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Do all humans engaged in ‘mathematics’? That is, can mathematics be considered a viable category of intelligent activity that can be applied cross-culturally? That question must be raised because of the evident diversity in the practices and ideas that have some claim to be thought of as relating to that category. This chapter considers the evidence from modern indigenous societies, such as the Wari’, and from ancient ones such as the Greeks and Chinese, to investigate the different notions that have been entertained (sometimes even with a single ‘culture’) and the various practices that have been cultivated and often highly prized, in relation to the key notions of quantity, number, shapes, and forms. It concludes that it is possible, within limits, to compare and contrast such ideas and activities.