I've seen a racist diatribe floating around internet comment sections, often posted when questions of race and IQ come up. It's quite long so I won't post the whole thing, but one paragraph, in particular, piqued my curiosity:
"No pre-contact sub-Saharan African society ever created a written language, or weaved cloth, or forged steel, invented the wheel or plow, or devised a calendar, or code of laws, or any social organization, or formal religion, or system of measurement, or math, or built a multi-story structure or bridge or sewer, or infrastructure of any kind, and they never harnessed a river, or even drilled well or irrigated, or built a road or railway or sea-worthy vessel, they never domesticated animals, or exploited underground natural resources, or produced anything that could be considered a mechanical device."
How much of this is true? Are there counter-examples that show that Sub-Saharan Africans had in fact made advancements in science or technology?
Are there counter-examples that show that Sub-Saharan Africans had in fact made advancements in science or technology?
I'm not an expert on Sub-Saharan African society or history, but I can provide some counter examples for you.
So to start we should define what "pre-contact" means. Historians don't seem to set a firm date for this but generally agree it begins with the Portuguese explorer Henry the Navigator. Europeans first made it to the Cape of Good Hope in 1488 but serious exploration of sub-saharan Africa did not occur until the beginning of the 18th century. However, during the 15th to 18th centuries Arab slave traders created a vast network of trading posts around Africa. For the sake of this question I think we should settle on a date that is prior to the influence of and widespread trade eminating from Europe and the Arab world. I think personally that the best date we have for this is the construction of Elmina Castle in Ghana, the first trading post and European-constructed building south of the Saraha, which was built in 1482.
There are a number of examples of development of the technologies you list from prior to 1482. Here is a partial list:
Mathematics: Sub-Saharan Africans had mastered fractal geometry as a tool for creating art and architecture as well as games and for systems of divination. They also discovered the binary numeral system before it was known in other parts of the world (Africa in the Origins of the Binary Code).
Metallurgy: It is believed by historians that Sub-Saharan Africa independently developed iron working. The earliest dated iron samples from this region trace to 2500 BCE, making it contemporary with iron working development in the Middle East.
Agriculture: The earliest evidence for agriculture in Africa was found in the Sahel dating to 5000 BCE. They cultivated sorghum and African rice. The guineafowl was also domesticated during this time. Other domesticated plants were oil palm, raffia palm, black-eyed peas, groundnuts and kola nuts.
Millitary Technology: King Abubakari II was said to have had an armada of war ships in the 14th century. It is corroborated by ibn Battuta who saw several hundred himself. The ships communicated by drum. Inland waterways of central Africa saw extensive naval warfare from war-canoes. They did have sailing technology, but most were driven by oar. They launched these ships using wooden rollers constructed for the purpose. Some canoes were 80ft+ long and could carry 100+ men.
Building/Architecture: There is widespread evidence of stone building construction, including many multi-level buildings. Khami was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa Dynasty. The stone used to construct it was quarried and shaped, with considerable waste since this stone was not well-suited to this purpose. This required considerable time, effort and planning. Great Zimbabwe is another stone ruin dated to the 11th century. It was probably a royal palace. Radiocarbon dating of the complex has conclusively dated it to between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Finance: It is incorrect to say that sub-saharan Africans did not have a monetary system. Cowries were used as currency from at least the 11th century.
I have a related question. I know Jared Diamond's book is not held in high esteem around here, but can't "geographical determinism" at least partially explain some things that sub-saharn Africa apparently lacked? I recall that, for example, many of the animals native to sub-saharan Africa can't be domesticated because they're too wild.