African History
...era known as "historic" (meaning written records). It is an important era. Mostly because it includes the very great majority of the total time on earth that humankind has spent developing basic human abilities and culture. "The main change throughout all of mankind was the change to bi-pedalism (Dr. Agorsah)". The traditional "Stone Age" name comes from the stone tools and weapons first made during that time.
Archeology in Africa shows that man is linked to pre-hominids (Ancestoral to both Apes and man). Australopithecus is the earliest Hominid related to us (humans). Hominid meaning "Humans and their direct and near-direct ancestors (Wikpedia.com)".
The dating of the artifacts plays a pivotal part in history. There are many ways to determine what time frame a piece of history (such as fossils or pottery) was used or alive in. There are two major ways to determine how old something is, Relative and Absolute. Relative uses Stratigraphy, which means the study of where the object is laying and the study of the dirt and rocks around it. Using Absolute dating involes, C14(CARBON) or K/A (Potassium) dating, as well as Thermoluminesoence and Dendrochronology (Tree ring) dating.
Another form of dating in Africa is Oral Tradition. It is something unique in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Because Africa is so old and has the first man traced back, it is rich in tradition and in history. In African societies Oral Tradition is the method in which history, stories are passed on from generation to generation. Oral is spoken and tradition is something from your culture or heritage that you pass on. For the African people, Oral tradition is linked to their way of life. Most African Societies place a lot of honor and pride In oral tradition.
"Most African people did not Invent an alphabet for the art of reading and writing....
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