The idea of an inherent backwardness of technology and material culture in early sub-Saharan Africa is a persistent and tenacious myth in the scholarly and popular imagination. Due to the emergence of the field of African studies and the upsurge in historical and archaeological research, in recent decades the stridency of this myth has weakened, and the overtly racist content of arguments mustered in its defense have tended to disappear. But more important are transformations in social, political, and cultural consciousness, which have worked to reshape conceptualizations of African peoples, their histories, and their cultures. Precolonial African Material Culture offers a thorough challenge to the myth of technological backwardness. V. Tarikhu Farrar revisits the early technology of sub-Saharan Africa as revealed by recent research and reconsiders long-possessed primary historical sources. He then explores the ways that indigenous African technologies have influenced the world beyond the African continent.
Preface: Technology and the Black Peoples Part One Africa: A Continent without History, Progress, or Native Genius: The Origins of a Legend Chapter :1 Narratives on Precolonial African Material Culture and Technology: A Lesson in the Evolution of an Idea in the Cauldron of Modern Race Theory Chapter 2: Perceptions of Technological Backwardness in Precolonial Africa in the Late Twentieth Century: Some Africanist Views Chapter 3: Africans in the Eyes of Others Across Time: From the Ancient World to the Enlightenment Chapter 4: The Origins of Modern Race Theory and the Theory of Socio-cultural Evolution, c. 1680-1800: The Enlightenment Chapter 5: The Convergence and Crystallization of Modern Race Theory and Socio-Cultural Evolution: c. 1800-1900 Chapter 6: Racial Models of African History and Culture in the Twentieth Century: c. 1900-1975 Chapter 7: A Critical Look at Some Theories of Precolonial African Technological Development Part Two Aspects of Technology and the Material Conditions of Life in Tropical Africa Chapter 8: Indigenous Systems of Tropical African Agriculture Chapter 9: Metallurgy: African Traditions in Ironworking Chapter 10: Textile Manufacture Chapter 11: Indigenous African Building Construction: Some Considerations of Building Materials and Techniques Chapter 12: Subsistence Systems, Settlements, and Commerce: The Trade in Foodstuffs and Its Relation to the Expansion of Systems of Water Transport, Economic Growth, and the Proliferation of Cities. The West African Evidence Part Three "All That Is Hidden in Darkness Will One Day Come to Light": Africa in America Chapter 13 The African Impact on Technology and Material Culture in the Americas: Evidence and Meanings
