Africa has the world's oldest record of human technological achievement: the oldest stone tools in the world have been found in eastern Africa, and later evidence for tool production by our hominin ancestors has been found across
Astronomy
Circular cromlech at Nabta
Three types of calendars can be found in Africa: lunar, solar, and stellar. Most African calendars are a combination of the three. African calendars include the, Sub-Saharan Agrica .The history of science and technology in Africa since then has, however, received relatively little attention compared to other regions of the world, despite notable African developments in mathematics, metallurgy, biology and biochemical/ biotechnology, architecture and many more.
AFRICAN have involved in the surviver of humanity intimes pas with concentration of the days contemporary elements in their natural ecosystem. Divers knowledge originally came fro yhis regions and developed in various part of the earth.
The Grate Rift Valley of Africa provides critical evidence for the evolution of early Hominis .The earliest tools in the world can be found there as well:
TRAISE OF EARLY MAN .
- An unidentified hominin, possibly an AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFARENSIS OR KENYANTHROPUS PLATYOPS, created stone tools dating to 3.3 million years ago at LOMEKWI in the TURKANA BASIN, Eastern Africa.
- Homo Habilis , residing in eastern African , developed another early toolmaking industry, the Oldowan, around 2.3 million years ago.
- HOmo erectus developed the ACHEULEAN stone tool industry, specifically hand-axes, at 1.5 million years ago. This tool industry spread to the Middle East and Europe around 800,000 to 600,000 years ago. Homo erectus also begins using fire.
- Homo sapiens, or modern humans, created bone tools and backed blades around 90,000 to 60,000 years ago, in southern and eastern Africa. The use of bone tools and backed blades eventually became characteristic of later stone age tool industries.The first appearance of abstract art is during the Middle Stone Age, however. The oldest abstract art in the world is a shell necklace dated to 82,000 years ago from the Cave of Pigeons in TAFARALT, eastern Morocco. The second oldest abstract art and the oldest rock art is found at BLOMBOS CAVE in SOUTH AFRICA dated to 77,000 years ago
Circular cromlech at Nabta
Three types of calendars can be found in Africa: lunar, solar, and stellar. Most African calendars are a combination of the three.[12] African origin calendars include the. EGYPT, BERBER and AKAN calendar.
Western desert of Egypet
A stone circle located in the NABTA PLAYA basin may be one of the world's oldest known archeoastronomical devices. Built by the ancient Nubians about 4800 BCE, the device may have approximately marked the summer solstice.
Nile Valley
Since the first modern measurements of the precise cardinal orientations of the Egyptian pyramids were taken by Flinnders Petrie by ,various astronomical methods have been proposed as to how these orientations were originally established.Ancient Egyptians may have observed, for example, the positions of two stars in the Plough/Big Dipper , which was known to Egyptians as the thigh. It is thought that a vertical alignment between these two stars checked with a plumb bob was used to ascertain where North lay. The deviations from true North using this model reflect the accepted dates of construction of the pyramids.
Egyptians were the first to develop a 365-day, 12 month calendar. It was a stellar calendar, created by observing the stars.
During the 12th century, the astrolabic quadrant was invented in Egypt.
The Sahel
Based on the translation of 14 Timbuktu manuscripts, the following points can be made about Timbuktu astronomical science during the 12th-16th centuries:
- They made use of the julian Calendar.
- Generally speaking, they had a heliocentric view of the solar system.
- Diagrams of planets and orbits made use of complex mathematical calculations.
- Scientists developed an algorithm that accurately oriented Timbuktu to Mecca.
- They recorded astronomical events, including a meteor shower in August 1583.
At this time, Mali also had a number of astronomers including the emperor and scientist Askia Mohammad I.
Turkana Basin
Megalithic "pillar sites," known as "namoratunga," date to as early as 5,000 years ago and can be found surrounding Leka Turkan in Kenya.Although somewhat controversial today, initial interpretations suggested that they were used by Cushitic speaking people as an alignment with star systems tuned to a lunar calendar of 354 days.
South Africa
Today, South Africa has cultivated a burgeoning astronomy community. It hosts the Southern African Large Telescope , the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. South Africa is currently building the Karoo Array Telescope as a pathfinder for the $20 billion Square kilometre Array project.
Educational Traces : In Africa, education have a long history, traced lead us to the following parts.
Nile Valley
In 295 BC, the Library Alexandria was founded in Egypt. It was considered the largest library in the classical world. founded in 970~972 as a massive, its the chief centre of Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning in the world. The oldest degree-granting university in Egypt after the Cairo University, its establishment date may be considered 1961 when non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.
The Sahel
Three philosophical schools in Mali existed during the country's "golden age" from the 12th to the 16th centuries: University of Sankore, Sidi Yahya University, and Djinguereber University.
By the end of Mansa Musa's reign in Mali, the Sankoré University had been converted into a fully staffed University with the largest collections of books in Africa since the Library of Alexandria. The Sankoré University was capable of housing 25,000 students and had one of the largest libraries in the world with roughly 1000,000 manuscripts and many more.
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