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As a measure of reducing the foreign trade deficit and to augment the usable land for commercial plantations, nineteenth century British authorities attempted to restore the irrigation system that prevailed in Sri Lanka since the Early Historic Period. In so doing, neither the system components were subjected to any hydraulic engineering analysis nor the entire systems were studied in a holistic context. The open well structure, called bisokotuva, of the ancient sluices was interpreted as the equivalent of the modern valve pits. With this understanding, ancient sluices were restored by installing the flow control gates inside the bisokotuvas. This article argues that such understanding was not based on the actual physical remains of the ancient works but was due to the colonial precept of controlled flows of irrigated water. It also discusses similar cases in several other Asian countries and how such assertions affected the European understanding on the Asian societies.

Universal presentations and interpretations of the history of mathematics have now been challenged, identifying the need of resurrecting hitherto marginalized contributions. In such studies, cognitive factors influencing the related development trajectories play a crucial role. Different societies would have had different mathematical cognitions contributing to the development of distinct forms of mathematics. This study attempts to surface the related cognitive contents of using large numbers. The principal source used for the study—the Buddhist Commentaries—determines the period and region covered. As such, it explores the conditions prevailed in 5th century CE (approximately) in Sri Lanka. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC 2000) code: 01A07 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines mathematical knowledge and practices in ancient Sri Lanka, with a particular focus on evidence drawn from the 13th-century Sinhala text the "Pūjāvaliya". According to the author, the text suggests the presence of addition and multiplication, as well as fractions and high numbers. Other mathematical concepts referenced in the text include infinity and the ratio between circumference and diameter of a circle. Topics discussed include Indian mathematics, Sri Lankan numeral systems, and counting.