All humans can be traced genetically back to africa. How come civilization can not be?

Question

Why didn't africa give birth to civilization. If we (humans) have been there the longest. Why didn't technology arise there?

Please no racist comments.

Answer 1

All life did not start in africa..... It started in the fertile crescent.. Modern day Iraq and the middle east. Both modern history books and the bible cite the middle east as the center of human life. Which route you take is your belief system.  Every culture has had its day in the sun, Babylonians, the Chinese, greeks, egyptians, Vikings, Europeans, and the central americas , all had their day in the sun. Each one has contributed to our modern technologies.  Some of their inventions are still in use!! Batteries, paper, mirrors, navigational equipment, aqua ducts, many many more

Answer 2

It seems to me that in Egypt, civilization came about from natural events, flooding of the Nile. In the Middle East, it took more human effort. This extra human effort was awarded the name, "Birthplace". That's all.  

Answer 3

Egypt IS in Africa.  The Great Zimbabwe is in Africa.

Stealth's answer is a good rehash of the consensus opinion in cultural ecology.  However, there are epistemological problems with the concepts and terms used to define 'civilization' and 'technology' in both the question and the standard academic answer.  

"Civilization" is more often than not defined ideologically. Many scholars have essentially assumed that their own cultures are the measuring stick by which the degree of civilization is to be measured elsewhere.  Hence, in technologically complex societies, technology is considered an important variable, in societies with complex religious ideologies, religion is a factor, in societies with sophisticated bureaucracies, political organization is a variable.  

Nevertheless, many social scientists would agree that extreme and codified social and class stratification, economic and political complexity, central political organization, and the technological infrastructure (i.e. agriculture, functioning economy, etc) to support large, culturally integrated populations are basic hallmarks of civilization (or whatever you want to call it).

There is some evidence to support the idea that civilization (much like a disease) spread from its earliest centers which span from Eastern Africa to East Asia. However, there is also plenty of evidence for independent evolution of complex infrastructure and political forms in various parts of the world and at different times.  

As far as the first question goes - re: civilization - as a scientist, I don't have much use for the term.  IMO, when speaking of state level societies, we are talking about many different types of societies, and the term "civilization" is both too lodaed and too ambiguous to advance our understanding.  

Re: Technology - technology is a means to an end, no more and no less.  The fact that technology is more complex today than it was 3000 or even 15000 years ago does not mean that it is more appropriate to meet its ends than it was then.  People have been solving problems with technology since our species began (in fact, many animals, especially primates and other social organisms have been doing this much longer than we have).  The technology of one culture may be wholly inappropriate for another, despite and often because of the fact that it is more complex. In other words - get the correct tool for the task at hand.  

Africa seems to have done quite well for itself.  our species has thrived there longer than any other continent, with or without the sophisticated and often highly destructive and violent trappings of "civilization"

Answer 4

If you study history and the origins of civilization you would know that civilization began in EGYPT, and contrary to what some ideologues try to have us believe, EGYPT is in AFRICA and not the so-called "Middle East". Ancient Egypt was populated by BLACK AFRICANS. The Egyptians themselves claim about their origin in their historical documents that "we came from the source of the Nile, the foothills of the mountains of the moon." The location of the source of the Nile is the Great Lakes: Albert; Edward; Kivu; Malawi; Tanganyika, and Lake Victoria. In other words the Great Rift Valley which includes Ethiopia; Kenya; Tanzania, Uganda and etc. Does that satisfactorily answer your question?

In other words civilization began if Africa approximately 10,000 years ago. Different exodes of African people carried this civilization throughout the world.

I don't think any sane thinking person will disagree with Egypt being the birth place of civilization. Egypt was a black (*******) civilization populated by Negroids. If you disagree take it up with the Greek Father of History, Herodotus. Here are his immortalized words "the Egyptians, Colchians, and Ethiopians have thick lips, and broad nose, woolly hair and they are of burnt skin." Now, who are we to believe, an eyewitness or someone sitting in an armchair in the 21st century speculating about who and what they were.

Answer 5

Civilization began in Africa. Who doubts that?

Answer 6

the word africa came from european conquer that name the continent, black gave birth to all human family, Black is the universal and the esence which all color come from. Really we are call the asiatic blackman that dont mean black is better then other, superioty is not base on color , but complete righteous. their rs many thing we dont know, they had advance civilizations.  

Answer 7

Because the trappings of civilization deteriorate relatively quickly.

Answer 8

easy beach combing for a couple million years off the east coast of Africa made the humans grow easily and develop hands for scavenge ring.

The humans then was a hunter than most important a scavenger of the beach, then after mankind moved out of Africa into the 80 percent of worlds vegetation Asia then began to grow the fruits of knowledge since fruit has good cholesterol and good cholesterol makes up a good portion of human brain

Answer 9

African civilizations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_emp...

Cradle of Civilization

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

Civilization has been recorded in Africa since 5,158 years ago making Africa the place which has had the oldest lasting impacting civilizations two of which are:

Ancient Egypt

http://way2egypt.com/img/all_gizah_pyram...

http://wysinger.homestead.com/files/54_t...

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/preview...

Ancient Sudan

http://images.travelpod.com/users/kevand...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...

http://data3.blog.de/media/219/2124219_4...

Ancient Egypt & Sudan had the same army the Nubian's who are the Ancient Sudanese people but were army men in Ancient Egypt too due to their extreme skill at the time

Ancient Mali

http://internationalagprograms.okstate.e...

Zimbabwe

http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/africa...

During the times of Ancient Egypt & Ancient Sudan civilizations no where in the rest of the world could compare in any way and Europe was backwards. Dont beleive me do some research about Europe 3150 BC that is

Out of the top 5 oldest universities on Earth 4 were in Africa

1.  859 AD University of Al-Karaouine, Moroco

2.  975 AD Al-Azhar University, Egypt

4. 1327 AD University of Sankore, Mali

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_old...

The reason may of us lack knowledge of African history is simply because of the Arab & Atlantic Slave trades which had a human toll of 100 million between 950 AD - 1900 may things are still unknown.

For what we know for sure is that Culture, Language, Music Dance and tool making originated no where else but Africa and the humans who migrated out of Africa took these ability with them. And those things to be more precise Language is the single most important things to humans without it we are just another animal.

Answer 10

Actually if you define technology as TOOL USAGE then technology did start in Africa since the first traces of tool use were found there.

Archaeologists keep changing their minds about whether farming first arose in Egypt or Mesopotamia as new discoveries are made.

So far the oldest traces of urbanization have been found in Northern Mesopotamia. So far.

However new discoveries in Mexico and the Sahel and Sahara and parts of Eastern Asia are pushing back further the dates for the first signs of urbanization and farming.

We have definite genetic evidence for humanity's origins in Africa.

The origin of civilisation if defined as small or large scale settlements used by farmers ... the dates keep changing.

Watch for more evidence to be discovered.

I forecast interesting surprises coming out of the Sahel and Chad regions in the future.

Answer 11

Because "Civilization" is linked to Farming, and Man's ability to store food for more than one season...

The Agricultural Revolution began worldwide, at about 30 to 40 Degree Latitudes...

Just look at a globe!

Very little of Africa falls within those parameters...