A research conducted in the U.S. revealed that geometric patterns of the medieval Islamic art reflected quasicrystalline geometry.
On the one hand, the conventional argument was that rulers and compasses were utilized for simple zigzags and geometric star-and-polygones. On the other hand, aperiodic patterns forming diffraction may reflect the artisans' intuitive perception of a complex geometry, the study underlines. Use of symmetrical polygones leads to an unlimited extension of the pattern.
The report of Peter J. Lu from Harvard University, and of Paul J. Steinhardt from Princeton University is published in the February 23, 2007 issue of the Science Magazine.
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