Dogon

• The Dogon People live south of the Niger Bend, in a central plateau area of Mali, and number around 500,000.
• The Dogon have an astronomical knowledge dating back to 3,200 BCE, suggesting that they may be of Egyptian origin.

Sirius

• The Dogon appear to have had an advanced knowledge of the Binary star Sirius A and Sirius B, which is not fully understood, since they did not have the telescope. Sirius B is not visible to the naked eye, and yet the Dogon knew that the two stars had a 50 year orbital period. They also knew of a third star, Sirius C, not yet proven.
• The Dogon knew of the Moons of Jupiter and the Rings of Saturn, neither of which are visible to the naked eye.

Researchers

• Between 1930 and 1956, a French anthropologist called Marcel Griaule studied the Dogon. He and Germaine Dieterlen published their research in 1954, edited by Daryll Forde:
  • ‘African Worlds: Studies in the Cosmological Ideas and Social Values of the African Peoples.’
    • It consists of nine different case studies, including the study of the Dogon.

Controversy

• These findings are the subject of a debate and are considered controversial.
• Other books have been written, arguing for and against the Dogon having this knowledge before the Telescope was invented.

Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali