AFAR PEOPLE

History of Afar people
In the part of Afar region, the two oldest finds of pre-historic man so far were discovered. In 1974, the first famous find – an Australopithecus afarensis – was made. It is also known by the name of “Lucy” and she lived 3.5 million years ago. In 1994, another fossil of pre-historic man was found, the Ardipithecus ramidus. This time, it was a man who had lived 4.5 million years ago.
The older fossil was found in Aramis and the younger in Hadar. Both localities are situated along the Awash River, which runs through the Afar region in the Horn of Africa.
The most recent find was made in the spring of 2003 on the same spot and it was named Idaltu, which means “the elder” in the Afar language. This is the oldest find ever of the species of Homo sapiens. The fact that the find is 160 000 years old indicates that, in fact, the cradle of humankind lies in the Afar country. The Afar people are considered to be one of the oldest people in the Horn of Africa.

Historic times
Etymologically it is accepted that the words “Africa” and “African” are derived from the word Afar. It is an historical fact that the Afar people have lived in the region long before the time of ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs. It is also considered a fact that the Afar people are the original inhabitants of the region.
Thousands of years before Christ, the Afar country (also known as the Afar Triangle) became the first African country of which the old Egyptians knew. From time immemorial, trading and other contacts were made between the Egyptians and the Afar people along the shores of the Red Sea.
During the prospering ancient Egyptian culture, the Egyptians imported luxury articles such as incense, tea, ebony and salt from the Afar country. Trading also took place between the Afar people and the Phoenicians, who referred to the Afar country as Bakhur (incense).

Religion
The Afar began to convert to Islam in the 10th century after contact with Arabs. The brand of Islam they practice is heavily syncretic and includes many elements of their older, indigenous religion (focused on the Sky God).
for the Original Articles Visit External links (http://www.qafar.com/) and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afar_people )