174 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
We observe that in series A the numbers one to four are denoted by 
symbols, long ago conventionalised, of the finger, or fingers, of one hand ; 
while the sign for five would originally be an image of the whole hand 
(“hand finished,” as the Indians say; see p. 173), with the thumb projecting 
from the fingers. In series B the numbers six to nine are denoted by the 
addition of one finger or more of the second hand to the sign of the com- 
plete single hand ; while ten is represented by a cross, or decussis, signifying 
the crossed arms, i.e. the combination or summation of the two hands. In 
fact, these signs seem to represent pictorially a digital numeration like that 
which, as we have seen above, is practised by uncivilised peoples at the 
present day. The parallel is so clear that another interpretation need 
hardly be sought. That the four and nine were occasionally, though not 
invariably, written as IV and IX instead of IIII * and VIIII need not 
occasion any difficulty. The former signs may have been independently 
formed from the method of early numeration (see p. 173), or more probably 
they would be adopted on the analogy of VI and XI. 
In the absence of direct proof — which, indeed, is hardly to be looked 
for — this hypothesis might be supported by considerations derived from (1) 
the etymology of numerical terms, (2) a comparative study of the symbols 
of other numerical systems, (3) the accounts of gesture-language in ancient 
or modern times, (4) ideographs that may be relevant and significant though 
not incorporated in any numerical system. The limits of this paper permit 
of only a line or two in illustration of some of these headings. 
“ Let Father Gumilla, one of the early Jesuit missionaries in South 
America ” (Tylor, Primitive Culture , 4th ed., London, 1903, i. p. 245, quoting 
from Gumilla, Historia del Orenoco , vol. iii. ch. xlv.), “ describe for us the 
relation of gesture to speech in counting. ..." They [the Indians] say, 
for instance, “ give me one pair of scissors,” and forthwith they raise one 
finger ; “ give me two,” and at once they raise two, and so on.f They would 
never say “five” without showing a hand, never “ten” without holding 
out both. . . . ’ ” “ The Zulu {ibid., p. 251) counting on his fingers begins in 
general with the little finger of his left hand. When he comes to five, this 
he may call edesanta, £ finish hand ’ ; then he goes on to the thumb of the 
right hand, and so the word tatisitwpa, £ taking the thumb,’ becomes a 
numeral for six. Then the verb komba, £ to point,’ indicating the forefinger, 
or £ pointer,’ makes the next numeral, seven. . . . This curious way of 
using the numeral verb is shown in such an example as £ amahasi akombile,’ 
* The form IIII is still commonly used on watches and clocks. 
t It is interesting to recollect that in the C£ Latin ” form of benediction the thumb, index, 
and middle finger are extended to symbolise the Trinity. 
