The Anthroblogogist 

   1. The human race is of African origin. The oldest known skeletal remains of anatomically modern humans (or homo sapiens) were excavated at sites in East Africa. Human remains were discovered at Omo in Ethiopia that were dated at 195,000 years old, the oldest known in the world.

      2. Skeletons of pre-humans have been found in Africa that date back between 4 and 5 million years. The oldest known ancestral type of humanity is thought to have been the australopithecus ramidus, who lived at least 4.4 million years ago.

      3. Africans were the first to organise fishing expeditions 90,000 years ago. At Katanda, a region in northeastern Zaïre (now Congo), was recovered a finely wrought series of harpoon points, all elaborately polished and barbed. Also uncovered was a tool, equally well crafted, believed to be a dagger. The discoveries suggested the existence of an early aquatic or fishing based culture.

      4. Africans were the first to engage in mining 43,000 years ago. In 1964 a hematite mine was found in Swaziland at Bomvu Ridge in the Ngwenya mountain range. Ultimately 300,000 artefacts were recovered including thousands of stone-made mining tools. Adrian Boshier, one of the archaeologists on the site, dated the mine to a staggering 43,200 years old.

      5. Africans pioneered basic arithmetic 25,000 years ago. The Ishango bone is a tool handle with notches carved into it found in the Ishango region of Zaïre (now called Congo) near Lake Edward. The bone tool was originally thought to have been over 8,000 years old, but a more sensitive recent dating has given dates of 25,000 years old. On the tool are 3 rows of notches. Row 1 shows three notches carved next to six, four carved next to eight, ten carved next to two fives and finally a seven. The 3 and 6, 4 and 8, and 10 and 5, represent the process of doubling. Row 2 shows eleven notches carved next to twenty-one notches, and nineteen notches carved next to nine notches. This represents 10 + 1, 20 + 1, 20…

When talking to one of my good fellow Anthropology colleagues about African/Black issues in the context of White main-stream understanding today she often asks me why I trouble myself to discuss any of this with white people. I have heard the same sentiment from many a educated black scholar/professional. We as black people know our history, even if main-stream culture likes to believe we are still lost in diasporic darkness and need to be taught our own history by non-Africans. Despite our ancestors having been kidnapped from all over mainly West Africa, the fact that they all spoke different languages, had their families torn apart and social structure all ruined in the process, other groups should understand that we have come a long long way, from those days and we have a solid black identity and grasp on who we are.

Black people are aware of African history to the extent that we know of quite a few great African civilizations that were never popularized or given a thought by mainstream (white) culture beyond plunder. there is Mali, Djenne-jeno, Aksum (Axum), Great Zimbabwe, , Rozwi Empire, and so on. We as African descendants don't need to steal anything, rather we are taking responsibility as such to restore our fellow African's Ancient past, as they so wanted to be known for who they really are. We must ensure that it is done and respected, collectively. Still, many suggest that black people are only becoming historically conscious in order to steal a noble past to make ourselves feel good or important, especially concerning the most controversial (to white people) historical facts, postulations and hypothesis like:

• Black Kemet and Black Nubia as Kemet's fore-founding nation;
•  The idea of Africans being in contact with Native Americans before Europeans discovered the Americas for themselves;
• The fact that very old isolated populations of blacks that populate parts of India, Asia, South East Asia, and the Pacific Islands are descendants of and representatives…

The first comprehensive study of sexual behavior was conducted by researchers in London that concluded there is no direct link between sexually transmitted diseases and promiscuity. Interestingly enough they also discovered that the countries tested in Africa are significantly less sexually promiscuous than more economically stable nations. Professor Kaye Wellings of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines said "We did have some of our preconceptions dashed,". In accordance with the common myth that places that experience the highest numbers of STDs, specifically HIV, they expected to also find the highest rate of sexual promiscuity--But that's simply not what the data showed.

"There's a misperception that there's a great deal of promiscuity in Africa, which is one of the potential reasons for HIV/AIDS spreading so rapidly," said Dr. Paul van Look, director of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization, who was not connected to the study. "But that view is not supported by the evidence." Wellings says that implies promiscuity may be less important than factors such as poverty and education  especially in the encouragement of condom use in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases"

The researchers here don't take the implications of this study as far as I am about to now. I don't have any vested interest in keeping silent. I am not financially entangled in this ordeal and thus I will freely present the evidence of exspose researchers to the public. If you haven't watched the video below, or any of the other videos I have embedded on this site concerning Conspiracies, Myths, Exposés: Vaccines, Disease, & Your Health you won't be on the same page or in a position to understand the rest of this article. Please view the information presented in the resources before you decided what you hold as fact.

Something made me think that I had already written this article, perhaps I dreamt I wrote it..that happens to me sometimes (I'm a very vivid and frequent dreamer) Anyway this was a while back when the first news about the US government funding and requiring that all cable networks change to digital signal from analog. My first thought was "WHAT! how could they infest millions of dollars into TV when we are having all types of basic needs crises going unaddressed"--But that was the me working on the assumption that the government is working in the best interest of the people, which my mind likes to default to even though I know better.

The logical me knows that the government is more like big business rather than a non-profit and far from your local home grown grass roots business owner. Like big business the main objective is to get money no matter whose expense the dollars roll in at. I am well aware that this is contrary to what most people hope and dream their government is about but its probably more close to the truth to anything that could seamlessly have the words hope or dream attached.

So why is TV more important than the environment, public health, decreasing poverty, or even providing the victims of hurricane Katrina with temporary housing that's not made out of formaldehyde?--funny that formaldehyde is bad to live in but ok to inject into babies, but thats another topic-- Here is the quick break down:

TV = The government's sublnminary broadcasting system: Yes the government uses programs that we have been conditioned to assume are trust worthy, unbiased, objective, credible sources of factual information to tailor our perception of reality. It is also used to preoccupy the mind with trival mental thoughts as a distraction for things that actually matter. For example no one will realize that we are all slaves if we are still fighting about racism which many television programs directly and indirectly promote. Nor will anyone think to question, anything…

Nigeria: I Agree With Dr Watson October 25th, 2007 

By: Idang Alibi

He said what to me looks like a self-evident truth. He told The Sunday Times of London in an interview that in his humble opinion, black people are less intelligent than the White people.

Since then, some of us cannot hear anything else but the outrage of black people who feel demeaned by what Watson has said. So many people have called the man names. To be expected, some have said he is a racist. Some even wonder how a "foolish" man like Watson could have won the Nobel Prize. Even white people who, deep in their heart, agree with Watson want to be politically, correct so they condemn the man.

Why are we blacks becoming so reactive, so sensitive to any remarks, no matter how well-meaning, about our failure as a race? Why are we becoming like the Jews who see every accusation as a manifestation of anti-Semitism? I do not know what constitutes intelligence. I leave that to our so-called scholars. But I do know that in terms of organising society for the benefit of the people living in it, we blacks have not shown any intelligence in that direction at all. I am so ashamed of this and sometimes feel that I ought to have belonged to another race.

Nigeria my dear country is a prime example of the inferiority of the black race when compared to other races. Let somebody please tell me whether it is a manifestation of intelligence if a people cannot organise a free, fair and credible election to choose who will lead them. Is it intelligence that we cannot provide simple pipe-borne water for the people? Our public school system has virtually collapsed. Is that a sign of intelligence? Our roads are impassable. In spite of the numerous sources that nature has made available to us to tap for energy to run our industries and homes, we have no steady supply of electricity. Yet…

I spend a lot of time focusing on cultural issues like racism, especially the United States because that is where I am from. But I do not wear tunnel vision goggles. Sometimes I feel there are so many worthy issues that need to be discussed and not enough time in my day, my fingers can't punch the keys fast enough, and I can't do research quickly enough to come up with anything significant soon enough. Although every issue matters to some degree. When I started to focus on Darfur and other modern conflicts it makes racism in the States seem so trivial. But what's fueling the genocide in Darfur is racism. All types of racism need to stop, and that is why I'm dedicated to doing my small part in seeing that it does.

Photograph by Nicolas Reynard: Pyramids from the Ancient Kingdom of Kush. 

When I look at Sudan and the conflict in Darfur I get this deep dejavu feeling that links the whole thing with Ancient Egypt, and how an African nation suddenly became an Arab one. The history of the land has been stolen and many a simple mind accept these new Arab inhabitants as the rightful owners of everything past and present regardless of survival evidence. Is this what is to become of Sudan in a few centuries. Will we have no memory or record of the Nubian people, of all the Black African Tribes, the cultures the languages? With they do the same thing claiming the pyramids, artifacts, and culture of Sudan as their own? Will the world laugh at the true Sudanese descendants and their supporters when they try to revive the truth? Maybe these under publicized monuments will be thrust into the frenzy of media attention when a new white (Arab) face can be stamped on them. Will it keep happening? Will it follow with Ethiopia in another wealth of time? Will all of Africa be forgotten and replaced. In that time perhaps people will have put a white face on Black Mitochondrial Eve too.

On another page it reminds me of the behavior of aggressive male chimpanzee's who commit infanticide. In…

The word Moor comes from the Greek word mauros μαύρος which in Latin became Mauro. In the Romance languages (Spanish, French, and Italian) of Medieval Europe, Moor was translated as Moro, Moir and Mor In spanish the word for blackberry is mora, a noun which meant Moorish woman. Also the adjective for dark-complexioned, which now means brunette, is moreno In French moricaud means dark-skinned or while morillon means black grape. In Italian, mora means Negro or Moorish female while moraiola means black olive. The term Moor or Moorish originally & naturally described people of Black African Descent who lived in Europe, & near by African Countries Commonly Morrocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya but can include others like Egypt & bordering Saharan counties.

Initially the term did not denote any religious affiliation, but later came to refer to Arabs by association as well, but this was predominantly in Spain which had a much larger Arab presence. After the spread of islam into Africa the Arab migration trends followed the Muslim Moors into European countries.  It was the association with the Moors by religious and cultural affiliation that occasionally lead to the inclusion of Arabs. This did not apply to Arabs in other European countries that did not see large migrations of Arabs. In many instances the clothing and traditions of the Black African muslims was indistinguishable to the un-cultured eye, from that of Arabs. The term has also been used to loosely refer to all North Africans regardless of their degree of "blackness". This religious association of Moors to Islam is often used by other, non-moorish groups of muslims to claim historical merits and contributions of the Moors. Of course there was mixing between African and Arab muslims, but that does not transfer the shared history over to the Arabs of the Middle East or Islam exclusively.

In the context of the modern, friction filled racial climate in the United States especially, the term is confusingly used both…

Ok, I feel like I have been beating up the University and professors, and that could give a lopsided view of my college experience. I have had some really extraordinary professors, though they are few and far between, they are the treasures of my experience. I love them, really I love my favorite professors! I would love to hang out with them and be their friends :-D. I value their opinions, advise, etc. I love to debate with them and learn the insides and outs to their point of views. They are the ones who are truly intellectually stimulating.

I have a list of favorite classes & professors that I would recommend. Here they are and the reasons why.

1. Anything taught by Dr. Gregory Starrett: He is an excellent lecturer, extremely engaging in every lesson. I have heard differing opinions of his lectures but for me he makes the best of some really boring, mundane, and dry stuff, and wow if you are actually interested in the topic it really makes class enjoyable. One of the more interesting classes of his that I took was called Beliefs, Myths, and um something, something like that, sorry I don't remember the class name, I'll look it up for you guys later. But it was about differing cultural beliefs and rituals from the very exotic to the very common (related to our culture) toward the end of the class. A good part of the lesson was focused on pulling yourself out of your own cultural context and being able to asses our own myths, beliefs and superstitions. The textual focus was a work by the French sociologist Emile Durkheim. Very interesting stuff, like slicing up penises to connect oneself to the female act of menstruation or coming into class and having Dr. Starrett blurt out foul language to demonstrate a cultural point. I also took Anthro Theory (which I waited 2 semesters for--avoiding a less talented professor who was teaching it prior), and a Middle Eastern Studies class, which is one of Dr. Starrett's academic focuses.

Other than the class related side of…

I kinda of decided to broaden this topic into the 101 (or less) Hoops to Jump in University Live Series, but there are a view professor specific issues that I have been noticing over the years. No two professors are the same, they make their own policies and thus you are getting a mystery each time you sign up for a new class. Sometimes a syllabus just does not do the class justice, or warn you for how much crap you are going to go through (worst case scenarios).

I will leave the names of these professors out to protect their reputations and their feelings, yes I have a heart. but for students' benefit I may provide information about what type of class it is. If you are considering taking a class at UNCC that sounds like what I am talking about then you can email me and I will reveal the professor's name to you so that you can avoid a bad experience if you feel like your opinions are in line with mine.

A semester ago I decided that I wanted to take some Black culture oriented classes. I had been trying to get to them my whole academic career but since African American studies are not related to my major, I never really got around to it. I also dropped one African related course because it was an elective with 6+ books, a number of papers, journals + an oral presentation and that was just asking too much for what it was. Sorry. I have upper level courses in my major that have been less rigorous (pretty darn close though). Anyway I end up signed up with two of these courses taught by the same professor. Lets refer to this professor as Dr. Doe for  the sake of anonymity. Anyway my girl friend was in this class with me, we have the same major, have been in classes together for years and I am familiar with the quality of her work. We got D's on Dr. Doe's first assignment. It was only a 3 page paper, on the effect of slavery on the modern Black community's mindset...or something to that effect (that part is kinda hazy now). But a D? When on earth, in my whole damn life…