In 1908, a team of archaeologists surveying Lower Nubia uncovered a collection of remains from elite cemeteries that provided evidence of early medical intervention.
This was phenomenal, and as a physician-scientist, I’m grateful for how rigorously you dismantle the “medicine arrived with Europe” myth using concrete, checkable examples (archaeologic evidence of intervention, documented fracture care, and the famous Bunyoro/Buganda C-section account). What lands hardest is the implication for how we teach “medical progress.” Your post shows that surgical technique, procedural sterility logic, and preventive practices (e.g., inoculation/vaccination practices) weren’t a one-directional diffusion from “civilized” to “uncivilized”; they emerged in multiple places, adapted to local constraints, and were then selectively recognized (or dismissed) through a colonial lens. 
There’s also a modern clinical echo here: when we erase Indigenous and African medical histories, we don’t just distort the past, but we weaken today’s trust architecture in global health by implying expertise is imported rather than locally rooted. Posts like this do something quietly important: they restore epistemic dignity while staying grounded in evidence.
this was one of the most interesting things i’ve read in a while!! especially the c-section! i used to be a L&D nurse and this is sooo fascinating. thank you for this!
Intriguing historical accounts. Glad you wrote this. There is so much history out there waiting to be told but we only get what the massive media system wants us to hear. I wonder if these surgeons are still active or has this become a lost art?
lost art. Their practice was closely associated with the regular functioning of the pre-colonial kingdoms and traditional belief systems, both of which were discontinued by the colonial conquest.
Indeed, what I found striking was that knowledge of such relatively complex surgeries was found among groups that are underrepresented in African historiography, because they are considered stateless/non-centralised societies, e.g., the Kisii and Maasai
This was phenomenal, and as a physician-scientist, I’m grateful for how rigorously you dismantle the “medicine arrived with Europe” myth using concrete, checkable examples (archaeologic evidence of intervention, documented fracture care, and the famous Bunyoro/Buganda C-section account). What lands hardest is the implication for how we teach “medical progress.” Your post shows that surgical technique, procedural sterility logic, and preventive practices (e.g., inoculation/vaccination practices) weren’t a one-directional diffusion from “civilized” to “uncivilized”; they emerged in multiple places, adapted to local constraints, and were then selectively recognized (or dismissed) through a colonial lens. 
There’s also a modern clinical echo here: when we erase Indigenous and African medical histories, we don’t just distort the past, but we weaken today’s trust architecture in global health by implying expertise is imported rather than locally rooted. Posts like this do something quietly important: they restore epistemic dignity while staying grounded in evidence.
thank you!
This is incredible. Never knew the African countries in medieval times did such awesome medical practices. Knowledge is indeed powerful.
this was one of the most interesting things i’ve read in a while!! especially the c-section! i used to be a L&D nurse and this is sooo fascinating. thank you for this!
grateful!
Intriguing historical accounts. Glad you wrote this. There is so much history out there waiting to be told but we only get what the massive media system wants us to hear. I wonder if these surgeons are still active or has this become a lost art?
lost art. Their practice was closely associated with the regular functioning of the pre-colonial kingdoms and traditional belief systems, both of which were discontinued by the colonial conquest.
Fascinating!!
Brilliant article as always. Your consistency is an inspiration
thank you.
Thank you.
I was worried when you didn't published last wk, thanks for this upload, stay safe.
Thanks Allen, i always try to keep my twitter feed active for any updates.
Nice.
Check out this book the later Dr. Ivan Van Sertima: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/blacks-in-science-ancient-and-modern-journal-of-african-civilizations--vol-5-no-1-2_ivan-van-sertima/273275/item/86760
Indeed, what I found striking was that knowledge of such relatively complex surgeries was found among groups that are underrepresented in African historiography, because they are considered stateless/non-centralised societies, e.g., the Kisii and Maasai