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==Metallurgy ==
==Metallurgy ==

Iron use, in [[smelting]] and forging for tools, appears in West Africa by 1200 BC, making it one of the first places for the birth of the Iron Age.<ref name="millermintz">Duncan E. Miller and N.J. Van Der Merwe, 'Early Metal Working in Sub Saharan Africa' ''Journal of African History'' 35 (1994) 1–36; Minze Stuiver and N.J. Van Der Merwe, 'Radiocarbon Chronology of the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa' ''Current Anthropology'' 1968.</ref><ref>[http://www.homestead.com/wysinger/ironage.html How Old is the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa?] — by Roderick J. McIntosh, Archaeological Institute of America (1999)</ref><ref>[http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/history_in_africa/v032/32.1alpern.pdf Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa] — by Stanley B. Alpern (2005)</ref>


Anthropologist [[Peter Schmidt]] discovered through the communication of oral tradition that the [[Haya]] have been forging [[steel]] for nearly 2000 years. This discovery was made accidentally while Schmidt was learning about the history of the [[Haya]] via their oral tradition. He was lead to a tree which was said to rest on the spot of an ancestral furnace used to forge [[steel]]. When later tasked with the challenge of recreating the forges, a group of elders who at this time were the only ones to remember the practice, due to the disuse of the practice due in part to the abundance of [[steel]] flowing into the country from foreign sources. this skill was all but forgotten. However, in spite of the lack of practice the elders were able to create a [[furnace]] using mud and grass which when burnt provided the carbon needed to transform the iron into [[steel]]. Later investigation of the land yielded 13 other furnaces similar in design to the recreation set up by the elders. These furnaces were carbon dated and were found to be as old as 2000 years,whereas [[steel]] of this calibur did not appear in [[Europe]] until several centuries later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/IRONAGE.HTM |title=Civilizations in Africa: The Iron Age South of the Sahara |publisher=Washington State University |accessdate=2007-08-14}}</ref> <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912179,00.html?promoid=googlep Africa's Ancient Steelmakers]. Time Magazine, Sept. 25, 1978.</ref>
Anthropologist [[Peter Schmidt]] discovered through the communication of oral tradition that the [[Haya]] have been forging [[steel]] for nearly 2000 years. This discovery was made accidentally while Schmidt was learning about the history of the [[Haya]] via their oral tradition. He was lead to a tree which was said to rest on the spot of an ancestral furnace used to forge [[steel]]. When later tasked with the challenge of recreating the forges, a group of elders who at this time were the only ones to remember the practice, due to the disuse of the practice due in part to the abundance of [[steel]] flowing into the country from foreign sources. this skill was all but forgotten. However, in spite of the lack of practice the elders were able to create a [[furnace]] using mud and grass which when burnt provided the carbon needed to transform the iron into [[steel]]. Later investigation of the land yielded 13 other furnaces similar in design to the recreation set up by the elders. These furnaces were carbon dated and were found to be as old as 2000 years,whereas [[steel]] of this calibur did not appear in [[Europe]] until several centuries later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/IRONAGE.HTM |title=Civilizations in Africa: The Iron Age South of the Sahara |publisher=Washington State University |accessdate=2007-08-14}}</ref> <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,912179,00.html?promoid=googlep Africa's Ancient Steelmakers]. Time Magazine, Sept. 25, 1978.</ref>

Revision as of 16:28, 11 May 2009

Africa is stereotyped as the continent of primitives and illiterates, science and advance technologies never took hold. We have the notion of an advance North Africa and a primitive Sub-saharan Africa. This is far from true. With the advent of the discovery of the Timbuktu manuscripts, the discovery of post modern technological achievements, and other achievements, the stereotype is being put to rest.

With the recent discovery of the Timbuktu manuscripts, Thebe Medupe of the University of Capetown says, "We can now say with confidence that sub-Saharan Africans were studying mathematics and astronomy over 300 years ago." Medupe's comments came after studying just 14 translated manuscripts out of thousands. He pointed out that more manuscripts may exist in a wider geographic zone extending to Sudan and Tanzania. [1]

A still further development is the discovery of three ram statues at el-Hassa, Sudan with writing belonging to the Meroitic script. The ram text could lead to the translation of the meroitic script, shedding light on Nubian science.[2]


Astronomy

Sahelian/Timbuktu

Based on the translation of 14 Timbuktu manuscripts, the following points can be made about Timbuktu astronomical science: 1. they made use of The Julian Calender 2. They had a Geo-centric view of the cosmos 3. Diagrams of planets and orbits made use of complex mathematical calculations 4. Developed algorithm that accurately orient Timbuktu to Mecca.[3]

Other African Traditions

Namoratunga a group of megaliths, dated 300 B.C., was used by Cushitic speaking people as an alignment with star systems tuned to a lunar calender of 354 days. This discovery was made by B.N. Lynch and L. H. Robins of Michigan State University. [4]

Mathematics

The Lebombo bone is the oldest known mathematical artifact. It dates from 35000 BC and consists of 29 distinct notches that were deliberately cut into a baboon's fibula.[5][6]

This image shows both the front and back of the Ishango bone.

The Ishango bone is a bone tool, dated to the Upper Paleolithic era, about 18000 to 20000 BC. It is a dark brown length of bone, the fibula of a baboon,[7] with a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end, perhaps for engraving or writing. It was first thought to be a tally stick, as it has a series of tally marks carved in three columns running the length of the tool, but some scientists have suggested that the groupings of notches indicate a mathematical understanding that goes beyond counting. These are the function postulated about the Ishango bones: 1. A tool for multiplication, division, and simple mathematical calculation 2. A six month lunar calender[8] 3. a construct of a woman, keeping track of her menstrual cycle[9]

One of the major post modern achievements found in Africa was the advance knowledge of fractal mathematics. The knowledge of fractal mathematics can be found in a wide aspect of African life from art, social design structures, architecture, to devination systems.[10]

Metallurgy

Iron use, in smelting and forging for tools, appears in West Africa by 1200 BC, making it one of the first places for the birth of the Iron Age.[11][12][13]

Anthropologist Peter Schmidt discovered through the communication of oral tradition that the Haya have been forging steel for nearly 2000 years. This discovery was made accidentally while Schmidt was learning about the history of the Haya via their oral tradition. He was lead to a tree which was said to rest on the spot of an ancestral furnace used to forge steel. When later tasked with the challenge of recreating the forges, a group of elders who at this time were the only ones to remember the practice, due to the disuse of the practice due in part to the abundance of steel flowing into the country from foreign sources. this skill was all but forgotten. However, in spite of the lack of practice the elders were able to create a furnace using mud and grass which when burnt provided the carbon needed to transform the iron into steel. Later investigation of the land yielded 13 other furnaces similar in design to the recreation set up by the elders. These furnaces were carbon dated and were found to be as old as 2000 years,whereas steel of this calibur did not appear in Europe until several centuries later.[14] [15]

Medicine

Sahelian/Timbuktu corridor

In Jenne the mosquito was identified to be the cause of malaria, and the removal of cataracts was a common surgical procedure. [16]

The knowledge of innoculating oneself against smallpox seems to have been known to West Africans, more specifically the Akan. A slave name Onesimus explained the innoculation procedure to Cotton Mather during the 1700, he reported to have gotten the knowledge from Africa.[17]

Successful Caesarean section performed by indigenous healers in Kahura, Uganda. As observed by R. W. Felkin in 1879.

European travelers in the Great Lakes region of Africa(Uganda and Rwanda) during the 19th century observed Caeserean sections being performed on a regular basis. The expectant mother was normally anesthetized with banana wine, and herbal mixtures were used to encourage healing. From the well-developed nature of the procedures employed, European observers concluded that they had been employed for some time.[18]

References

  1. ^ Abraham, Curtis. "Stars of the Sahara". New Scientist, issue 2617,15 August 2007, page 39-41
  2. ^ BBC, 16 December 2008. Sudan Statues Show Ancient Script
  3. ^ Abraham, Curtis. http://www.islandmix.com/backchat/f6/libraries-timbuktu-166732/ "Stars of the Sahara"]. New Scientist, issue 2617,15 August 2007, page 39-41
  4. ^ Krup, Edwin C. (2003). Echoes of the Ancient Skies. Courier Dover Publications, pp. 170(1) ,ISBN 0486428826
  5. ^ Ed Pegg, Jr. "Lebombo Bone". MathWorld.
  6. ^ David J. Darling. The Universal Book of Mathematics: From Abracadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes. John Wiley and Sons, 2004 (ISBN 0471270474)
  7. ^ A very brief history of pure mathematics: The Ishango Bone University of Western Australia School of Mathematics - accessed January 2007.
  8. ^ Marshack, Alexander (1991): The Roots of Civilization, Colonial Hill, Mount Kisco, NY.
  9. ^ Zaslavsky, Claudia: "Women as the First Mathematicians", International Study Group on Ethnomathematics Newsletter, Volume 7 Number 1, January 1992.
  10. ^ Eglash, Ron. African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press 1999.
  11. ^ Duncan E. Miller and N.J. Van Der Merwe, 'Early Metal Working in Sub Saharan Africa' Journal of African History 35 (1994) 1–36; Minze Stuiver and N.J. Van Der Merwe, 'Radiocarbon Chronology of the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa' Current Anthropology 1968.
  12. ^ How Old is the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa? — by Roderick J. McIntosh, Archaeological Institute of America (1999)
  13. ^ Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa — by Stanley B. Alpern (2005)
  14. ^ "Civilizations in Africa: The Iron Age South of the Sahara". Washington State University. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  15. ^ Africa's Ancient Steelmakers. Time Magazine, Sept. 25, 1978.
  16. ^ McKissack, Frederick(1995). The royal kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. Macmillan: pp. 104, ISBN 0805042598
  17. ^ Waldstreicher, David. Runnaway America: Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution. Macmillan: , pp. 40, ISBN 0809083140
  18. ^ Cesarean Section - A Brief History(2008). National Library of Medicine, part 2
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