• Africans are credited for discovering the basic high school principles we know today including the first method of counting, division and multiplication of fractions, geometric formulas to calculate area and volume of shapes, distances and angles, circle being 360 degrees and estimating pi at 3.16

• Egyptians charted the movement of the sun and constellations and the cycles of the moon. They divided the year into 12 parts and developed a yearlong calendar system containing 365 ¼ days. Clocks were made with moving water and sundial-like clocks were used

• A structure known as the African Stonehenge in present-day Kenya (constructed around 300 B.C.) was a remarkably accurate calendar.

• Many advances in metallurgy and tool making were made across the entirety of ancient Africa. These include steam engines, metal chisels and saws, copper and iron tools and weapons, nails, glue, carbon steel and bronze weapons and art.

• Obelisks and pyramids

• Timbuktu and more vast cities

• Vaccination,

• Autopsy

• Limb traction and broken bone setting

• Bullet removal

• Brain surgery

• Skin grafting

• Filling of dental cavities and installation of false teeth

• Boats including small reed-based vessels, sailboats and grander structures with many cabins and even cooking facilities.

African dresses are pieces of clothing made from premium fabrics like hand-woven silk, cotton or hand-painted satin. They don’t necessarily come in one piece – the items are often made up as 2-piece dresses, which often consists of a flared top, a skirt and a head wrap.

Most Popular Types of Clothes

Dashikis: Colorful garment that covers the upper body often paired with drawstring pants

Boubou: Type of Dashiki often worn with matching pants and a long robe that covers the outfit.

Kaba: A long wrap around skirt and matching blouse made from African wax print or cloth. The skirt has strings in the waist to adjust the size.

Modern African clothing: Consist of African pencil skirts, trousers, jumpsuits, headwraps etc.

While Swahili and Arabic are the most spoken languages in Africa, there's plenty more other popular languages which include Amharic, Berber, Portuguese, Oromo, Igbo, Yoruba, Zulu and Shona. The reason for the wide variety of languages is due to Africa being the oldest continent to house humans. “There’s just been a lot of time for cultural diversity, linguistic diversity, genetic diversity to accumulate in Africa,” explained one geneticist in Language Magazine.

African Languages

• SWAHILI: The most spoken language in Africa is Swahili which is said to have between 100 and 150 million speakers. Swahili apparently originated from other languages like Arabic and is most commonly taught in schools. This is the official language of Tanzania, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya, but it is also used in countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, southern Somalia, northern Mozambique and the Comoros Islands.

• AMHARIC: Amharic is one of the main languages spoken in Ethiopia by over 20 million speakers. It is considered the second most spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic – these are languages that originate from the Middle East alongside Hebrew, Tigrinya and more.

• YORUBA: There are over 30 million Yoruba speakers in Nigeria, Benin and Togo combined, making it one of West Africa’s most spoken languages. This African language has more than 15 dialects including Ekiti, Ijebu, Oworo, Ijesha and Akoko.

• OROMO: A significant language spoken in countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Egypt is Oromo. Approximately 30 million people use this language and its people account for over 40% of the Ethiopian population.

Aloe Ferox: Has a range of uses from laxatives to treatments for eczema, arthritis, conjunctivitis, stress, and hypertension. Most known for its anti-inflammatory properties and is a popular treatment for sunburn. It is also known as bitter aloe, and many South African-based cosmetic ranges include aloe ferox as a main ingredient, using the gel-like flesh from the insides of the leaves in their products.

Sour fig: The fleshy ground plant with bright-purple flowers is popular for its fruit, which is commonly used to make jam. The astringent juice of the leaves is considered to have antiseptic properties and used to treat cuts, eczema, insect bites, ringworm, and sunburn. Taken with water, some believe it to be effective in treating diarrhea and sore throats.

Cancer bush: Often regarded as one of South Africa’s most valuable medicinal plants, infusions of its leaves and stems have been used for centuries to cure a whole host of ailments including poor appetite, dysentery, diabetes, kidney and liver failure, heart disease, and anxiety.

Buchu: In South Africa today, Buchu products are sold for their potent natural anti-inflammatory properties and the plant has also been shown to have anti-infective, anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties, enabling it to act as a natural antibiotic with no side effects.