Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/45

 times the guinea-fow] was, so to say, rediscovered by the Portuguese in this continent, whence it had been originally obtained by the Greeks and Romans, but had again disappeared during mediæval times.

Even in the sphere of industries, Africa has contributed a certain share to the common inheritance of mankind. The monuments of Egypt, her highways, canals,

embankments, her costly fabrics, gems, and furniture, her carved woods and wrought metals — in a word, the thousand objects found in her burial-grounds — cannot all have been the work of the Retu alone. Amongst the products of the old Egyptian industry are frequently recognised certain forms also recurring in