Africa has the world’s oldest and largest written languages known to mankind, a long ancient history of written language and graphic history, which is today part of a broader global history of literacy. The continent has contributed substantially to the global history of written languages of today, which has largely been ignored.
Examples of ancient writing in Africa are the Ge’ez script of Ethiopia, the most ancient African script still in use, the Nsibidi of Nigeria, Adrinka of the Akan people of Ghana, the Tifnagh of the Tuareg people, and Val and Mende of Liberia and Sierra Leone,( evidence of its Liberian/Sierra Leonean age date from Goundaka, Mali, that date to 3000 B.C). Scripts from the Proto Saharan of The Sudan, Aire Soroba of Mali, and many others.
For thousands of years, Africans artists have included writing and graphic symbols into their art, and created some works of art which show genius, in objects dated from ancient times. Even today, African artists still use a diffusion of different forms of letters, words and symbols to create meanings which go back historically and merge ancient with modern.
In art work, politically, socially, and culturally, art work often had scripts/symbols to show how power acquired through the development of specialized knowledge and skills, such as healing with herbal medicine, could assist communication with the spirit world. Artists for example used symbolic materials to show power and to tell stories of ancient times.
Source: Black History
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