Why where prime numbers import for the ishango people?

Answer: The Ishango bone, which is believed to be approximately 20,000 years old, is a significant archaeological discovery that appears to have some markings suggestive of a mathematical understanding by the Ishango people, a prehistoric culture located near the headwaters of the Nile River (what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo). While it's not definitive, some hypothesize that the markings on the Ishango bone could be indicative of an early understanding of prime numbers.

Prime numbers are natural numbers greater than 1 that have no positive divisors other than 1 and themselves. On the Ishango bone, there are various notches grouped in a way that seems to show a basic understanding of multiplication and division. Some of the markings are in groups that correspond to numbers that are prime.

The importance of prime numbers to the Ishango people is not entirely clear since we can't ask them directly, and they left no written records. Any assertion about the significance of prime numbers to them is speculative. However, it is possible that the Ishango people may have used these prime numbers, or the patterns they observed, for calendrical purposes, resource management, or other aspects of their daily lives.