Explore

Data Insights

What the Commons reveals about the knowledge landscape — where it is rich, where it is thin, and what the gaps tell us to work on next.

Every figure on this page counts records. Not one of them rates a practice.

Survey · currentCC BY-SA 4.0Owned by no one. Shared by all.

The commons, printed twice

12,480 recorded practices below. The upper register counts how much of it is culturally documented. The lower counts how much has been clinically studied. Same records, same ruler, two inks — they are never added together.

9,860of 12,480

2,140of 12,480

12,480documented practices

312traditions represented

1,940sources cited

47regions covered

Filled marks are records carrying that flag. These are two separate registers of the same 12,480 records, not two halves of one picture. 12,480 marks in all — the grid reflows with the screen, so its shape carries no meaning and neither does any single mark’s position. Records are laid down in record order.

Documentation registers, against a base of 12,480 records
Register	Records	Base
Cultural documentation	9,860	12,480
Clinical evidence	2,140	12,480

Documentation, on the same ruler

Evidence and cultural documentation are recorded separately, so a well-documented tradition is not mistaken for a well-researched one.

Cultural documentation

Clinical evidence

Each figure counts records carrying that flag. The flags overlap; they are not a breakdown and they are never summed. All five are measured against the same 12,480.

Documentation flags, each against the same base
Flag	Records	Base
Culturally documented	9,860	12,480
Widely practised	7,420	12,480
Marked uncertain	3,180	12,480
Clinically studied	2,140	12,480
Awaiting review	1,250	12,480

Where the record runs deep

Density here means documentation, not practice. The fan shows how the 12,480 recorded practices sit across regions, and how three of those regions already hold named traditions inside them.

tradition named here none among the six largest

Asia Chinese 602 · Ayurvedic 531 · Japanese 418
North America Indigenous American 389
Europe Ancient Greek 263 · Nordic 147

Six largest traditions, together 2,350 of 12,480.

A dotted arc marks a region with no tradition among the six largest. That is a statement about the record, not about the region.

Wedge angle is each region's share of the 12,480 records; the inner clay ticks are the six largest traditions, drawn inside their own region. Density means documentation, not practice.

Records by region
Region	Records
Asia	4,310
Europe	2,740
Africa	1,880
North America	1,420
South America	1,290
Oceania	840

Six largest traditions and their region
Tradition	Region	Records
Chinese	Asia	602
Ayurvedic	Asia	531
Japanese	Asia	418
Indigenous American	North America	389
Ancient Greek	Europe	263
Nordic	Europe	147

Where the record runs thin

Comparing the scope the Commons is aimed at against what is documented so far sets the agenda. These are directions for work, not findings about practice.

REGION-BLANK

Regions with the least documentation

Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, the Pacific.

ORAL-ONLY

Living traditions with no digital record

Practised continuously, written down nowhere.

LINEAGE

Origin data for practices that travelled

Where a practice moved between cultures, the path is often lost.

CROSS-TRADITION

Comparative research holding two traditions side by side

Most studies look at one system alone.

TERM-MAP

Terminology for apparently related practices

Different systems name related things differently.

These five set the research and partnership agenda. None of them is a target.

These figures describe the state of documentation, not the state of evidence. A tradition with few recorded practices is not a tradition with few practices.

We present, we do not persuade. No advice, no diagnosis, no treatment.

The ledger Every figure on this page, in full Three tables · 12,480 records · 1,940 sources · free to reuse

Records by region

Every record sits in exactly one region. These six add up to the whole commons.

Records by region
Region	Records	Share of the commons
Asia	4,310	34.5%
Europe	2,740	22.0%
Africa	1,880	15.1%
North America	1,420	11.4%
South America	1,290	10.3%
Oceania	840	6.7%
All regions	12,480	100%

Six largest traditions

The six traditions with the deepest records, each shown under its parent region.

Six largest traditions
Tradition	Region	Records	Share of the commons
Chinese	Asia	602	4.8%
Ayurvedic	Asia	531	4.3%
Japanese	Asia	418	3.3%
Indigenous American	North America	389	3.1%
Ancient Greek	Europe	263	2.1%
Nordic	Europe	147	1.2%
These six together		2,350	18.8% of the commons
A display slice of the 312 traditions on record — not a partition, and never summed against the regions above.

Documentation flags

What the record says about itself. One practice can carry several flags at once.

Documentation flags
Flag	What it means	Records	Share of the base
Culturally documented	a citable record of the practice exists	9,860	79.0%
Widely practised	reported as still in active use	7,420	59.5%
Marked uncertain	the record itself flags unresolved detail	3,180	25.5%
Clinically studied	at least one clinical study is recorded against it	2,140	17.1%
Awaiting review	submitted to the commons; curatorial review not yet complete	1,250	10.0%
Every flag is measured against the same base of 12,480 records. They overlap, so they are not a breakdown and are never added together.

Every figure on this page is drawn from these tables. Nothing is estimated, smoothed, or projected.