By Josh Davis
First published 14 May 2021
A species of frog not seen for over 60 years is likely to be extinct. As one of the few remaining species of an ancient lineage of amphibians, its loss is a huge blow to the diversity of life.
The frog, once found in the rainforest streams of Mount Elgon in Kenya, is thought to have disappeared due to the logging of the forests and the conversion of its habitat to farmland.
Warm, humid mountains tops like this are often referred to as sky islands . Set adrift among the drier lowlands they provided a refuge for many rainforest species that would not otherwise survive in this region.
THE STANDARD
AFRICA
By Reuters | May 13th 2021
Archaeologist Emmanuel Ndiema. Remains of a child buried around 78,000 years ago in Panga ya Saidi cave (inset). [Courtesy]
The discovery of the oldest known human burial site, a child s grave in a Kenyan cave, sheds new light on the emotional life of early Homo sapiens, the Head of Archaeology, National Museums of Kenya said on Wednesday.
Scientists announced last week that they had found the site, dating to around 78,000 years ago, where a youngster they have nicknamed Mtoto or child in Swahili was buried in a cave called Panga ya Saidi near the Kenyan coast.
Have you ever heard colors? As part of a new exhibition, the worlds of culture and technology collide, bringing sound to the colors of abstract art pioneer Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky had synesthesia, where looking at colors and shapes causes some with the condition to hear associated sounds. With the help of machine learning, virtual visitors to the Sounds Like Kandinsky exhibition, a partnership project by Centre Pompidou in Paris and Google Arts & Culture, can have an aural experience of his art.
An eye for music Kandinsky s synesthesia is thought to have heavily influenced his painting. Seeing yellow summoned up trumpets, evoking emotions like cheekiness; reds produced violins portraying restlessness; while organs representing heavenliness he associated with blues, according to the exhibition notes.
Steve Biko Centre to participate in MuseumFutures Africa project
Covid-19
The Steve Biko Centre in Qonce, Eastern Cape is one of six African museums selected to participate in the MuseumFutures Africa project.
MuseumFutures Africa is a Pan-African project established to support the conceptual development of museums throughout the African continent. Spearheaded by the Goethe-Institut and a team of practitioners from the art and museum fields, the project was conceived in the culmination of a series of ‘Museum Conversations’ in 2019, as a means of mobilising museum-driven processes of innovation, transformation and adaptation.
The staff at the Steve Biko Centre are honoured to be participating in the MuseumFutures Africa project. As we are a relatively new museum, the process of engaging with more experienced institutions will help us improve both our museum and our ways of thinking in the heritage sector. Connecting with other museums on the continent provides amazing opportun
80,000-yr-old child grave in Africa is oldest evidence of human burial Mohana Basu
80,000-yr-old grave could provide peek at ancient burials
Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of human burials a child laid to rest in a grave 80,000 years ago in modern-day Kenya.
Africa is home to the earliest signs of modern human behaviour, but evidence of early burials in the continent is scarce and often ambiguous. Therefore, little is known about the origin and development of mortuary practices of our species.
Archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany and the National Museums of Kenya found a child buried at the mouth of the Panga ya Saidi cave site which reveals how Middle Stone Age populations interacted with the dead.