thousands of years.
Cultural Transmission and Local Innovations
“Strikingly similar string figures appear in, for example, the North American Arctic cultures or in the Pacific region. These are examples of how people have transmitted traditional string figures through migration and contact over centuries or even millennia. We also noted that some figures appear only in restricted regions, which may indicate both isolation and local innovation,” explains Postdoctoral Researcher Roope Kaaronen of the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
The Art and Math Behind String Figures
String figures are a tangible example of cultural artifacts that combine art, crafts, play, storytelling, and mathematical reasoning. Such traditions shared across humanity may help in understanding human creativity, cognitive evolution, and the origins of mathematical thinking.
“String figures demonstrate the human drive to seek and develop cognitively challenging forms of entertainment, such as more recent games like chess or sudoku,” says Kaaronen.
Innovations in Analyzing Cultural Artifacts
The researchers applied mathematical knot theory to develop a computational method to create a DNA-like symbolic representation of each string figure. This enables the cross-cultural comparison of string figures and the construction of their “family tree.”
The method also enables the study of the evolution of numerous other early human technologies, which may help archaeologists and anthropologists investigate cultural heritage in a novel way.
Implications for Future Cultural Studies
“The analysis methods we developed can be extended to the quantitative study and cross-cultural comparison of other objects made of string, cord, thread, or rope, such as knots, fishing nets, and textiles. Digital methods and computational tools allow us to preserve and understand this cultural heritage better and to ensure its transmission to future generations,” summarizes Kaaronen.
Reference: “A global cross-cultural analysis of string figures reveals evidence of deep transmission and innovation” by Roope O. Kaaronen, Matthew J. Walsh, Allison K. Henrich, Isobel Wisher, Elena Miu, Mikael A. Manninen, Jussi T. Eronen and Felix Riede, 30 November 2024, Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2024.0673
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