This document discusses the history of measurement and different systems used around the world. It begins by describing how early humans used parts of the body like hands, fingers, and feet to measure length. It then explains how standardized units developed with trade and taxation, showing examples from ancient Greece, Egypt, China, and West Africa. The document also outlines two common modern systems - the Imperial/English system and the metric system, providing details on how units like inches, feet, pounds and meters originated and are currently defined. It concludes by listing sources for further information on the story of measurement over time.

1. Warm-Up Activity: Measuring Ourselves
Using your own body, determine:
•How many hands tall are you?
•How many finger-widths tall is your head?
•How many finger-widths is it from your
elbow to the tip of your finger?
Compare your results with your neighbors.

2. A Concise and Abbreviated History of
Measurement
Units of measurement based on the human body
Diagram of Yup’ik (Alaska
Native) units of length
Relief carving of Ancient
Greek measurement
using hand span and foot
Diagram of Egyptian
definitions of cubit and
palm
image credit: Jerry Lipka et al
photo credit: Xavier de Jauréguiberry

3. The Smoot
The Harvard Bridge between Boston and
Cambridge, MA. The Harvard Bridge is 364.4
Smoots in length, plus or minus an ear.
Oliver Smoot being used to measure the
Harvard Bridge in 1958.
photo credit: Denimadept creative commons photo credit: MIT museum via Dave Schumaker

4. With trade and taxation came the need for
standardized units
Standard weights for measuring gold
dust used by the Asante of Ghana
photo credit: Claudia Zaslavsky
Standardized weights from the Indus river valley
photo credit: John Hill creative commons
photo credit: Andrew Robinson
A bronze ruler from the Han dynasty in China

5. Systems of measurement commonly used in the US:
The English or Imperial System
image credit: Ian Whitelaw
photo credit: Andrew RobinsonThe early English inch was defined as
the length of three barleycorns laid end-
to-end King George the III of England’s
standard weights from 1773.

6. Systems of measurement commonly used in the US:
The Metric System
Since 1983, the meter has been defined as
the distance that light travels in 1
299,792458th
of a second
Commemorative stamp showing the
French Republic measuring one quarter
of the earth’s circumference – the original
idea behind the meter

7. Systems of measurement commonly used in the US:
More about the metric system
The Canadian Standard Kilogram. The
kilogram is the only unit in the metric
system defined by an actual object.
photo credit: Harry Turner, National Reseach Council of Canada
The nickel has a mass of 5 grams
A cube of water with sides each 1 cm has
a mass of 1 gram
1 cm
1 cm
1 cm

8. Bibliography
Lipka, Jerry, Tod Shockey and Barbara Adams. “Bridging Yup’ik Ways of
Measuring to Western Mathematics” in Learning and Teaching
Measurement: 2003 Yearbook. Ed. Douglas Clements and George
Bright. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc, Reston,
VA. 2003
Robinson, Andrew. The Story of Measurement. Thames and Hudson Ltd,
London, UK. 2007
Tavernor, Robert. Smoot’s Ear: The Measure of Humanity. Yale University
Press, New Haven, CT. 2007
Whitelaw, Ian. A Measure of All Things: the story of man and measurement.
Quid publishing, Hove, England. 2007
Zaslavsky, Claudia. Africa Counts: Number and Pattern in African Culture.
Prindle, Weber, and Schmidt Inc, Boston, MA. 1973

9. Your turn: Discussion
In groups of 2 or 3, discuss the following
questions:
•Why do we measure?
•How do we choose what to use to measure?
Think not only in general, but also in the context
of your work in your program.

10. Your turn: Discussion
In groups of 2 or 3, discuss the following
questions:
•Why do we measure?
•How do we choose what to use to measure?
Think not only in general, but also in the context
of your work in your program.