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When a curious “citizen scientist” spotted an unusually-shaped rock on South Africa’s Cape south coast, she knew exactly who to call: a research group that has, for the past 15 years, documented fossil tracks and traces in the area. Two members of that team, Charles Helm and Alan Whitfield, explain why the rock, shaped uncannily like a stingray, merited close examination – they believe it’s the oldest known example of representational art created by our human
ancestors.
A great deal of buying and selling of any goods and services involves the internet. This is true of imports and exports too. Transactions done digitally are a much smaller part of overall trade in Africa compared with other regions in the world, but they’re growing rapidly. The problem is that there aren’t any rules to regulate them. Franziska Sucker explains why this is a problem and what progress is being made to draw up continent-wide protocols for digital
trade.
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Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University; Alan Whitfield, National Research Foundation
The sculpture might have begun with tracing a blue stingray specimen in the sand.
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Franziska Sucker, University of the Witwatersrand
Africa holds the world’s largest untapped digital growth potential.
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Maria Marchetti-Mercer, University of the Witwatersrand; Sonto Madonsela, University of the Witwatersrand
Chipo’s story gives the perspective of a parent forced to leave a young child behind to provide for him.
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Retief Müller, VID Specialized University
Water is sacred in many religious traditions, holding power that can also be dangerous.
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Stan Chu Ilo, DePaul University
Pope Francis’ papacy is anchored on what he calls a “revolution of tenderness”.
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From our international editions
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Adam Zeman, University of Exeter
Around 4% of the population are unable to see things in their mind’s eye. Except when they are dreaming.
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Chris Greenough, Edge Hill University
The Bible is full of strong men and pumped prophets.
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Anna McKay, University of Liverpool
Convicts worked in the dockyards in Bermuda for 40 years.
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Kevin Collins, The Open University
The idea cannot be stopped, even if geologists have voted not to recognise a new epoch.
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