On
Monday on MSNBC, Iowa Republican representative Steve King, with his white supremacist
mentality, made an ignorant claim that white people have made more contributions
to western civilization than other “sub-groups.” He stated, “I’d ask you to go
back to your history and figure out where are these contributions that have
been made by these other categories of people that you’re talking about, where
did any other sub-group of people contribute more to civilization?” I continue
to be in awe of the ignorance that many with his mindset spew from their mouths.
If
they have read anything at all, they seemed to have read the works of many European
historians who have credited the Greeks, Romans, and other Europeans for the
sciences and technologies that contributed to the development of
civilization. Those historians revised history to
support their ideology of white supremacy. They have even claimed that ancient Egyptians (Kemites) were
“dark-skinned whites” who built the pyramids. Maybe they did not know that even “Egypt,” a country in North Africa,
means “Black.” Maybe they closed their eyes to the fact that “Kemet” means “Land
of Black People.” They deliberately tried to hide the fact that Kemites (people
of Kemet) and Nubians had migrated across central and northern Africa to West
Africa, greatly influencing the diverse, West African cultures from which we African
Americans descend from. Contrary to their mendacious history, many groups of
people have greatly contributed to civilization. However, I want to take a quick
break from genealogical and DNA blog postings to highlight some of the many contributions
from Africa. Civilization and humankind emanated from Africa.
A
plethora of sources unmistakably show that the origins of many scientific
inventions truly hailed from Africa. Unfortunately, we – the descendants of Africans
who were forcibly extracted from their homeland and enslaved in America – have been
falsely taught that our ancestors had little or nothing to do with the
development of civilization. Obviously that
was a huge lie. Anthropological evidence has shown that advances in
engineering, mathematics, navigation, physics and other fields of science
occurred in purely African societies long before it was previously believed
possible (1). Many things that we utilize today should be credited to the
historical accomplishments of Africa. I will expound on a few.
Paper, Alphabet, Ink,
and Pen
Many
inventions from Africa contributed to the birth of every technology that exists
today. Of those many inventions,
scholars such as John G. Jackson (1993) believed that the greatest inventions
were the paper, alphabet, ink, and pen.
The Kemites of northern Africa discovered the need for something other
than stone to write upon; therefore, they invented the paper from stripes of
papyrus reed. The word “paper” was
derived from the word “papyrus,” a Kemetic word that originally meant “that
which belongs to the house.” The ink was
made from a combination of vegetable gum, soot, and water. James Henry Breasted (1915) asserted that
writing has played the single most important role in the uplifting and
advancing of civilization – a greater role than any other intellectual
invention in the history of Humankind
(2). Clearly, many technologies of today
would not have been conceived efficiently without the Kemites’ ingenious
inventions of the paper, alphabet, ink, and pen.
Calendar
Another
great invention of mankind was the invention of the calendar by the people of
ancient Kemet. Through their meticulous
study of the sun, moon, and stars, they were able to precisely calculate the
flooding of the Nile River which was vital to their ability to farm. The Kemites discovered that the movement and
position of the sun and the moon had a direct effect on all objects on the
planet Earth. From this revelation, the
astronomers of Kemet were the first to develop a solar calendar which divided
the year into 365 days with 12 months of 30 days each. An additional five days were interjected in
the end of the year. These five days
corresponded to the birth of the Gods (Netcherw) Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set, and
Nephthys, who were the progenitors of the human race (3). Successive civilizations went on to create
their own calendars, owing much to the pioneering development in ancient
Kemet.
Electricity
Electricity
is the “fuel” for most technologies today. Many devices simply will not operate without electricity. The world has now become so dependent on
electricity, that many people will find it extremely difficult to live without
it. When I researched to determine the
inventor of electricity, several sources credit that invention to the Greek
scientist, Thales of Miletus. Even in
their book entitled Electricity by
C.A. Coulson and T.J.M. Boyd, the following statements were made:
The fact that a piece of amber, when rubbed,
will attract small particles of matter was known 2500 years ago by Thales of
Miletus. From this simple experimental
fact has developed the whole science of electrostatics, which deals with the
properties of electricity at rest.
Indeed the very word electricity is derived from the Greek word for
amber, η’λεκτρον. Since the beginnings
of physics with the Milesian school of philosophers in the sixth century B.C.,
a great deal of experimental knowledge of electricity has accumulated,
especially in the last 200 years (4).
Numerous
other sources also extended credit to Thales of Miletus. Scholars claimed that he discovered that when
amber was rubbed with other materials, it became charged with an unknown force
that had the power to attract objects such as dried leaves, feathers, bits of
cloth, or other lightweight materials. Of all the sources investigated, all of them omitted the fact that
Thales of Miletus received an education
in ancient Kemet. His ability for
keen observation can be contributed to the Black people of ancient Kemet. He studied in Egypt and Babylon, bringing
back knowledge of physics, astronomy and mathematics. Documented evidence shows that the
Babylonians copied and obtained all of their knowledge from the people of
ancient Kemet. Although the Kemites did
not directly invent electricity, their influence and teachings enabled Thales
of Miletus to discover this invention that had an enormous effect on the world
of the successive generations.
Mathematics
In
the area of mathematics, the papyrus rolls, the limestone chips, and the
leather rolls clearly outlined many of the rules of arithmetic and geometry by
the people of ancient Kemet. The longest
roll, which was written by the Kemetic scribe, Ahmose, is known as the “Rhind
Mathematical Papyrus” after Alexander Rhind who brought it to Europe. Some of the mathematical equations in this
papyrus included the Pythagorean Theorem, methods for determining the surface
of the triangle, rectangle, and circle, and methods for determining the volume
of a sphere. Long before the Ahmose
papyrus was written, Kemetic mathematicians were already guiding the
construction of pyramids and measuring the cotangent to guarantee that the pyramids
would be stable. Even our present-day
decimal system is a direct result of mathematics originated by the Kemites.
Ancient
Kemetic mathematics did not die; it simply blended into the new mathematics of
the classical period. Books by Greek classical
mathematicians fully acknowledge their debt to ancient Egypt (5). As Greek city states developed, a number of
Greeks traveled to Egypt to study. In
fact, the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said that “Egypt was the cradle of
mathematics.” Eudoxus, who was
Aristotle’s teacher and a foremost mathematician of his time, had also studied
in ancient Kemet before teaching mathematics in Greece. Isokrates and Plato were profoundly influenced
by ancient Egyptian philosophy. Euclid
learned mathematics in Ancient Kemet before applying it elsewhere. However, many Western historiographers will
vehemently deny that the origins of mathematics came from ancient Kemet.
Medicine
Yes,
medicine! Society has become accustomed to crediting the beginnings of
scientific medicine to Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived in the 5th
century B.C. He was given the distinction
as being the “Father of Medicine.” Physicians all over the world take the semi-sacred Hippocratic Oath upon
completion of their medical studies. Although Hippocrates has exercised an immense influence on medicine for
nearly 25 centuries, he never gave himself the title of “Father of Medicine.” Additionally, it is very evident that
Hippocrates and his students drew heavily upon the theories and practices of
ancient Egyptian medicine (6).
Researchers
have discovered that the Edwin Smith Papyrus is the oldest medical manuscript
in existence.The papyrus was published
in 1930 by James H. Breasted. He spent ten years translating the document. It is believed to have been written by Imhotep,
a descendant of a distinguished architect named Kanofer and who was recognized
as the “Egyptian God of Medicine” (7). Although written during the 18th dynasty
of ancient Kemet, this manuscript is actually a late copy of an original first
produced early in the Old Kingdom sometime between 4400-4200 B.C. (8)
In
ancient Kemet, the first anatomical descriptions appeared in a systematic way
in the Edwin Smith Papyrus. More than 200
different anatomical parts have been described in the manuscript. Also, forty-eight different injuries to the
head, face, neck, thorax and spinal column and the appropriate surgical methods
for attending to them were also described in this papyrus. Other medical
information related to dermatology, dentistry, gynecology, tumors,
cardiovascular system, obstetrics, and many more were found in the Ebers Papyrus,
which was written around 1500 B.C. From these extensive medical transcripts of
ancient Kemet, Europeans were able to grasp vital knowledge of the field of
medicine.
Conclusion
The
descendants of Africans in America endured many years of physical, inhumane bondage
known as chattel slavery, the worst kind of slavery that ever existed. However, a new form of bondage permeates
throughout our society. Mental slavery
has been implemented by the deliberate withholding of African history and the
rewriting of history by people of European descent to justify their
self-proclaimed superiority. Also,
mental slavery thrives because of an ignorance of the correct history of this
world that is not being taught in our schools. It is of dire importance that the truth is told and passed down to the
next generations. Our history did NOT
begin with slavery!
Sources
(1) Ivan Van Sertima (Ed.),
Egypt, Child of Africa (New
Brunswick: Transaction Publishers,
1995), 262.
(2) Antoinette T. Jackson, Why Kemet? A Cultural Awakening, An
African-Centered Journey into Ancient Egypt, (Oak Park, IL: Seshat, 1998), 24.
(4) C.A. Coulson and T.J.M.
Boyd, Electricity, 2nd ed.
(London: Longman, 1979), 1
(5) Sertima (Ed.), Egypt, Child of Africa, 325-326.
(6) Ivan Van Sertima, Egypt Revisited (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1993), 325.
(7) Jamieson B. Hurry,
M.A., M.D., Imhotep, The Egyptian God of
Medicine (Chicago: Ares Publishers, 1987), 4.
(8) Sertima, Egypt Revisited, 329.
