KENNYATTA UNIVERSITY Essays - Pleistocene, World History

KENNYATTA UNIVERSITY Essays - Pleistocene, World History KENNYATTA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION MUSYOKA JOSEPH REG NO: E35/1979/2017 UNIT: UNIT NAME: TOPIC: DISCUSS THE CONTRIBUTION OF ARCHEOLOGY TO THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AFRICAN HISTORY Discuss the contribution of Archeology to the reconstruction of African history Africa is the birthplace of humankind and a continent of tremendous social and cultural diversity. As such, knowledge of Africa's past is central to understanding our species' deep history; the diverse pathways of our social, technological, and political economic development; and the mutually entangled character of our continentally siloed histories. For all but the last few centuries of its diverse and dynamic 2.5 million-year history, insight into Africa's rich and diverse pasts rests on material evidence generated through archaeological investigations (Ucko, 2000). Yet systematic archaeological study of Africa's pasts is relatively recent and characterized by significant temporal and geographical disparities; some time periods and areas have seen considerably more intensive research than others. While the cradle of civilization may have been in the Fertile Crescent, the birth of humanity laid in the heart of Africa. After the Diaspora of human beings around the world, people began to gradually forget about Africa as civilizations began to materialize. Up until the 18th century in fact, the area was largely serene, impervious of the perils of the humanity. When Imperialism began in nations, Africa was the final frontier. No one knew Africa. No one knew but those in Africa itself. This led to many explorers as they set out in the uninhabited jungles of Africa, touching on land their ancestors escaped from thousands of years before. Soon, Africa was divided up between many of the imperial powers. Each nation took their part. England with their superior status at the time took the most land. South Africa, which after conquest became English, soon had a major role in the affairs of imperialism. One man, Cecil Rhodes, and his vast fortune which continues to affect the world today, played the crucial role of leading England down the path of glory and wealth. African Historical Archaeologies is an interesting experiment. Beside the excitement of transplanting ideas that have succeeded somewhere else one may wonder if Africa is the right place for this battle. Africa has the longest record of human home on the planet. The principal hominins rose 6-7 million years prior, and among the soonest anatomically present day human skulls discovered so far were found at Omo Kibish. European archaic exploration is for the most part partitioned into the Stone Age (containing the Lower Paleolithic, the Middle Paleolithic, and the Upper Paleolithic), the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. African archaic exploration is grouped in a somewhat extraordinary manner, with the Paleolithic for the most part partitioned into the Early Stone Age, the Middle Stone A ge, and the Later Stone Age. ( Isaac, 1971) After these three phases come the Pastoral Neolithic, the Iron Age and afterward later authentic periods. Africa's ancient times has been to a great extent overlooked, except for inquire about into early human development. Nonetheless, it is administered by the Pan African Archeological Association, whose individuals comprise of expert archeologists from all finished Africa. Notable too are the effects of preconceptions about Africa and its peoples on the questions posed and answers sought by archaeologists. Deeply held presuppositions led early scholars to deny the capacity of African peoples to make gains on what 19th- and early-20th-century European scholars envisioned as a singular progressive pathway, one modeled on the elevation of European and Near Eastern history to the status of a universal expectation. For early postcolonial archaeology, as for history, colonial dismissals of Africa's progressive capacity became a rallying cry for research aimed at demonstrating that Africa's past was dynamic and filled with examples of independent and early innovation. Recent postcolonial decades have seen expanded research, more nuanced engagements with questions of origins and connections, and growing attention to the formative role of material practice in the configuration of social life, as described in separate sections of this bibliography. The focus of this article is the breadth and depth of African archaeology. It directs readers to literatures on the history, goals, and practices of African archaeology, aiding readers unfamiliar with archaeology to gain insight into issues