Tally stick

A tally (or tally stick) was an ancient memory aid device used to record and document numbers, quantities, or even messages. Tally sticks first appear as animal bones carved with notches, in the Upper Paleolithic; a notable example is the Ishango Bone. Historical reference is made by Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) about the best wood to use for tallies, and by Marco Polo (1254–1324) who mentions the use of the tally in China. Tallies have been used for numerous purposes such as messaging and scheduling, and especially in financial and legal transactions, to the point of being currency.

Kinds of tallies

Principally there are two different kinds of tally sticks, the single and the split tally. A common form of the same kind of primitive counting device is seen in various kinds of prayer beads.

Paleolithic tally sticks

A number of anthropological artefacts have been conjectured to be tally sticks: