At MIT, Peter Dizikes reports on "Clapperton Mavhunga’s work which uncovers an Africa where technology is abundant and sophisticated.:
Mavhunga’s body of work involves a couple of central themes. One, that Africans have developed more technological know-how than Westerners realize, covers areas from chemistry and medicine to agriculture and even steel production. Compared with Western technology, some African technology may be superior for its intended purposes. Unlike guns, for example, Zimbabwean poison-tipped arrows can be used without making noise, as Mavhunga notes.More here
A second key point is that the development of this knowledge is often disguised to outsiders by the presence of spiritual and other social practices. Technology in Africa has historically been anchored in, and intended to achieve, spirituality. Yet while hunting in Zimbabwe, for instance, may be accompanied by many traditions and spiritual rituals, that doesn’t mean Zimbabweans have lacked a sophisticated knowledge of tool-making and poisons. Simply isolating the “technical” elements in a tool misses the driving forces behind the production of technology and innovation in Africa. Correcting this misperception is a particular focus of the book on the responses to the tsetse fly that Mavhunga is currently completing.