Tag Archives: David Livingstone

Teeth-filing as a Mark of Beauty and Belonging in 19th Century Africa

Posted on 05/03/2012 by

This blog follows on Gambler’s House interesting Blog about Filed Teeth at Cahokia : One of the distinctive characteristics of Cahokia and its area of strong influence is the prevalence of filed teeth in many human burials. Filing of teeth as … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-General, Burton and Speke, Colonialism, Dark Continent, European explorers, Explorers & exploration, Social Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Monkey Business – 19th. Century and Now

Posted on 10/01/2012 by

Monkeys and gorillas in the 19th century were – and continue to be – found throughout tropical and sub-tropical Africa.  When colonial explorers began to encounter them, it was thought they might be somehow related to humans, and it was … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Central, Chimpanzees, European explorers, Explorers & exploration, Stanley and Livingstone, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cuisines and Crops of Africa – The Lotus Eaters of Central Africa

Posted on 07/12/2011 by

Lotus plants of the species  Nymphaea lotus L. were an important ingredient in African traditional cuisine.   Found throughout tropical Africa and in the Nile Valley, their collection and processing for the table is reported by various colonial writers. The frustration, though, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-General, Agriculture, Colonialism, Cuisine, Egypt-Ancient, European explorers, Explorers & exploration, Food, History-General, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Livingstone Discovers South Carolina Rice in Southern Africa, c.1860

Posted on 06/11/2011 by

[First posted Nov. 2010,  Revised 06 November 2011] The Portuguese had been trading in and marginally colonizing east-southern Africa since the 15th Century.  When, two centuries later, the English decided to explore the region, small settlements of Portuguese and their Catholic … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Southern, African rice, Agriculture, Colonialism, Explorers & exploration, Food | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Discovering the Rusizi River, Did it flow IN or OUT?! Part VI

Posted on 12/09/2011 by

Hippos on a sandbar in the Rusizi River. Source Wiki This is the last post about the exploration of the Rusizi River on Lake Tanganyika, by Stanley and Livingstone.  Though surprisingly, there were ‘armchair explorers’ back in England who doubted … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Central, Burundi, Crocodiles, European explorers, Explorers & exploration, Gatumba, Hippopotimus, Imbo Plain, Lake Tanzanya, Rusizi River ^ Wetlands, Stanley and Livingstone, Uvira, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Discovering the Rusizi River, Did it Flow IN or OUT?! Part III

Posted on 29/07/2011 by

Livingstone and Stanley continue their exploration on Lake  Tanganyika, and continue heading north in order to investigate whether the Rusizi River ran IN or OUT of the lake. Earllier entries are here and here.  I’ve highlighted place names in Blue and underlined … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Central, Africa-East, Colonialism, Explorers & exploration, History-Recent | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Clay-Eating (Geophagy) in the 19th Century

Posted on 05/06/2011 by

  Scientific American has recently published the podcast Let Them Eat Dirt  .  Here is a post I put up a while back, on dirt and geophagy. “Dirt is matter out-of-place.”  This quote, by the anthropologist Mary Douglas, points to the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-General, Food, Health, History-Recent, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment