The Role of Curie Principle in Understanding Composite Plane Symmetry Patterns: New Ethnomathematic Relations in Ancient Eurasian Ornamental Arts from Archaeologic Finds of the Period 1 M.B.C. and 1 M.A.D.

Szaniszló Bérczi

Department of General Physics, Eötvös University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/a., Hungary
E-mail address: bercziszani@ludens.elte.hu

(Received June 5, 2004; Accepted October 8, 2004)

Keywords: Curie Principle, Eurasian Ornament, Composite Plane-Symmetry Patterns, Ethnomathematics

Abstract. Both architectural remnants (murals, tiles) and archaeologic finds from tomb excavations (textiles, bones, bronze mounts) exhibit various complex ornamental plane symmetry structures. Curie-principle may serve as a mathematical tool to reconstruct and classify these patterns. This classification of composite patterns may serve as a tool for comparative ethnomathematical studies in Eurasian ornamental arts, because the composite plane symmetry patterns can be considered as intuitive mathematical discoveries of ancient peoples. The survival of pattern structures were found in greater regions in the interval between 1 milleneum B.C. and 1 milleneum A.D. There is one with dominance of cm-cmm-pg-p4m-types in the Pontusian Steppe - Caucasus - Caspian region during the whole interval studied. There is another one in Central Asia in the middle of the 1 milleneum A.D. The third one is dominated by the p4m-p4-p2-types in the Cretean and Greek region.