African Writing (3200 BC – 1500 AD)
9 African writing systems which predate Latin; and 15 writing systems which predate Modern English.
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Science
Food series: Africa’s domestication of 2000+ foods
During the history of mankind, there was a point when humans began planting and growing their foods, there was a shift from hunting animals and gathering food sources to farming and animal domestication. This period is referred to as the Neolithic revolution. With the Neolithic revolution came inevitable changes in the social life of humans.
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Story of the oldest Deep Impact: the Vredefort Crater
Impact craters are referred to the circular depression caused on the surface of the earth, planetary body, or other solid bodies in the solar system, by a hypervelocity impact of a smaller body or a meteorite. The energy released during this impact is usually very enormous as the velocity ranges between 11 and 72 Kilometers
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Tools of African History: 10 Methods
TOOLS OF AFRICAN HISTORY: 10 METHODS In the investigation and study of the history and life of earlier Africans and indeed humans generally, certain tools or techniques are employed without which most findings would be useless since nothing can be deduced from them. With the help of these techniques or tools, information can be obtained
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Myths about Africa: the Suez Canal was first built by France myth
Africa is an ancient and great continent, the first home of humans. A continent in which its ancient peoples through numerous foundational inventions opened the doors of advancement to the world. Over time a great many of her contributions to human development and advancement has been lost, forgotten or unjustly denied credit. Some of the
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Myths about African HISTORY
There are a few myths about African history and a few reasons why some European writers – not all – felt the need to malign brown-skinned people and claim Africans came from a continent without history. It probably gave them moral peace of mind to believe that they were not committing physical, mental and moral
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Tools of African History: Geological periods
Modern scientists believe the universe has been around for 13.8 billion years, the sun for 4.57 billion years, the earth for 4.56 billion years and the moon for 4.53 billion years. Anatomically modern humans however only occupy the last 340,000 years of that story of cosmogony and originated out of Africa. Homo erectus (bipedal Humans)
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Africa’s inventions: bread (11,600 BC)
Bread is one of the most common and widely consumed food across all parts of the globe. It comes in various forms, shapes, sizes and even composition. From ancient times up till present-day, it has continued to be a staple food source for many people. The reason bread is very popular apart from its nutritional
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Africa’s inventions: algorithms
“During the 19th century, many European writers, limited by ethnocentrism and racism, decided that black Africa could have had nothing to do with Europe’s rise to greatness,” wrote Gloria Dickson, A professor of African-American studies at The College of New Jersey.
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The Borana Calendar and How it works (Existing from 300 BC until Today)
Many non-Africans sometimes wonder, “Did Africa invent anything?” The unambiguous answer is yes: a lot of things. One of these inventions was a calendar system by Borana people of Ethiopia at a date as old as when Greece invented the Athenian calendar (an ancient calendar also known as the Attic Calendar). Unlike the Athenian calendar,
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History of Ancient Egypt (4,500 BCE to 664 BCE in 10 mins)
Ancient Egypt is known for many things: its monuments, its inventions, and its extensive historical records. Its historical records are among the oldest top 2 in the world. MONUMENTS Five of the most visited monuments in Egypt are: The Great Sphinx The great sphinx is carved out of limestone, believed to be built over 4,000
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Kola Nut, the untold African story behind Coke and Pepsi
Coca Cola is the most recognizable beverage brand in the world. Pepsi Co (a short form of Pepsi Cola) is the second most recognizable beverage brand in the world. Both Coke and Pepsi brands have their origins in soft drink recipes based on Kola nuts (the “Cola” in Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola). Although Western
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Africa’s inventions: art and paint (73,000 years ago)
Africa’s contributions to the development of the world are immense. Sadly, her achievements and inputs are downplayed or misrepresented, but it still does not change the fact that most of Africa’s inventions were the foundation upon which human development advanced. Many people are not aware that most inventions and skills which today have positively changed
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Africa’s Religions
One cannot generalize about the nature of African religions as he would be prone to making the mistake of homogeneity among all African cultures. Africa, in truth, is vast both in cultural diversity and geographical variation. This has brought about different languages and customs that have different belief systems. With the different histories associated with
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Food series: Sorghum, Developed by Africa and more healthy than wheat (9,500 BCE – 7,000 BCE)
Sorghum, also known as great millet or milo, is the 5th most important and cultivated cereal crop in the world after wheat, rice, maize and barley. The name “sorghum” is derived from Italian word “sorgo”, which is a modification from Latin “Syricum (granum)” which means “grain of Syria”. It has a variety of uses from
Francis Williams: Poet, Scientist, Polyglot
During the time of the transatlantic slave trade, slaves were not regarded as humans and subjugated to the worst form of inhuman treatment. European countries like Britain made slaves out of every baby birthed by enslaved women. There were some few slave-trading and slave-owning countries, however, that had a little bit more relaxed legislation despite
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John Edmonstone, African Taxidermist, Tutor to Charles Darwin; did their friendship convince Darwin of monogenism?
We all know Charles Darwin, his contribution to humanity will never be forgotten; his theory of human evolution is taught in schools the world over. But very often in the tale of his accomplishments, an important character is easily left out without whom perhaps Charles Darwin might not have become whom he was. His name
African skin tones
Whenever someone says Africa, the first thought on the minds of most people is a mental image of dark-skinned people. Well here is a shocker, there are many different completely natural African skin tones ranging from very dark to very light, from the Dinka of South Sudan to the San of South Africa respectively. Different
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Africa on world maps
It can be seen that many countries on the globe look smaller or bigger. This is because the earth is not a complete sphere. Also, most digital maps are made in two dimensions so there will always be a risk of distortion while projecting the valuable geographical information. All projections are always a balance of
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The Garamantes: The Civilisation that mined Fossil Water from the Sahara for 1,000 Years
700 miles south from the Mediterranean coast, there, stretches a sub-beaten arid African desert, with temperatures that can rise up to 55 ºC in the summer, an average annual rainfall that is less than half an inch, and sometimes even it doesn’t see rain for years. One would never imagine that a lost 3,000-year-old-African civilization
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Alessandro De Medici, Duke of Florence, Sponsor of Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello and Galileo
The history and accounts of the Renaissance is remembered by the public as a purely European phenomenon that was centered on a largely homogeneous ethnicity. At the same time, it reduced the presence of people of African descents to the role of servants or slaves. Neither of these two theories was true, for they both
Africa’s inventions: the Earliest Sea-Faring Vessels
Sometimes the question is asked, “What did Africa ever invent?” We take a look at the earliest Sea-faring vessels.
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African exports: the origin of the 365-day calendar
What is a day? Many would think the answer is obvious. Many would say 24 hours. But the scientific truth is you have ask a particular question first, “On what planet?” You see: on Venus a day is 5,832 hours; a day on Mercury lasts 1,408 hours; on Mars a day is 25 hours; and
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Food Series: Domestication of Yam in 5000 BC, West Africa
All over the world, there are certain foods that not only serve for consumption and commercial purposes but also are part of the culture of a people. Yam is one of such crops in West Africa.
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African Genes in Scottish DNA Study
Map of medieval Scotland The history that was taught at school says that Scots were originally Irish and Celtic people who migrated to Scotland and that Europe in general was the ancestral home of white people. Many people including Scots themselves have a long-held belief that the ethnic make-up of Scotland is strictly Scots, Irish,
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Eratosthenes: African and First Man To Measure The Circumference of Earth
More than 2000 years ago, a time when not even a calculator existed, let alone other technical devices that facilitate the research process, Eratosthenes calculated the spherical size of the Earth. He calculated it with considerable accuracy, obviously without the use of modern equipment but only by comparing the position of the Sun’s rays in
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Who invented steel? AFRICA in the 5th Century BCE
Who invented steel? Around 2000 years ago, the Haya people of Africa, were the first to invent, make and use steel, with furnaces achieving up to 1500 C.
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Food series: Story of African rice, developed around 3,500BCE – 1,500BCE
At the end of a wedding ceremony, after the bride and groom have been blessed, it is traditional in most cultures of the world to throw grains of rice over the heads of the newlyweds. But, have you ever wondered –of all the grains under the sun- why rice in particular? Rice symbolizes fertility, luck
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Six landmarks in Somalia (195,000 BC – 3,000 BC)
Omo River The land inhabited by the Somali people is situated in the Horn of Africa, sticking out into the India Ocean to form the Somali Peninsula. The Horn of the African region is believed to be one of the few areas in the world considered the cradle of humanity, as archaeological discoveries of 1967
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Construction Of Kahun: A look at a planned city in 1895 BC Africa
As of 2018, by some, the continent of Africa is seen as lagging behind, trying to catch up and full of poor countries. In 1895 BC, this wasn’t the case. In 1,895 BC, towns and cities could be built up at will and infrastructural projects fully funded. The city of Kahun (a town by modern-day standards) was built overnight and in a planned format 4,000 years ago. It even had a vet. What did it look like?
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Temple of Sais: African medical school 3000 – 525 BCE
During 3,000 BC – 525 BC, there was a medical school in Egypt that trained both male and female physicians. The leading physicians of this institution, the Temple of Sais, were sometimes special advisers to the House of Pharoah. Discover the story of Pesehet, Lady Overseer of Female Physicians 2,500 BCE, and the function of the Temple of Sais.
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The Rwandan Civilization (2000 BC – 1960 AD): Iron and Soundwave Technology
Although, the civilisation of Rwanda dates back to 2020 BC, the earliest date for the start of centralisation under one monarch is between the 10th and 11th century. Rwanda was a landlocked kingdom situated in east-central Africa, on the south of the equator, with Nyanza as its capital. The development of the society may be
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Wangari Maathai: A Professor, An Environmentalist and An Inspiration
Imagine seeing vividly lush forests and fields of green being brought down for the sake of erecting buildings that would take the money from the community’s pockets and put it into the investors and businessmen’s bulking wallets. That would make you feel outrageous wouldn’t it? That’s not the real question though, the question is; will
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The Fatimid Caliphate: Contributions to Arts and Sciences
The Fatimid caliphate was an Islamic kingdom that stretched over North Africa from 909 AD to 1171 AD. The caliphate promulgated the Seveners (or Ismāʿīlism) branch of Shia Islam and its geography spread from the Red Sea (to the East) to the Atlantic Ocean (to the West). It covered a total area of 4,100,000 square
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The Abbasid Caliphate: The Golden Age of the Islamic Civilization
The Abbasid Caliphate came after the Umayyad caliphate, in 750 CE, lasted 5 centuries and was one of the largest Empires in the world at its peak.
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The oldest university in the world is not Bologna!
Universities today invoke a certain image. They are considered institutions of higher education, helping students develop mastery in any one of many diverse fields of liberal arts, science, engineering and medicine. Typically, it tends to be the alumni of prestigious universities that become the administrators and leaders of government bodies, political parties, not-for-profit organizations, the military,
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Papyri: Paving The Path To Innovation
Papyrus, from which the English word “paper” is derived, is the writing material of ancient times. The name comes from the aquatic plant Cyperus papyrus, also known as paper plant. This plant was indigenous of the Nile delta region in Egypt and it was collected mainly for its stalks. The central pith of those stalks
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