COLOR: African Female Mathematicians

African Female Mathematicians

Margaret Alic (1986) in her book, Hypatia's Heritage, discusses women in science. Alic asserts that women were the first botanists. Women are given credit for inventing weaving and spinning. Alic bases her claims on the assumption that "...evidence from the early scientific work of women can be traced..." from "oral traditions." Alic goes on to say that Neolithic women were often thought to be possessed of magical powers, not only because of their ability to give birth, but also because of their skills in the domestic sciences - manufacturing, pottery, agriculture, the domestication of animals and healing. It was these achievements that early cultures personified in their goddesses. (See Women in Egypt).

Alic relates that in the Kahun medical papyrus, women "...diagnosed pregnancy, guessed at the sex of the unborn child (if the mother's face was green it would be a boy), tested for sterility and treated dysmenorrhoea (irregular menstruation). Women surgeons performed caesarian sections, removed cancerous breasts, and set bones with splints." She attributes the following accomplishments to the women of prehistory, many of whom were undoubtedly African:

methods of gathering, preparing and preserving food

construction of devices to carry food and infants

sticks, levers, hand axes for digging and processing plants

invented the mortar and pestle. Alec states that "The tools developed by prehistoric women are still in evidence in modern-day chemistry laboratories."

butchering of animals, tanning of hides

production of needles, use of dyes

drying, storage of herbs for use as medicines

discovery of the uses of plants through trial and error and experimentation

clay pottery, firing of clay in kilns

domestication of crops

selective breeding of plants

Hypatia

Hypatia was the daughter of the mathematician and philosopher Theon. She became head of the Platonist school at Alexandria. She came to symbolise learning and science which the early Christians identified with paganism. She became the focal point of riots between Christians and non-Christians. Hypatia lived in Alexandria when Christianity started to dominate over the other religions. In the early 390’s, riots broke out frequently between the different religions. Cyril, a leader among the Christians, and Orestes, the civil governor, opposed each other.

Hypatia was a friend of Orestes. In 412 Cyril (later St. Cyril) became patriarch of Alexandria. A few years later, according to one report, Hypatia was brutally murdered by the Nitrian monks who were a fanatical sect of Christians who were supporters of Cyril. According to another account (by Socrates Scholasticus) she was killed by an Alexandrian mob under the leadership of the reader Peter. and it is believed that Cyril spread virulent rumors about her. Hypatia refused to convert to Christianity and in 415 AD. she was murdered brutally by Christian fanatics on Hypatia’s way home. A mob attacked her, stripped her and killed her with pieces of broken pottery. Later, the mob dragged her through the streets.

Earlier, in AD 391, the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I closed all "pagan" temples throughout the empire. This action terminated a four thousand year old tradition and the message of the ancient Egyptian language was lost for 1500 years, until the discovery of the Rosetta stone and the work of Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832).

Hypatia wrote commentaries on Diophantus's Arithmetica , on Apollonius' Conics and on Ptolemy's astronomical works. In Apollonius' Conics, she wrote on dividing cones into different parts by a plane. In This concept developed the ideas of hyperbolas, parabolas, and ellipses. With Hypatia’s work on this important book, shemade the concepts easier to understand, thus making the work survive through many centuries. Hypatia was the first woman to have such a profound impact on the survival of early thought in mathematics. All Hypatia's work is lost except for its titles and some references to it. However no purely philosophical work is known, only work in mathematics and astronomy. Some letters of Synesius to Hypatia exist. These ask her advice on the construction of an astrolabe and a hydroscope.

Beatrice Lumpkin (1988) and Margaret Alic (1986) have both described the life of Hypatia, " For fifteen centuries Hypatia was often considered to be the only female scientist in history. Hypatia is the earliest woman scientist whose life is well documented." Lumpkin provides evidence that Hypatia was not Greek and instead was an Egyptian and thus of African origin. It seems that contrary to the customs of educated women at that time, "Hypatia remained unmarried and moved freely and publicly in her scientific pursuits." Hypatia lectured on mathematics, philosophy, physics and astronomy. She wrote important treatises on Algebra and Conic sections. Hypatia is credited with designing an astrolabe, a water still, an instrument to measure water level and an hydrometer (Lumpkin 1988).

Cleopatra

Cleopatra wrote on gynecology, obstetrics, cosmetics and skin diseases (Alic 1986:33). Nkwankwo Ezeabasili (1977) wrote at length on the practice of medicine in Africa. Although African doctors do not have an Hippocratic oath, there is an unwritten but observed code of ethics. According to Ezeabasili a doctor should "...charge a patient according to his income..." there are "...no fixed fees for a disease", payment is by installment and in full only upon the successful cure of the disease, and a doctor is expected to reject a patient if he or she is incapable of treating a certain case. In addition, a doctor is required to taste any medicine he or she has prepared, before administering it to a patient.

History of Mathematics in Africa

African Youth Village

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