Watch all six hours of Africa’s Civilizations on the PBS app or online! Major corporate support for Africa’s Great Civilizations is provided by Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, and Ancestry. Major funding is also provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Gilder Foundation, the Corporation for […]
Read MorePosts in category History
African Fencers in the Americas & Europe?
This image was published in Augsburg, Germany; ca 1542. As early as the late middle ages, people of African descent began appearing in European treatises on swordsmanship and the martial arts, such as the book of Hans Talhoffer (1467), plates of which are featured below: Colonists of African descent also undoubtedly learned from less savory […]
Read MoreAncient Egyptian Martial Arts?
In ancient Egypt, Tahteeb or Tahtib was used as a form of martial arts. Its role has since changed to that of a festive game but some of the symbolism and values associated with the practice remain. Performed in front of an audience, it involves a brief, non-violent interchange between two adversaries, each wielding a long […]
Read MoreThe Three Mulattoes of Esmeralda from Ecuador, South America?
The three men depicted in the painting are identified in the painting itself as Don Francisco (de) Arobe and (according to one source) his two sons. They wear abundant gold jewelry, much of which is typical of the Indians of the region. Their clothing is obviously European, and they carry spears. Each man is given […]
Read MoreItalian Gold Ring Depicting An African Boy?
Bust of an African boy MANY of the best-known artists of the Renaissance (Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Dürer and Jacopo da Pontormo among them) made portraits of Africans. But who were the men, women and children they portrayed? –metmuseum.org/art/collection Date: late 16th century Culture: Italian, probably Venice Africans also chose to visit Europe, travelling on religious or […]
Read MoreThracian Treasures: Golden Phial & Amphora With African Faces Found In Bulgaria, Europe?
Most of what we know about the ancient Thracians comes from surviving ancient Greek and Roman sources. The Thracians were an ancient ethnic group that inhabited parts of what is today European Turkey and the extreme north of Greece, but the vast majority of Thracian land is in what is today Bulgaria. Although Thrace as an […]
Read MoreCopper Statues Of Ancient Egyptian King Pepi I
Pepi I’s reign was marked by aggressive expansion into Nubia, the spread of trade to far-flung areas such as Lebanon and the Somalian coast, but also the growing power of the nobility. One of the king’s officials named Weni fought in Asia on his behalf. Pepi’s mortuary complex, Mennefer Pepy, eventually became the name for […]
Read MoreNumidians In Ancient Times
Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. After they were used by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, they were described by the Roman historian Livy as “by far the best horsemen in Africa.” The Numidian cavalry’s horses, ancestors of the Berber horse, were small compared to other horses of […]
Read More5,000 Year Old Egyptian Hieroglyphs & Pyramids Found In Australia?
Thanks for sharing! Egyptians in Australia-Part 1, looks at the sensational and hotly debated set of close to 300 hieroglyphs found at Kariong near Gosford). There are numerous carved glyphs on sandstone walls. Ancient Lost Worlds and Hidden History. On location videos made by author and adventurer Brien Foerster exploring Peru, Bolivia, Egypt, Hawaii, Easter […]
Read MoreBeautiful brooches of African women during medieval times?
Black Africans in Renaissance Europe | European History After 1450 … -Circa 1500-1800 Africans also chose to visit Europe, travelling on religious or diplomatic missions. A contingent of Ethiopian pilgrims based themselves in Rome and a touching Flemish engraving depicts “St Philip Baptising the Ethiopian Counsellor”. Another engraving is a portrait of “Don Antonio Manuele […]
Read MoreMoors in Scotland?
Africans have been present in Europe from classical times. Moor women were also mentioned in the Treasurer’s accounts. It is unclear whether or not they were servants, since they were showered with items such as gowns of satin, ribbons, slippers and gloves, paid for by the king. Entries that refer to Moor women include: ‘Blak […]
Read MoreMenelik Beer Ad From Belgium, Europe
Who is Menelik? Menelik I is the first Solomonic Emperor of Ethiopia, is traditionally believed to be the son of King Solomon of ancient Israel and Makeda, ancient Queen of Sheba. He is alleged to have ruled around 950 BC, according to traditional sources. Tradition credits him with bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia, following […]
Read MoreScience Fiction& Fantasy Art of Ancient Egypt III to inspire
Did a highly advanced civilization exist in prehistory? Is the Giza Pyramid a remnant of their technology? Then, what was the power source that fueled such a civilization? –Egyptian Pharaoh by Chris Ducas Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization of ancient Egypt in the lower Nile […]
Read MoreGold & the Gods: Jewels of Ancient Nubia
In antiquity, Nubians believed that gold was a sacred material with protective powers, so jewelry makers used the metal frequently. Double Hathor head earring, Nubian, Meroitic Period, 90 AD. This is only a fraction of the ancient Nubian accessories. Gold earring Nubian, Meroitic Period Thousands of years ago, Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt made up […]
Read MoreAfricans in Greece
The Minoans may have first come into contact with Africans at Thebes, during the periodic bearing of tribute to the pharaoh. In fact, paintings in the tomb of Rekhmire, dated to the fourteenth century B.C., depict African and Aegean peoples, most likely Nubians and Minoans. However, with the collapse of the Minoan and Mycenaean palaces […]
Read MoreAfrican Descendants In Europe During Roman & Medieval Times?
Quote: Roman York has multiple people probably from North Africa, but even more people who are of “black/mixed race” ancestry (11-51%). –Dr. Caitlin Green The 1,800-year-old face of ‘Beachy Head Lady’ is revealed for the first time thanks to 3D scanning. Unusually Beachy Head Lady is from sub-Saharan Africa which was outside of the Roman […]
Read MoreMichelangelo’s Image of Cleopatra
Drawing of Cleopatra made by Michelangelo between 1533 and 1534. –Wiki This is one of the few authenticated drawings of Michelangelo and was drawn for Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, a young artist that Michelangelo passionately loved. This is the only drawing, of what Michelangelo claimed many drawings presenting to Cavlieri, that we have left. The drawing […]
Read MoreA Handsome Pharaoh With Wings Statue In Italy
Some people (who wish to stay anonymous) think that, this is a better representation of what the ancient Egyptians actually looked like. Curran vividly recreates this first wave of European Egyptomania with insightful interpretations of the period’s artistic and literary works. In doing so, he paints a colorful picture of a time in which early moderns […]
Read MoreAncient Hair
Hair weaving, although not in the modern form that it exists in today. It has been around for centuries. The earliest form of hair extensions dates back all the way to 5000 B.C in Ancient Egypt. Back then, this form of hairstyle was a status symbol as well as a fashion icon, and was adopted […]
Read More$100 Gold Coin Portrays Liberty as an African-American Woman?
The anniversary coin will be struck in .9999 fine 24-karat gold. A series with the same design will be struck in .999 silver, as well. African American woman featured on U.S. coin for first time: The U.S. Mint will be celebrating its 225th anniversary by minting a new coin that will feature Lady Liberty depicted […]
Read MoreNubian’s right to return to their ancestral homeland?
Some Nubians self-identify as Africans, Afro-Arabs, Nubian-Egyptians, or simply Nubians Nubians are descendants of the ancient African civilization of Kush, which was situated between what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan, known for its famed “Black Pharaohs” and pyramids. Nubians in Egypt today are still influenced by the changes of the initial Arab invasions, […]
Read MoreA Single Migration From Africa Populated the World?
Modern humans evolved in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago. … The genomes were drawn from people in hundreds of indigenous populations: Basques, African pygmies, Mayans, Bedouins, Sherpas and Cree Indians, to name just a few. In the journal Nature, three separate teams of geneticists survey DNA collected from cultures around the globe, many for the […]
Read More77-75,000 year old Beautiful African Accessories found in South Africa?
Personal ornaments, often in the form of beads worn as necklaces or bracelets, are considered by archaeologists as a key sign of sophisticated symbolic behavior, communicating either membership in a group or individual identity. The Women From Ziz Valley, Morocco, Africa –Vintage Photography In 2004 archaeologist excavated the Blombos Cave at the southern tip of […]
Read MoreLips of Akhenaten
Geographic Location – Africa Akhenaten meaning “Effective for Aten” known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV (sometimes given its Greek form, Amenophis IV, and meaning “Amun Is Satisfied”), was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. […]
Read MoreThe Marriage of Theagenes & Charicleia Tapestry – Flanders/France (ca. 1620)
Aethiopian adventures: or, The history of Theagenes and Chariclea Ancient Aethiopia (Greek: Αἰθιοπία) first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the upper Nile region, as well as all certain areas south of the Sahara desert and south of the Atlantic Ocean. –medievalpoc.tumblr.com/post Illustration of the story of Theagenes and Charicleia […]
Read MoreThe Adoration Of The Magi
History of the depiction The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men and kings. –The art of Hieronymus Bosch, Adoration of the Magi, c. 1485-1500, Oil on panel Occasionally from the 12th century, and very often in Northern Europe from the 15th, the Magi are also made to represent the three known parts of […]
Read More60,000 Year Old Writing Found In South Africa?
Geometric designs engraved on ostrich eggs could represent the earliest form of written communication, researchers have claimed. The patterns made by hunter-gatherers were discovered by scientists working in South Africa and are thought to be 60,000 years old, an era before humans left the continent to populate the rest of the world. This unique collection demonstrates […]
Read MoreAncient Pyramids Found In South Africa?
I have moved to South Africa from Holland a year ago and traveling in Mpumalanga and the Kruger Park I noticed countless Pyramid shaped structures all over the place. I don’t think anyone has investigated the South African Pyramids so far. The reason I wrote you was that I was hoping that you would be […]
Read MoreAfrican Shaman aka Wise Elder: Credo Mutwa
Credo Mutwa speaks of magnificent unexplored stone sites, ancient people, giants, gods, ancient travelers and astronomy in South Africa. The term “shamanism” was first applied by western anthropologists as outside observers of the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols, as well as those of the neighboring Tungusic and Samoyedic-speaking peoples. Upon observing more religious […]
Read MoreThe Kush Empire
Archaeologists are finding widespread evidence that the kingdom of Kush once had influence over a 750-mile stretch of the Nile Valley. For five centuries in the second millennium B.C., the kingdom of Kush flourished with the political and military prowess to maintain some control over a wide territory in Africa. On the periphery of history […]
Read MoreSungbo’s Eredo Defensive Walls From West Africa circa 1000 AD?
The jewel in the African civil engineering crown. They enclose an area the size of Greater London, or 30 times bigger than Manhattan. One of the largest monuments in sub-Saharan Africa: a 100-mile-long wall and moat whose construction began a millennium ago. Darling says that tropical landscapes are littered with ancient earthworks that dwarf more famous ancient mega-structures […]
Read MoreNatural & Beautiful Elongated Skulls of Africans and African descendants found in 2016?
Ancient Egyptians Depiction In Art –No comment on this subject matter Genetic similarities of Africans and African descendants found in 2016? Source: This was Published on Aug 21, 2016 by Al Jazeera news Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reports from a new settlement area in northern Uganda. Sudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in […]
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