Kaktovik numerals

Kaktovik numerals are a special type of number symbols that were used by the Kaktovik Inupiaq people who live in northern Alaska. These symbols were developed a long time ago, before people used the Arabic numerals that we use today.

Imagine you're playing with blocks and you want to make a tower. You can stack one block on top of another to make a tower that is two blocks high. This is like the Kaktovik numerals. They are made up of combinations of different shapes stacked on top of each other. Each shape represents a different number, and when you stack them together, you can create any number you need.

For example, the symbol for the number one looks like a small triangle or a slanted line. The symbol for the number five looks like a little house. To make the number six, you would stack the one symbol on top of the five symbol, just like stacking blocks. This creates a new symbol that represents the number six.

The Kaktovik people learned to use these symbols and passed them down through the generations. Today, they are still used by some people in the community, but most people now use Arabic numerals like we do. Even though we don't use Kaktovik numerals in our everyday lives, they are an important part of the history and culture of the Inupiaq people.