Ishango Bone — Structural Organization Analysis · c. 20,000 BCE (Approximately 22,000 Years Old) · First Application of Formal Information-Theoretic Framework · Public Deposit · Formulametrics

Public deposit for the first application of a formal information-theoretic structural analysis framework (Formulametrics, to the Ishango bone (c. 20,000 BCE, approximately 22,000 years old, Semliki River, Democratic Republic of Congo). The Ishango bone carries 168 notches in 16 groups across three parallel columns on a baboon fibula with a quartz engraving tip, currently held at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels. Previous analyses of the Ishango bone asked what the numbers mean — proposing interpretations including tally stick, lunar calendar, base-12 arithmetic, and prime number table. This study asks a different and prior question: does the three-column organizational structure satisfy formal information-theoretic structural laws independently of content interpretation? The framework applied has been previously validated across 19 independent corpora spanning writing systems from 9,500 BCE to the present, animal communication recordings, electroencephalogram data, plant chemical emissions, and physical turbulence systems. All findings are reported using three explicit epistemic layers: LAYER 1 (DATA) for measured observations only; LAYER 2 (INTERPRETATION) using controlled language (consistent with, suggests, indicates); LAYER 3 (HYPOTHESIS) for functional claims with explicit uncertainty language and stated alternatives. Statistical claims include full null model specification. Key findings: the three-column organization is consistent with a frame-content-frame architecture. The flanking column sum symmetry (G=D=60) is non-random under the specified null model (conjunction probability p=0.00276, five-feature set, n=100,000 simulations). All four Column G values are prime (independent p=0.0090). The five-feature conjunction yields joint p≈0.00022 — zero of 100,000 random sequences match all five features simultaneously. Note: the internal repeat element (double-5) has p=0.766 alone and is not independently significant — it is presented only as part of the conjunction. Adversarial stress testing confirms the model survives random clustering, tally, and confirmation bias attacks on the conjunction; the corpus size fragility is honestly disclosed as a Tier 1 limitation requiring cross-specimen replication. Contents: IB_MM_Public_Paper.docx (academic paper) · IB_MM_Public_Ledger.docx (structural ledger, methodology redacted) · IB_Script_Public_Demo.html (interactive demonstration, illustrative data only). Analytical methodology withheld. Full technical deposit available to verified researchers upon direct request. Date of analysis: March 2026.