ALQAHTANI 1
Omar Alqahtani
BST 200
Professor Burt
March 4, 2020
BST 200 Midterm Paper: Ancient Africa & STEM
African history today is known for its rich culture, plentiful natural resources, and to its
birth of humanity, but pertaining to advancements in science, technology, and math, the
continent’s contributions are far less known. Sydella Blatch, an assistant professor at Stevenson
University, wrote an article illustrating the disconnect between Ancient Africa and advancements
of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The article was published in the
minority affairs section of the American Society of Biochemistry & molecular biology, and
illustrated a number of subfields that discoveries and advancements to STEM were made in
Ancient Africa. Her article is meant to bring attention to a forgotten link between Africans and
their impact on the sciences, as they are the foundation of science and technology that helped
later civilizations in their contributions as well.
STEM has traditionally been a field that has been associated for individuals of specific
racial backgrounds, particularly European and Asian. This even holds true for prior civilizations,
including those spanning centuries back, including the civilizations of the Greek, Romans, and
other Caucasian-based empires often are the first that come to mind. Blatch quotes an African
scholar, Ivan Ver Sertema, to drive this point, “the nerve of the world has been deadened for
centuries to the vibrations of African genius” (Blatch, 2013). The only civilization from Africa
that has been revered for their contributions to these fields are the ancient Egyptians, and reality
is that other great civilizations and figures outside of Europe made significant discoveries in the
STEM field. This is far from the truth, as Ancient Africa was the incubator for inventions,
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discoveries, and various advancements that have influenced the world over, most that are very
essential to the human race’s basic survival. The origins of the STEM advancements embraced
by the European were built on the pillars of discoveries made in Africa thousands of years
earlier, therefore it is important to credit Ancient Africa for providing the STEM knowledge
necessary for subsequent discoveries made by the Europeans.
The ground level of science, engineering and technology is mathematics, and Ancient
Africa introduced so many novel and important concepts to modern math. The most basic of
these include the first counting system known to man, according to Blatch. African people were
among the first of any around the world to use the concept of “counting” in order to keep track of
time and belongings. These habits first originated in the sub-Saharan continent of Africa around
35,000 BC where “counting sticks” were discovered with individualized marks on them, as they
were meant to keep track of events, time, or objects (Blatch, 2013). The concept of counting
sticks was then advanced with the Egyptian civilization around 7000 BC, where people began to
use clay tokens to aid in counting, and eventually this turned into writing with hieroglyphics to
express numbers (Blatch, 2013). It was this move to having a dedicated number system that
pushed the Ancient Egyptians to becoming the most technologically advanced civilization at the
time, as told by Blatch.
While mathematical literature existed in Ancient Africa over 35,000 years ago, Egyptians
adopted textbooks that contained mathematical equations, formula, and other important
information that gave into advances for basic arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Because of the
massive wealth incurred by the Egyptians, they were able to invest in research and development
efforts in science and math in order to advance their quality of life and solve common challenges
facing them in their everyday lives (Blatch, 2013). The most notable of the advancement towards
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math was the use of the Pythagorean theorem, and their mastery of this showed in their
engineering accomplishments such as the Pyramids. Other ways that the Ancient Egyptians were
able to show off their strengths in mathematical knowledge was the use of the Nilometer, which
also introduced the concept of conversion factors and units of measurement (Blatch, 2013). The
Nilometer proved to be important in Egyptian farming, as it measured the height of the
floodwaters on an annual basis that happened on the Nile river (Blatch, 2013).
Beyond math, Africans were also very involved in the field of astronomy, and some of
their practices were so advanced according to Blatch that their purpose isn’t understood by
scientists today. At the forefront of Astronomy were the Egyptians once again, and they were
able to comprehend the movement of the planet around the sun, and other extra-terrestrial bodies
around the central star. They were also the pioneers of the calendar system, and classified a year
as 365 days and also developed clocks (Blatch, 2013). The first clock made was a sundial that
measured the time of day by the amount of sunlight that shined onto it, and that’s how the first
origins of time management were conceived. Beyond the Egyptians, other Ancient civilizations
also made strides int his field, including the creation of an African Stonehenge within modernday Kenya (Blatch, 2013). Also known as Adam’s Calendar, this was a man-made monument
that had astronomical alignments that are unknown to astronomists today, and is also the only
remaining functional and intact megalithic stone calendar.
But no one was more educated in the field of astronomy within Ancient Africa as the
Dogon civilization was. According to Blatch, this civilization based many of their traditional
ceremonies on space events. They had knowledge of Saturn housing hundreds of rings, Jupiter
having numerous moons, and even knew the spiral structure of the milky way. Additionally, they
even knew the orbits of the planets that were considered accurate into the 20th century. Moving
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from Astronomy, metallurgy and tools were also among the forte of Ancient Africa’s discoveries,
and they included the use of the steam engine, nails, glue, and even bronze used in weapons and
artistic applications. The advances that Ancient Africa was making at this time were also greater
than the comparable Europeans at the time, as they had more advanced heating equipment and
methods of molding, creating, and fabricating metals were more effective and efficient (Blatch,
2013). This also relates to how the Africans were innovators in engineering and architecture, as
once again, Ancient Egyptians were the masters of applied math and science during this time
period. The obelisks and pyramids, in total over 100 creations, covered thousands of acres of
land. It is thought that over two million blocks were used to create only one pyramid, and efforts
to understand their core structure and method of development remain a mystery today (Blatch,
2013). In the 12th century, the cities in modern day Zimbabwe and Mozambique had stone
structures that demonstrated strong proficiency in engineering and architecture in how these
buildings were designed and infrastructure. Other civilizations showcased their talent through the
creation of cities that were filled with beautiful palaces, religious places of worship, and
universities as well.
Finally, medicine and navigation were other strongpoints of Ancient African practices
that Blatch covered in her article. For thousands of years, medicine was more advanced in Africa
than it was in Europe, and many of the modern medicines currently we use today draw their
origins back to Africa (Blatch, 2013). Pain medicine in places such as modern-day South Africa
utilized plants that contained salicylic acid, which later came to be known as aspirin. Other
examples of analogues medicines found in use by ancient Africans were kaolin for diarrhea as
well as various extracts from plants that were meant to combat gram-positive bacteria (Blatch,
2013). Africans were also the first to discover capsicum, ouabain, reserpine, and physostigmine,
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documented in their ancient literature. Beyond drug discoveries, ancient Africa was also the
birthplace for common place medical and surgical procedures that are essential to modern-day
medicine, which include vaccinations, dental fillings, brain surgery, skin grafting, and other lifesaving practices (Blatch, 2013). Africa at this time was also leading Europe when it came to antiseptic and hygienic practices (Blatch, 2013). It becomes clear through this research that the
modern-day medicinal practices did indeed originate in Africa, and lack of communication with
the outside world during this time prevented these discoveries from surviving throughout the
centuries when the ancient Africa crumbled.
Navigation was very different in the ancient world as compared to today, but the Ancient
Africans still showed great proficiency to comprehension of direction and distance. Just as
Europeans sailed to the Americas, Africans were known to travel to south America and south
Asia, and many ancient Africans were pioneers in how they build boats and vessels (Blatch,
2013). People of Ancient Mali and Songhai could build boats that were over 100 feet long and
carry over 80 tons of equipment, also owing to their strong engineering skills (Blatch, 2013). The
ability for west Africans to travel also partially explains the presence of native Africans on the
South American continent, and it was even found that Africans traveled as far as China and India.
They used vessels to bring back Elephants and other animals to their continent, which also
explains the presence of the animal in both geographical areas around the world.
Reading Blatch’s article, she used a lot of well researched and coherent logic to illustrate
her thesis that Africans were indeed innovators in the fields of science and technology. All her
facts are verifiable, and are relevant to the topic, and many of them build on top of each other,
which admittedly demonstrates her credibility as an assistant professor in the STEM field. She
also diversifies the knowledge she provides, and covers achievements from several disciplinaries
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in STEM, such as math, astronomy, medicine, and engineering. However, her use of emotion and
other forms of credibility in my view are lacking in her article. Her logic is also very one
dimensional, in that she maintains that the only great acknowledgements for African
contributions are in the very distant past. Her article could have been much stronger if she had
included examples of more modern-day examples of Africans or African Americans who
contributed as well. This may include figures such as George Washington Carver, Neil Degrasse
Tyson, and even Ben Carson. While it is understandable that Black Studies focuses on the past,
tying the past into the future would have made more appear more of an expert on the issue,
therefore granting her greater self-credibility.
Blatch’s article also lacks the element of emotion that allows for a reader to become
genuinely engaged, and excited for the topic. While Blatch does a formidable job of showing the
positive light of African contributions in STEM, her article leaves the reader with a general
feeling of negativity, the article leaves the reader at a crossroad for emotional direction. Upon
reading Blatch’s work, the reader gets the feeling that hope for recognition of African
achievements is largely lost, and she does not suggest any plausible solutions beyond people
conducting more studies in the area of interest. Beyond the lacking to a call of action, Blatch also
uses a form of writing that is very monotone and unengaging to an uneducated reader. While she
is admittedly a scientist and not a writer, it would have been well worth the effort to attempt to
capture the audience through more engaging text and use of enticing vocabulary.
When it comes to the issue of race, socio-economic status, and gender in regards to
African American experiences, she does not draw any direct parallels between Ancient Africa as
aforementioned, but it is implied that modern day blacks face similar challenges. Statistics show
that the presence of African Americans in the STEM field is distortional to their presence in other
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fields such as the public sector. There are numerous advocacy groups and public initiatives that
are meant to bring awareness to the lack of Blacks in STEM, and colleges as well as the
workforce have prioritized diversifying the presence of Blacks in the sciences. The issue of
socio-economic status is inconclusive without other statistical data, because one cannot directly
assume that the lack of African Americans in STEM has led to them facing more challenging
economic conditions. However, African American presence in the STEM field is related to
education level, and more Blacks in this field will indicate a positive transition into more Blacks
going into higher education, which will in turn lead to better socio-economic conditions for the
race. Finally, Blatch’s article does not mention anything regarding gender, and is admittedly a
topic that is not related to her article at all. In general, however, Blatch’s article remains
indecisive, and because her findings are related to events that happened thousands of years ago,
one cannot say that she is addressing the contemporary issues that Black studies is inherently
meant to study.
When it comes to diaspora issues, Blacks studies is as encompassing as the definition
entails. The issue that Blatch raises are ones that races and ethnicities from around the world can
relate to, as the vast majority of STEM education and advancements within the last 400 years
were made by the Europeans during the Enlightenment era to the present day. But just as Blatch
has shown, it was foundational discoveries made in Ancient Africa that helped the Europeans
make the advancements that they did. Isaac Newtons discoveries in Physics and Calculus could
not have been done without a system for counting, nor without applications of the Pythagorean
theorem. Likewise, advancements in Chemistry made by Marie Curie would have never been
conceived if Alchemy had not been born in Ancient Africa in the BC era. Some inquires and
solutions that I would like to raise are a deeper look into the curriculum of African American
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history and Blacks studies that grade school and University students are receiving. If children are
not learning about these fundamental STEM discoveries in ancient Africa, then it is a problem
with the material that is being given in these academic disciplinaries.
While it is imperative that students learn about more recent events concerning African
American history, even most of these events are exclusively focused on political, socioeconomic,
and violence events that Blacks endured within their time in America and around the world. This
is even the case at CSU, where the African American Experience classes in the urban building
focus on these three core subjects, and there is very little to no mention about STEM. Whether
this is intentional or not, this is a problem if the STEM and Black movements wants to increase
the presence and influence of both within one another. Another problem too is the media,
because Africans Americans who are hyped in the media are typically those that are successful in
non-STEM fields, including sports, political figures, and writers, including those in the past. An
example of this is that more people know about Langston Hughes work as a writer rather than
George Washington Carver as the inventor of nearly 100 products derived from peanuts,
including Peanut Butter. The media and Black community have to work together more
coherently to ensure that there is equal representation of all types of Black achievements as a
result. I otherwise believe that Blatch provided a very concise, easily comprehendible, and
informative informational literature that points to a very relevant and important contemporary
issue in Black studies.
Works Cited:
Blatch, Sydella. “Great Achievements in Science and Technology in Ancient Africa.” American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1 Feb. 2013, pp. 18–19.