Pittsburg State University Digital Commons

Title

Constructing a Square Indian Fire Altar Activity

Authors

Cynthia J. Huffman Ph.D., Pittsburg State UniversityFollow

Files

Description

In this activity, we will model constructing a square fire altar with a method similar to one used by people in ancient India. The fire altars, which were made of bricks, had various shapes. Instructions for building the altars were in Vedic texts called Śulba-sūtras. We will follow instructions for constructing a square gārhapatya fire altar from the Baudhāyana-śulba-sūtra, which was written during the Middle Vedic period, about 800-500 BC.

Publication Date

8-1-2017

Keywords

history of math, ancient India, constructing a fire altar

Disciplines

Geometry and Topology | Mathematics | Other Mathematics | Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Recommended Citation

Huffman, Cynthia J. Ph.D., "Constructing a Square Indian Fire Altar Activity" (2017). Open Educational Resources - Math. 4.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/oer-math/4