Out of africa - john barry

Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologists to be the oldest inhabited territory on Earth, with the human species originating from the continent. During the middle of the twentieth century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. Fossil remains of several species of early apelike humans thought to have evolved into modern man, such as Australopithecus afarensis (radiometrically dated to approximately 3.9--3.0 million years BC),[12] Paranthropus boisei (c. 2.3--1.4 million BC)[13] and Homo ergaster (c. 600,000--1.9 million The Ishango bone, dated to about 25,000 years ago, shows tallies in mathematical notation. Throughout humanity's prehistory, Africa (like all other continents) had no nation states, and was instead inhabited by groups of hunter-gatherers such as the Khoi and San.[14][15][16] In northern Sudan a pit filled with monuments and statues of the 'black pharaoh' kings of Nubia has been discovered by archaeologists from the University of Geneva. The Nubian empire which covered the Nile Valley 2,500 years ago and was called the Kingdom of Kush, was vast in wealth and power. The pit, which is located on the banks of the Nile between sites of ruined ancient temples, had not been opened in more than 2,000 years. It was created by conquering Egyptians intent on destroying any remnants of the legacy of the black pharaohs, which is visible in the force of the destruction carried out on many of the statues. Despite this the treasures still intact are breathtaking. Expertly carved from granite and polished to a now dull sheen they show the world the faces of the Nubian kings and are described by Charles Bonnet, head of the joint Swiss French expedition as sculptural masterpieces, and a highly important discovery in the historical, archaeological and art worlds