An international team of scientists, led by researcher Brandi L. MacDonald from the University of Missouri, has confirmed the discovery of the oldest ochre mine in the world, located in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), a small country in southern Africa. Ochre, an iron-rich clay, has been used by humans for thousands of years as a pigment […]
Africa
Posted inArt
The Pharaonic Basilica in Ivory Coast, Which Imitates the One in the Vatican and Is the Largest Church in the World
Africa is a world of its own; a separate one, as anyone who has been there can confirm. I’m not referring to the northern strip, which after all exchanged influences with Mediterranean civilizations, but the sub-Saharan part, always dark and unknown. That’s why you can find things there that seem completely out of place but, […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Enigmatic Rock-Cut Architecture of Zoroastrian Origin Discovered in Madagascar
An international team of researchers has made a surprising archaeological discovery in the heart of Madagascar that could rewrite the history of the island’s settlement and its connections with distant civilizations. In Teniky, a site located in the remote Isalo Massif in southern Madagascar, they have found an enigmatic rock-cut architecture that has no parallels […]
Posted inModern Era
The Woman Who Crossed Africa in 1910 to Visit Her Fiancé’s Grave, and Is Buried in Granada
Despite its great success and being considered a classic today, the film adaptation of King Solomon’s Mines garnered some criticism because one of the characters, Sir Henry Curtis, the man who hires hunter Alan Quatermain to search for his missing brother in Africa, was turned into his wife, Elizabeth Curtis, on screen. A woman, in […]
Posted inScience
The Largest Bat in Africa Looks Like a Monstrous Gargoyle from a Medieval Cathedral
Its scientific name, Hypsignathus monstrosus, describes a little animal as photogenic as the Hammer-headed fruit bat, a unique species in its genus that inhabits the sub-Saharan lands from Sierra Leone to Kenya, Angola, and Zambia. It is a megabat, the largest of all those living in Africa, with a wingspan of almost a meter, and […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Genoese Brothers who Disappeared in Search of a Spice Route in the 13th Century
In the late 13th century, two Genoese brothers with a musical surname embarked on the daunting adventure of finding an alternative spice route. Their idea was to reach India with two galleys, aided by sailors from Majorca, but after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, they were never heard from again. They may have shipwrecked while […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Archaeologists Found Evidence in Ethiopia of a Human Population that Survived the Eruption of the Toba Supervolcano 74,000 years Ago
Modern humans first originated in Africa, but the key event that led to their global expansion occurred less than 100,000 years ago. Previous research had suggested these early human dispersals were limited to “green corridors” – regions with abundant food resources during wet climate intervals. However, a new study published in the journal Nature proposes […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
More than 20 Mancala Game Boards Carved in Rock Dating Back Thousands of Years Found in Kenya
Researchers from Yale University have made a spectacular archaeological discovery in Kenya that sheds light on the recreational activities of past societies in this region of Africa. Dr. Veronica Waweru, who leads the research project in the central area of Kenya, recently uncovered a series of ancient game boards carved in rock dating back thousands […]
Posted inPrehistory
Lucy’s Appearance Reconstructed by Researchers
Some 3.2 million years ago, there lived a female Australopithecus afarensis whose remains were found in 1974 in Hadar, Ethiopia. Lucy, as she was named, has provided amazing insights into early human ancestors. Only standing around 3.5 feet tall and weighing just over 60 pounds, Lucy had a small brain similar to chimpanzees. However, she […]
Posted inPrehistory
Legends of the Hadza People are so Ancient that they May Refer to Extinct Hominid Ancestors
The Hadza people are an ethnic group living around Lake Eyasi in the Great Rift Valley and near the Serengeti plain in Tanzania, in an area called Hadzaland. In 2015, there were between 1,200 and 1,300 individuals, with only about 300 of them, a small group, still surviving, dedicated exclusively to hunting and gathering. This […]
