Africa is the second largest continent in the world, as Asia is the known to be the second while Africa right comes after with diverse culture. Different languages around 2000 are spoken in African. Also both the tallest and the shortest animal can be found in Africa. It houses Mount Kilimanjaro. African is the hottest planet in the world. It is also the most center continent to the equator; has a pink lake in Senegal and so on. Amidst this interesting fact about Africa, this doesn't answer the question if Africa should be the cradle of civilization or not. The answer is therefore not far fetch as is the not the cradle of civilization but a cradle of civilization and the cradle of humanity.
civilization as describe by Google, is explain as the stage of human social and cultural development and organization that is considered most advance. Also the National geographic Society further define it as a complex human society that may have certain characteristics of the cultural and technological development. It is etymologically derived from the Latin word "civitas" to mean "city" that is why sometimes it refers to as urban level society and other times it is used to label human society which have attain special degree of complexity.
the anthropologies believes that civilization is best describe by the using various criteria such as writing, cities, a class-based society, agriculture, metallurgy, public buildings, and monumental architecture. Indeed the figurative use of cradle in the phrase is used to mean " a place or region in which anything is nurtured or sheltered in its earlier stage." just as, the possibilities that Africa experienced about 75% of the above features of civilization is false. Similarly have the same conditions also plays out in other ancient cities of the world. While Egypt shares a large sense of civilization for its large government and social hierarchy; great architectural and monument; a writing system, etc. it is believed that their progression was not as fast at it was in other part of the ancient human cities . According a research conduced by the anthropologist , there are about more than 7 other cradles cities around the world namely: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, Ancient India, Ancient Greece, Babylonia, and Mesopotamia, Ancient Crete, ancient Mesoamerica and South America
However to arrive at a clearer source of civilization has being for long time a great dispute among the anthropologist as many have constructed a ethnocentric opinion especially among the European scholars who believes that society experience different stages of development: savagery, barbarism and civilization. these were explain in as: for the savagery stage, Neolithic; the barbarian, the bronze age farmers and finally the bronze age urban communities for the civilized world. fortunately, this approach has become invalid today since it is linked to cultural superiority by which human communities which are yet civilized are seen as inferior to some extent.
The definite article nullifies the positive response of the opinion as we have discovered that civilization doesn't resides in a singular group. Britannica argues that all the ancient cities has certain features in common. they all built cities and invented forms of writing. They learn to make crafts such as pottery and use of metal. They raised livestock and has a well organized and social class structure.
Until today however, the certainty as to which among the ancient cities flourished first is still a matter of consideration. But what can't be and won't definitely be subjected to argument is the fact that "the cradle of all human race is Africa."
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