Being no doubt the least developed continent, two main things give us solace in Africa: firstly, the fact that we are very resource rich and, secondly, the widely-held concept that we are the “Cradle of Humankind”. We all evolved from apes, evolutionists hazard, but modern man is confidently deemed to have emerged from Africa – where the ‘oldest humanoids’ once resided. Indeed, given this, we oftentimes feel that humanity ought to be more grateful to us in Africa, especially when bargaining with our more developed cousins to shell out more aid for us. But should we eagerly raise (or is it ‘race’?) our hand in agreement as to our place in this perceived order of things? If we are so old and everyone else comes from us, why are we so behind? When and why did others overtake us?
The concept of ‘evolution’ does not, firstly, satisfy many people: it leaves too many unanswered questions, some of which we will squarely address in this article. Secondly, its underlying premise contributes greatly to a negative perception of Africans. Indeed, even as we appear to be showered with certain ‘accolades’, people may be subtly, almost subliminally, laughing at us: the race that remained stuck just a little above the primitive level of our primate cousins; the race others left behind as they forged ahead with scientific and technological development. And as we will quickly find out, the concept of evolution – as it is currently understood – ties in directly with the factuality, or not, of whether Africa is indeed the Cradle of Humankind.
