Almost every country in Africa (including South Africa) is in some stage of development, and this implies that social amenities standards are not yet equal with those of the developed countries. Healthcare facilities do not always have enough operating staff and medications may not be readily available especially in remote rural areas; but in spite of all these things that may tend to downgrade Africa, it is still a great continent.
Africa is a home for lions, elephants, cheetahs, penguins and other rare animals which bring nature to our very embrace. Africans are full of life, proving the long-held belief; ‘you know you are alive only when you live among lions’. Africa is always regarded as a blessed and endowed continent in terms of skin colour, natural endowments, resources and the likes. It has made such huge achievements and also produced great men and women throughout the history. Despite all these amazing things that Africa has to offer and the many great people it has produced, many Africans still don’t know some of the great things about Africa. Glance below to see great things about Africa you actually need to know.
Human Race is Believed to Have Originated from Africa
Africa is the second most populated continent in the world. Supporting this fact is the belief that the human race is from Africa. As part of the many proofs, the oldest known skeletal remains of anatomic modern humans (or Homo sapiens) were dug out at sites in East Africa. This equally proves the belief by most scientists that study ancient humans, that Africa is the oldest inhabited territory on earth. Human remains discovered at Omo in Ethiopia were found to be over 195,000 years old, the oldest known in the world.
Skeletons of Early Humans were Found in Africa
Skeletons of early humans have been found in Africa that date back between 4 and 5 million years. The oldest known ancestral type of humanity is thought to have been the Australopithecus ramidus, who lived at least 4.4 million years ago.
Mining
Africans were the first to embark on mining 43,000 years ago. In 1964 a hematite mine was found in Swaziland at Bomvu Ridge in the Ngwenya mountain range. Ultimately 300,000 artifacts were discovered including thousands of stone-made mining tools. Adrian Boshier, one of the archaeologists on the site, dated the mine to about 43,200 years old.
Africans Invented Arithmetic
Africans introduced basic mathematics 25,000 years ago. The Ishango bone is a tool handle carved with a deep recess which was found in the Ishango region of Zaïre (now called Congo) near Lake Edward. The bone tool was initially thought to have been over 8,000 years old, but a more current dating gave the dates as 25,000 years old.There are 3 rows of notches on the Ishango bone. The first Row shows three notches carved close to six, four designed close to eight, ten carved close to two fives and finally a seven. The 3 and 6, 4 and 8, and 10 and 5, represent the method of adding.The second Row shows eleven notches cut close to twenty-one notches, and nineteen notches cut close to nine notches. This stands for 10 + 1, 20 + 1, 20 – 1 and 10 – 1. The last Row shows eleven notches, thirteen notches, seventeen notches and nineteen notches. 11, 13, 17 and 19 that are the prime numbers between 10 and 20. They were obviously used for mathematical purposes.
First To Cultivate
Africans planted crops 12,000 years ago, the first known advances in agriculture. Professor Fred Wendorf, found out that people in Egypt’s Western Desert planted crops of barley, capers, chick-peas, dates, legumes, lentils and wheat. The ancient tools they used were also discovered including grindstone, milling stones, cutting blades, hide scrapers, engraving burners, mortars and pestles.
Mummies Are From Africa
Africans preserved the bodies of the dead 9,000 years ago. The body of a preserved child was discovered under the Uan Muhuggiag rock shelter in south-western Libya. The child was buried in the posture characteristic of a fetus and was preserved using a very sophisticated method that must have taken hundreds of years to develop. The method came into existence well before the earliest mummies known in Ancient Egypt by at least 1,000 years. The actual date of the techniques is controversial but the preserved dead bodies may date from 7438 (±220) BC.
The Great Sphinx Of Giza
Africans created the world’s first colossal sculpture 7,000 or more years ago. The Great Sphinx of Giza was designed using the head of a human mixed with the body of a lion. Little wonder they regard Africans as lions. The big question the monument raised was: How old is it? In October 1991 Professor Robert Schoch, a geologist from Boston University, said that the Sphinx was designed between 5000 BC and 7000 BC, dates that he considered relatively low for the sake of caution.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The first extraordinary Pyramid of Giza which is one of the most remarkable buildings in history, was roughly 481 feet tall – equal to a 40-storey building is in Africa. It is made up of 2.3 million blocks of limestone and granite, some weighing 100 tons.
Indigenous Word for Gun
Some part of Southern Africans have indigenous words for ‘gun’ before the era of colonization which scientists have generally been less concerned to research on or explain. This evidently proves the fact that guns may not necessarily be linked to colonial masters.
Making of Steel
In 1978, evidence showed that East Africans were making steel for more over 1,500 years. Assistant Professor of Anthropology Peter Schmidt and Professor of Engineering Donald H. Avery have discovered that as early as 2,000 years ago, Africans living on the western shores of Lake Victoria had created carbon steel in preheated forced draft furnaces, a method that was technically more sophisticated than any created in Europe until the mid-nineteenth century.
