Precolonial African Material Culture Discussion Paper

Africa’s contribution to human civilization

Civilization is the process by which a society advances and develops. Africa has made significant contributions to human civilization. However, the Western world has suppressed or denied much of that contribution, if not all. In fact, western achievements have become the measuring yardstick for civilization, simply forgetting the earlier African contributions. A check of Africa’s precolonial history reveals that many of the things that define human colonization today have their origins in Africa. It must be emphasized that the human civilization today results from different places, including Africa, having contributed over time (Farrar, 2020). Indeed, as this essay will show, through violent (conquest wars) and peaceful (trade) interactions, African belief systems, ideas of state building, culture, science, medicine and technology moved around the world. This essay discusses some of the fascinating contributions that Africa made to human civilization in critical areas such as technology and science, among others, thereby showing that Africa has made its mark in human civilization, and continues to contribute to the human civilization today. Precolonial African Material Culture Discussion Paper

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Many literature by western historians credit Romans, Greeks and other Europeans for making technological and scientific contributions to the development of human civilization. There literature revise human history to support the ideology that Africa did not contribute to human civilization. They have even claimed that pyramids in Egypt were built by “dark skinned whites” and not Africans (Kemites) as was the case. They appear to have overlooked the fact that “Kemet” the ancient name of Egypt translates to “Land of Black People”. Contrary to the inaccurate history being advanced by Western historians, Africa contributed to human civilization. In fact, many things celebrated in human civilization today have their origins in Africa, a claim supported by Anthropological evidence showing that many of what human civilization celebrates today existed in Africa long before they were celebrated anywhere else in the world (Watson-Vandiver & Wiggan, 2021).

First, Africa’s architecture may be the oldest in the world. African monuments and buildings standards as witness to Africa developing architectural marvels that stood the test of time. An example is the pyramids in Egypt, the most recognizable ancient architectural structures in the world. These are towering monstrosities that that have stood the test of time, and come into being long before the western world conceptualized skyscrapers. Another example is the stone structure of Great Zimbabwe, a unique architectural marvel built with stones without mortar. The pyramids and Great Zimbabwe continue to inspire architectures today (Folkers & van Buiten, 2019).

Second, Africa had metallurgy long before the rest of the world had metallurgic sciences. The Edo people in West Africa were skilled metallurgists who manipulated brass to create Benin bronze masks that have been immortalized today (Roberts et al., 2019). In addition, Kemites developed the art of alchemy that they passed on to the Greeks and Asians, thereby enabling them to developing chemistry and metallurgy for making chemical compounds and manipulating metal. In fact, the word “chemistry” translates to “the Precolonial African Material Culture Discussion Paper art”, an indication that it has its origins in ancient Egypt (Roberts, 2019).

Third, Africa contributed to the concept of religion in today’s world. Ancient Egypt developed religion as indicated by funerary burial texts inscribed in the walls of burial chambers being excavated across Egypt. These funerary burial texts are the oldest known religious texts that talk of an afterlife, a concept that is popular in today’s major religions. In addition, Kemetian religion was the first and oldest religion to advance the idea of a holy trinity by claiming that Horus was born from an immaculate conception union between Osiris (his father) and Isis (his mother). Besides that, Kemetian religion advanced the idea of monotheism, claiming that one genderless all-powerful supreme being created everything in the universe. These ideas of the afterlife, holy trinity and one creator have influenced later religions such as Judaism, Islam and Christianity (Sayce, 2020).

Fourth, Africa contributed to the field of mathematics. The Ishango bone, made from the fibula of a baboon, is the oldest known mathematical tool in human history. Dated at around 8,500 BC. Found in Central Africa, around Congo, it presents tally marks used for performing simple mathematical procedures (Huylebrouck, 2019). In addition, ancient Egyptians are credited with developing geometry, algebra and simple arithmetic used in constructing the ancient temples and pyramids with mathematical precision. Besides that, they developed the equation for calculating the circumference of a circle, presenting phi an invaluable feature of modern mathematics. Greek mathematicians like Euclid and Pythagoras copied these concepts and did not credit the ancient Egyptian sources. In addition, ancient Kemet presented leather rolls, limestone chips and papyrus rolls that outlined the rules of geometry and arithmetic. Ahmose, a Kemetic scribe, wrote the Rhind mathematical papyrus that presented methods of determining the volume of a sphere, and surface of a circle, rectangle and triangle. Mathematics developed in ancient Africa continues to blend into modern mathematics (Gal, 2021).

Fifth, Africa made contributions to the field of medicine. The world recognizes Hippocrates as the father of medicine, yet ancient Greeks recognize Imhotep as the father of medicine. In fact, the Hippocratic Oath has Greek origin. However, the Greeks adapted it from the Oath of Imhotep developed in ancient Egypt (Watson-Vandiver & Wiggan, 2021). Many Greek doctors received their training in ancient Egypt where they learned about brain surgery and other complex medical procedures. In addition, the oldest known medical text is the Edwin Smith Papyrus, written by Imhotep between 4,400 BC and 4,200 BC. The text describes more than 200 different anatomical parts, as well as 48 injuries to the body and the surgical methods for attending to the injuries. Besides that, Ebers Papyrus written around 1,500 BC presents medical information related to obstetrics, cardiovascular system, tumors, gynecology, dentistry and dermatology. The two papyrus texts show that ancient Egypt had extensive knowledge of medicine that led the way for advancements in modern medicine (Tubbs et al., 2019). Precolonial African Material Culture Discussion Paper

Sixth, Africa introduced writing to the world. Hieroglyphs are a unique feature of ancient Egypt. Traced back to 3,400 BC, they were developed by Nubians of Egypt, and predate the Sumerian Cuneiform Script. The hieroglyphs are the foundation of writing because all major written scripts (such as Phoenician, Latin, Greek and Hebrew scripts) were developed from hieroglyphs. It is unclear whether and when the rest of the world would have developed writing scripts if ancient Egyptians had not invented writing in 3,400 BC (Vossen & Dimmendaal, 2020).

Seventh, Africa developed the calendar. Through meticulous study of the stars, moon and sun, the ancient Kemet was able to accurately predict flooding in the Rive Nile thus improving farming efforts. They discovered that the position and movement of the moon and sun had a direct effect on the earth. This is a revelation that was used to astronomers in ancient Kemet to develop a solar calendar that had 365 days in one year, twelve months in a year, and 30 days in a month. Later civilizations developed their calendars based on the one developed by ancient Kemet (Kemp, 2018).

Modern human civilization has developed from contributions by ancient civilizations. Part of the western world continues to deny Africa’s contribution to human civilization. However, the reality is that Africa made significant contributions. From architecture to metallurgy, religion, mathematics, medicine, writing and calendar, Africa set the stage for later development of the human civilization. It is important to acknowledge this true account of history and passed it on to the next generations. Ignorance of history should not continue. Precolonial African Material Culture Discussion Paper

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References

Farrar, V. T. (2020). Precolonial African Material Culture: Combatting Stereotypes of Technological Backwardness. Lexington Books.

Folkers, A. S., & van Buiten, B. A. C. (2019). Modern Architecture in Africa: Practical Encounters with Intricate African Modernity. Springer.

Gal, O. (2021). The Origins of Modern Science: From Antiquity to the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University Press.

Huylebrouck, D. (2019). Africa and Mathematics: From Colonial Findings Back to the Ishango Rods. Springer.

Kemp, B. J. (2018). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization (3^rd ed.). Taylor & Francis.

Roberts, A. F., Joyce, T., Berns, M., Dewey, W. J., Drewal, H. J., & Goucher, C. L. (Eds.) (2019). Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths. Fowler Museum at UCLA.

Roberts, A. M. (2019). Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art. NorthGate Publishers.

Sayce, A. H. (2020). The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babylonia. Good Press.

Tubbs, R. S., Shoja, M. M., Loukas, M., & Agutter, P. (2019). History of Anatomy: An International Perspective. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Vossen, R., & Dimmendaal, G. J. (Eds.) (2020). The Oxford Handbook of African Languages. Oxford University Press.

Watson-Vandiver, M. J., & Wiggan, G. (2021). The Healing Power of Education: Afrocentric Pedagogy as a Tool for Restoration and Liberation. Teachers College Press.

1. Write an essay (3-5 pages, excluding cover page and bibliography) discussing the reasons that Africa’s contribution to human civilization is not properly acknowledged and regarded in textbooks and daily life. Please use your own reasoning but supported by academic sources from the syllabus and elsewhere.

Book from syllabus: Ehret, Christopher. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press 2nd edition, 2016.

Syllabus sources:
Birthplace of Humankind http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150911-hominin-hominid-berger-homo-naledi-fossils-ancestor-rising-star-human-origins/

Cradle of Humankind http://www.smithsonianmag.com/evoto Precolonial African Material Culture Discussion Paper/evolution-world-tour-the-cradle-of-humankind-south-africa-5940184/