Afrika’s Gifts To Humanity

One key component of Pan Africanism is the debunking of racist stereotypes like “Afrika never contributed anything to humanity”. This drives racism in our world today

Without much ado, here are some of the many gifts Afrika gave to humanity

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1. Astronomy

The Dogon-speaking people of Mali have contributed to humanity’s knowledge of cosmology. Dogon cosmology has been observed by scholars and they have been baffled by how the Dogon people attained this knowledge.

Since ancient times, the Dogon were already aware of the subtle details of the star system beyond what might be reasonably observed through the naked eye. The details included an understanding that Sirius is a binary star system composed of a large bright-like star Sirius A.

It’s also reported that the Dogon were aware of the 50-year period of orbit of Sirius B around Sirius A

Germaine Dieterlen produced a 400-year old artefact created by the Dogon that carried a depiction of the dual star system proving the antiquity of Dogon astronomical knowledge

2. Metallurgy

One of the most valuable achievements in human history is the creation and manipulation of elements. The Metallurgic sciences have been used for Agriculture, warfare and the building of nations.

The ancient people of Zaire had advanced knowledge of the Metallurgic sciences. A French scholar, Georges Balandier, had this to say: “There is no doubting the existence of an expert metallurgical art in the ancient Kongo..."

"The Bakongo were aware of the toxicity of the lead vapours. They devised preventative and curative methods, both pharmacological and mechanical, for combating lead poisoning”

3. Iron Age

The Iron Age is a relatively significant and popular period in human history.

It can be considered humanity’s transition into modern civilisation.

It’s interesting to note that most of Afrika never had a Bronze Age. We completely went from Stone to Iron Age.

Iron-smelting furnaces are found in Igbo land, Nigeria, all the way back to 2000 BC.

4. Architecture

Aside from the most recognisable structure on the planet built by Pharaoh Khufu, other Afrikans have contributed unique architectural development in modern-day Zimbabwe. The stone structures in Great Zimbabwe are the largest south of the Sahara.

At the time, using mortar was a very popular way of constructing stone structures around the world, but the Shona people showed the world that it can be done without it.

There’s debate as to the date, but most scholars settle on the 11th century for its construction.

5. Medicine

Without a doubt, Afrikans contributed to methods of surgery that involved safely retrieving a baby from a mother’s womb. This surgical procedure comes out of Uganda and there’s a first-hand eye-witness account of how Afrikans from that region achieved this.

To put this remarkable Afrikan procedure in context, we have to remember that infection-free surgeries like these were rare, thus, the success of this procedure by the Bunyoro people of Uganda was thought of as exceptional and hinted to its antiquity.

Dr Robert Felkin, a medical missionary in Uganda in the 19th century, witnessed the Bunyoro's Cesarean Section firsthand and wrote a detailed account about what he saw. He had this to say, “The woman, a 20-year old...lay on a somewhat sloping bed, the head of which stood..."

"...against the wall of the hut. She had been put in a state of intoxication with banana wine. She was quite naked with the thorax tied to the bed, whilst another band of tree bark held her legs down firmly and a man held her ankles fast…"

"The operator at the left side held a knife in his right hand and murmured an incantation. Then he washed his hands and also the abdomen of the patient with banana wine and then with water. Then, after he had uttered a shrill cry..."

"...which was answered by a crowd assembled outside the hut, he suddenly made an incision in the median line, beginning a little above the pubic symphysis, to just under the umbilicus…Now the child was quickly extracted and handed to an assistant, and the umbilical cord was cut”

6. Intercontinental Discovery (Exploration)

It’s largely believed that Afrikans were the first humans and without their spirit of exploration, the planet would not have been populated. Afrikaans must be given their credit for being the spark...

...to the many flames we see around the civilised world today. They had the audacity to move from their comfort zone to totally unknown and possibly hostile territories, bringing with them knowledge, agriculture and most of all, the building blocks of human civilisation.

7. Mathematics

The Ishango Bone is considered to be one of the oldest Mathematical tools in history. Dating back to 8500 BC, it is an important contribution to world civilisation that it is kept at the Royal Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium.

The Ishango Bone was found in 1960 in the region of Uganda and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). It was named after the Ishango people who inhabited the area sometime between the 7th and 10th centuries BC.

Originally, it was considered to be a simple tally record...

...but recent microscopic observation has shown additional marks indicating that it may have been used a Lunar calendar. The bone's body is etched with 3 rows of marks with each row having its own mathematical significance.

The first row is a series of calculations based on the number 10; the second row contains prime numbers between 10 and 20, and the third is a multiplication table.

The Ishango Bone is a symbol of scientific progress in Paleolithic Afrika. With the advancement of trade among societies, knowledge of mathematics and units of measure became increasingly important.