[ARCHAEOLOGY THREAD] One of the most pernicious racisms I see regularly is the myth that Africa has been an unimportant place in human history
But the archaeology of Africa is incredible. Black Lives matter, and so does their history
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But the archaeology of Africa is incredible. Black Lives matter, and so does their history
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Africa invented humanity
Not just once, but twice
Homo erectus first stood tall in Africa. Using tools, these clever ancestors of ours spread out all over the globe
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Not just once, but twice
Homo erectus first stood tall in Africa. Using tools, these clever ancestors of ours spread out all over the globe
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You think we’re a successful species?
Nah… Not on evolutionary terms. Homo sapiens have only been around a few hundred thousand years
Homo erectus thrived for a couple million
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Nah… Not on evolutionary terms. Homo sapiens have only been around a few hundred thousand years
Homo erectus thrived for a couple million
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It’s in Africa that we find and have always found the greatest diversity of humanity, in a braided stream of evolution
It’s in Africa that anatomically modern humans emerged and developed art and technology and cooperation and compassion
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It’s in Africa that anatomically modern humans emerged and developed art and technology and cooperation and compassion
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It’s in Africa that we see early, larger-than-life monuments. Great human achievements
Those pyramids were not built by aliens. They were designed and built by Africans
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Those pyramids were not built by aliens. They were designed and built by Africans
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Imagine the strength of will and mind and body to carve those blocks
And to figure out how to haul them
And to figure out how to build them one on top of another to the sky above
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And to figure out how to haul them
And to figure out how to build them one on top of another to the sky above
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But excuse me, despite what you’ve learned in school, there’s far more to African history than Egypt
The histories and archaeologies of Nubia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Timbuktu, Mozambique and more are often ignored as less than what they were
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The histories and archaeologies of Nubia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Timbuktu, Mozambique and more are often ignored as less than what they were
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Africans were the first to invent a whole range of technologies and skills we still use today
Around 40,000 years ago, Africans living in the area of South Africa and Eswatini built the earliest mine at Ngwenya (they mined ocher used as a red pigment)
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Around 40,000 years ago, Africans living in the area of South Africa and Eswatini built the earliest mine at Ngwenya (they mined ocher used as a red pigment)
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Nearby in Border Cave, archaeologists have found the oldest mathematical object in the world
The notches on the Lebombo bone are the earliest evidence for counting. Twenty-nine notches might represent a lunar phase calendar
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The notches on the Lebombo bone are the earliest evidence for counting. Twenty-nine notches might represent a lunar phase calendar
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From metal chisels to saws, invention after invention were found in Africa first
Ancient Africans were expert smelters and designed all sorts of kilns
Over 2000 years ago, well before Europeans, the Haya people of Tanzania were smelting high-quality carbon steel
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Ancient Africans were expert smelters and designed all sorts of kilns
Over 2000 years ago, well before Europeans, the Haya people of Tanzania were smelting high-quality carbon steel
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Plus, Africans domesticated several super-important plants and animals
Donkeys were the middle-class version of a car before there were cars
All over Africa, Europe, and Asia these beasts of burden helped fuel the economy and build humanity's great monuments
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Donkeys were the middle-class version of a car before there were cars
All over Africa, Europe, and Asia these beasts of burden helped fuel the economy and build humanity's great monuments
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And who could forget coffee?
Not me
It’s African too, originally native to the highlands of Ethiopia. The story goes that the goatherder Kaldi first noticed the stimulant effects on his goats. The local abbot boiled the beans into a drink that helped him study
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Not me
It’s African too, originally native to the highlands of Ethiopia. The story goes that the goatherder Kaldi first noticed the stimulant effects on his goats. The local abbot boiled the beans into a drink that helped him study
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Typical histories of ancient European civilizations like the Greeks and Romans too often erase the influence of North African people
North Africa was a bustling crossroads between continents and cultures, facilitating the exchange of people, goods, and ideas
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North Africa was a bustling crossroads between continents and cultures, facilitating the exchange of people, goods, and ideas
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Rome could not have been Rome without North Africa
From the imperial ambitions jumpstarted from wars with powerful Carthage, to the wealth and prosperity of the North African provinces that stabilized the Roman economy
Even some of Rome’s emperors were African
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From the imperial ambitions jumpstarted from wars with powerful Carthage, to the wealth and prosperity of the North African provinces that stabilized the Roman economy
Even some of Rome’s emperors were African
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The intellectual flourishing of the medieval Arabic world, with philosophical, scientific, and mathematical ideas & inventions that underpinned the later European age of discovery and Renaissance
It wasn’t possible without Africa
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It wasn’t possible without Africa
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Coffee is a perfect example
While the beans had been cultivated and used as a stimulant in Ethiopia, legend has it that Sheikh Omar was the first to roast the beans at Mocha, Yemen
From there coffee drinking spread across North Africa and up to Europe
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While the beans had been cultivated and used as a stimulant in Ethiopia, legend has it that Sheikh Omar was the first to roast the beans at Mocha, Yemen
From there coffee drinking spread across North Africa and up to Europe
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It’s tough to trust legends though
Too often Africans have had their heritage robbed from them
Their historical accomplishments explained away by racist Europeans as the work of other people
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Too often Africans have had their heritage robbed from them
Their historical accomplishments explained away by racist Europeans as the work of other people
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The history of Great Zimbabwe shows the trend
This site is splendid. It dates from 11th to the 15th century CE
It’s enormous (7.22 square km) and it has some damn fine monumental architecture
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This site is splendid. It dates from 11th to the 15th century CE
It’s enormous (7.22 square km) and it has some damn fine monumental architecture
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The structure called the Great Enclosure demarked important living quarters
It easily rivals the contemporary castles of medieval Europe
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It easily rivals the contemporary castles of medieval Europe
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Excavations show that Great Zimbabwe was a bustling center of trade
Coins and artifacts originating from up and down the African continent were found
Goods from the Near East and Persia were excavated
Pottery from as far away as China has been excavated at Great Zimbabwe
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Coins and artifacts originating from up and down the African continent were found
Goods from the Near East and Persia were excavated
Pottery from as far away as China has been excavated at Great Zimbabwe
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The local gold mines were the source of wealth
The amazing Birds of Zimbabwe, carved in soapstone, have become an enduring symbol of the modern nation
This story is one of entrenched racism though…
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The amazing Birds of Zimbabwe, carved in soapstone, have become an enduring symbol of the modern nation
This story is one of entrenched racism though…
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The removal of these birds, like so much looted heritage from this time, was an act of vandalism
The first bird was sold to Cecil Rhodes who then commissioned the archaeologist, James Theodore Bent, to excavate and remove the other ones
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The first bird was sold to Cecil Rhodes who then commissioned the archaeologist, James Theodore Bent, to excavate and remove the other ones
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These early excavators of Great Zimbabwe could not believe that Black Africans were responsible for the wondrous art and constructions and wealth found at the site
So, one after another they made up other stories, giving credit to people from further North
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So, one after another they made up other stories, giving credit to people from further North
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But, of course, that’s ridiculous
Great Zimbabwe was not some isolated outpost of Mediterranean or Arab gold traders
Similar architecture is found throughout the region, many smaller zimbabwes & later fortresses, attributable to the local predecessors to the Shona people
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Great Zimbabwe was not some isolated outpost of Mediterranean or Arab gold traders
Similar architecture is found throughout the region, many smaller zimbabwes & later fortresses, attributable to the local predecessors to the Shona people
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I’m missing a lot of African history here, because my own research focuses on ancient Greece
But I can tell you for sure that the historical narrative so often told, one of “Western Civilization” is selective & wrong
It intentionally ignores the beauty and history of Africa
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But I can tell you for sure that the historical narrative so often told, one of “Western Civilization” is selective & wrong
It intentionally ignores the beauty and history of Africa
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The history we’ve learned in school must be rewritten. History and archaeology should be honest and give credit where credit is due
And African history has been erased time and time again
Black Lives Matter, and their history matters too
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And African history has been erased time and time again
Black Lives Matter, and their history matters too
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If you have funds, please donate to @libertinopatren, a student run organization based on equity, providing microgrants to study the ancient Mediterranean and adjacent regions: thesportula.wordpress.com/requesting-and…
Or to @SportulaEurope: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/s…
Or to @SportulaEurope: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/s…
You can find citations to the images and more in this thread here:
Since Rhodes was mentioned in this thread, seems right to contextualize who he was: a racist colonizer
Several people have asked for further reading/resources
I definitely recommend digging deeper into any of the specific sites I mention in thread and citations
And fab resources suggested by archaeologists & historians can be found in discussion below:
I definitely recommend digging deeper into any of the specific sites I mention in thread and citations
And fab resources suggested by archaeologists & historians can be found in discussion below:
