The Cognitive Advantages of Counting Specifically: An Analysis of Polynesian Number Systems

Distinct number systems for certain objects within the same language seem to reveal a lack of abstract thinking and are therefore often taken as cognitively deficient. The case of the Polynesian languages will prove this assumption to be mistaken. In addition to a general, perfectly consistent, and decimal system with high numerals, some of these languages also traditionally applied apparently mixed-base systems for a range of frequently used objects. Maori, Hawai'ian, and Tongan in particular are conspicuous for such ‘irregularities’, and one broadly accepted conjecture is that their decimal systems were introduced by Western missionaries. In order to demonstrate that the opposite is in fact true, this article scrutinizes their main numeration principles. The results indicate that the original Polynesian system was always abstract and decimal and that the supplementary systems were developed as—cognitively efficient—tools for calculating without notation.