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Notes A
TOPIC 1 - INTERACTION AMONG THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA
TOPIC 2 - SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA
TOPIC 3 - AFRICA AND EXTERNAL WORLD
AMAZING HISTORICAL
SITES IN AFRICA - PART 2
4. Meroe
The ruins of the ancient Kushitic city
of Meroe lie on the east bank of the Nile River in what is
now Sudan. The city was established in the 1st millennium BCE. It became
the southern administrative center for the kingdom of Kush about 750 BCE and
later became the capital. It began to decline after being invaded by Aksumite
armies in the 4th century CE. The ruins were discovered in the 19th century,
and excavations in the early 20th century revealed parts of the town. The
pyramids, palaces, and temples of Meroe are stunning examples of the
architecture and culture of the kingdom of Kush.
5. Isimila Stone Age site, Tanzania
The Isimila Stone Age Site is a
historically rich archeological site that is located outside of the town of
Iringa. Archaeologists have found tools, stone artifacts and bones in a dry bed
that was once a shallow lake from what they believe were from the early
hominoids that occupied the area. The site preserves artifacts that give a
glimpse on the lives and activities of early human and animal civilization, and
has beautiful granite rock relieves. A walk through the canons can be booked
via a travel agency, and a tour will consist of a brief introduction to the
formation of the site and an overview of the fossils and tools displayed before
going on a scenic walk through the canyon. The tour takes about 3 hours, and it
usually starts early in the morning before temperatures start to soar. Tours
can be booked through a travel agency.
6. Timbuktu
Timbuktu, a city in the western African
country of Mali, was a historically important trading post on the trans-Saharan
caravan route and was a center of Islamic culture. It is located about 8 miles
north of the Niger River on the southern edge of the Sahara. Timbuktu served as
a center of Islamic scholarship under many African empires. It was home to a
25,000 student university and other madrasahs that served as the foundation for
the spread of Islam throughout Africa from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Many
sacred Muslim texts were carried great distances to the city for the use of
prominent scholars from Cairo, Baghdad, Persia, and elsewhere who resided in
Timbuktu. The teachings of Islam from astronomy and mathematics to medicine and
law were collected and produced here in the form of several hundred thousand
manuscripts. Many of them still remain but in perilous condition, to form a
valuable written record of African history. Timbuktu’s former status as an
Islamic center is seen in its three great mud and timber mosques: Djingareyber,
Sankore, and Sidi Yahia which recall the city’s golden age.
HOW
TO PRESERVE HISTORICAL INFORMATION - PART 2
Proper storage
requires consideration about everything that could come in contact with the
documents. This includes the geographical location, building construction,
temperature, light, packing materials, and so on. Knowing the potential risk
factors when choosing storage methods can prevent unnecessary damage to already
fragile documents.
While not every
collection can or needs to be housed to meticulous standards, preservationists
have a clear outline of the types of potential hazards to look for and various
precautions available to mitigate risk to the collection.
4. Location Selection
Location refers to
the physical location of the storage building and the environmental dangers
that this area could pose to the building. While no place is absolutely safe
from all natural or man-made disasters, it is possible to select storage
locations that minimize known risks. Consider the environmental risk factors of
the area. If flooding is a problem, a location outside all flood plains and
known flooding zones is preferable. If wildfires or earthquakes are common, is
the storage building prepared to withstand such disasters?
5. Submit a
nomination to an endangered places list.
When a site is
threatened by demolition, alteration, or neglect, nominate it to a local
organization's endangered list. This is an excellent way to generate publicity,
raise awareness of threatened Modern and recent past places, and explain to a
broader audience why these types of places are significant and worthy of
protection.
6. Label your
stuff
Even if you don’t have all the information about the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, and ‘why’ of family archival materials, it’s important to capture what you can. A family member in possession of records can take for granted their knowledge and memory when it comes to providing descriptive information. It is so crucial when preserving family history to externalize that knowledge by accurately labelling important documents, photographs, audiovisual materials, and other items so future generations will know who and what they’re looking at! Use a soft graphite pencil when writing descriptive information directly onto archival records, applying minimum pressure and writing only on the back-side edges to prevent indentation.
Pens and markers
can bleed through to the front side and accelerate deterioration of the
material, plus pencil can easily be corrected in case mistakes are made.
Another option, if you think descriptions are going to get particularly wordy,
is to number your documents, photographs, and other items and provide a
corresponding description on an additional sheet of paper.
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