Polygamy In Africa

     Contrary to popular Western belief, studies have found that polygamous families are better off than monogamous families in poor communities. According to author Katy Migoro, citing a study done involving 3,500 households, "In Tanzania, polygamous families owned more cattle and farmed more land than monogamous ones in the same villages." This is interesting as the United Nations and many Western nations tend to depict polygamy as a detrimental practice, specifically on women. In addition, as a sidenote, I thought it was interesting that this article mentioned the amount of cattle as if it had a significance to determining one's wealth, as mentioned in class. In terms of polygamy being detrimental to women, David Lawson, lead researcher of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, argues against that notion, stating that women actually benefit by being in a polygamous relationship. He notes that we must take into account the cultural values of the area, and that it would be more advantageous for women to be in a polygamous relationship. Lawson argues, "Most of the policy speak on this topic is not actually very evidence based... What we are arguing for is cultural sensitivity." He goes on to state, "Of course we want to improve the status of women. But if you just change marriage laws without addressing the underlying position of women within society, you may restrict their options, so it could be detrimental."

Source(s): http://allafrica.com/stories/201510271829.html

Drug-Resistant Malaria Poses Risk to Africa

 

     Scientists have discovered a parasite across Southeast Asia that is resistant to the drug Artemisinin, the leading drug in preventing and treating malaria. First discovered in Cambodia back in 2008, the drug-resistant parasite spread throughout Southeast Asia. The fact that, when tested in the laboratory by Dr. Rick Fairhurst from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) in the United States, the parasite was found to be indiscriminate in terms of hosts. It turns out that Anopholes coluzzii, Africa’s main malaria-carrying mosquito, was just as readily infected as the two Southeast Asian mosquitos infected in the lab, thus raising concerns of a possible spread and infection of the drug-resistant parasite in Africa, which could prove fatal. The fact that the parasite could jump between two different species of mosquito, which have been separated by years of evolution, is concerning as this could lead to a global catastrophe due to the parasite’s resistance to the main drug in fighting malaria.

Source(s): http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34583854

Teeth from China Reveal Homo Sapien Migration from Africa 100,000 Years Ago

     In an interesting and monumental find, archaeologists have now discovered teeth believed to be from Homo sapiens from a cave in South China. The teeth, along with remains from other species such as hyenas and extinct giant pandas, were discovered in limestone caves in the Daoxian County in Hunan Province, China. Further investigations of the teeth determined the teeth to be around 100,000 years old, countering the popular belief that humans had not trekked far from Africa during this time period. For a long time, researchers had argued that the humans who traveled out of Africa into Israel about 100,000 years ago, around the same time as the remains found in China, was a result of a failed attempt to further disperse.

     With this find, some researchers are wondering why these humans decided to travel to Asia rather than Europe, which was considerably closer geographically. Some have hypothesized that due to the Ice Age in Europe, the humans leaving Africa were not accustomed to the colder weather and decided to venture out toward Asia instead. In addition, these humans may have been prevented from being a dominant force in Europe do the heavy presence of Neanderthals, only being able to live there during the brink of the Neanderthal extinction. Interestingly, genetic evidence suggests that modern Asians are descendants of Homo sapiens who interbred with Neanderthals. Regardless, this monumental find will no doubt lead to other major discoveries that will allow us to further piece the puzzle together.

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/teeth-from-china-reveal-early-human-trek-out-of-africa/

Possible Midterm Questions:
1) Compare and contrast the historical development of Australasia and Africa. (Chapter 1)
2) What roles do religion and magic play in the story of Sundiata?
3) Compare and contrast the spread of Islam in North Africa and West Africa. (Chapter 7)
4) What were the differences between the West African coast and the East African coast in terms of
     the sea trade? (Chapter 8)
5) What were the reasons why Africans were better suited as slaves in the Americas over Indians and
     Europeans? (Chapter 9)

10 Things You Didn't Know About Africa

     I feel like I always talk about this but this conversation is something that needs to happen and the mere existence of this article makes me so happy it's kind of crazy. So, basically, Huffington Post's Nadege Seppou decided to break down negative stereotypes about Africa by including fun facts that most of the world outside of Africa doesn't know. These interesting tidbits include the fact that there are more pyramids in Sudan (200) than there are in Egypt, that over 1 million Chinese citizens live in Africa, with over 350,000 of those Chinese living in Angola, and that Equitorial Guinea's 2014 GDP per capita was about $33,000, which is comparable to Spain's! While these are fun to look at, there is an underlying meaning behind this article. As Seppou puts it, she wanted to "increase the number of positive writings on the continent. Let your perceptions be changed!" Too many people see Africa as a barren, primitive land sparsely filled with "barbaric" people with the exotic fauna roaming freely about the continent. This is mainly due to the Western media's portrayal of the continent and while we can't blame ourselves for not knowing as we base our reality on what information we have been exposed to, we can certainly educate ourselves and change our negative perceptions of a continent that definitely has much more to offer.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nadege-seppou/10-things-they-never-told_b_8257004.html