Page 178 - A People Called Afrika
P. 178
A PEOPLE CALLED AFRIKA
took over the system and the result is what you see today;
a system that breeds criminals and corruption, instead of re-
storing them to who they are supposed to be (as intended).
Afrika’s ancient science and technology
The word technology comes from the Greek ‘Technologia’
which refers to the ‘systematic treatment of an art, craft or tech-
nique’, according to etymonline.com or it can also be referred
to as the ‘science of craft’ according to Wikipedia. Oftentimes
words can be used to elevate meaning to a place that makes
it inaccessible, incomprehensible and therefore unusable, but
simplicity restores this access. Today’s references to technol-
ogy might make one think that Afrika is backward and yet
the earliest forms of technological advancement were traced
to East Afrika, where the oldest stone tools have been found.
Sub-Saharan Afrika has a plethora of evidence of early tool
production, creation of artworks and creation of early forms of
paint demonstrating knowledge of what is now called chemistry.
The Afrikan people had diverse knowledge systems that were
used to measure time and seasons using combinations of lu-
nar, solar and stellar calendars in Egypt, among the Igbo, the
Akan, the Yoruba, the Shona, the Xhosa, the Swahili, the
Ethiopian people, the Borana, the Luba and so on (source:
Wikipedia). The Dogon of Mali had identified distant star
systems that were interwoven into their own creation, cul-
ture and understanding of the world. The early Egyptians
are credited with the creation of paper and ink and there is
evidence of the use of writing, astronomy, mathematics and
metal work are found all across Afrika. The Egyptians cre-
ated toothpaste, the Baganda were practicing cesarean sec-
tions before the West and the Benin kingdom had street
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