The Timbuktu Astronomy Project A Scientific Exploration of the Secrets of the Archives of Timbuktu Rodney Thebe Medupe, Brian Warner, Shamil Jeppie, Salikou Sanogo, Mohammed Maiga, Ahmed Maiga, Mamadou Dembele, Drissa Diakite, Laya Tembely, Mamadou Kanoute, Sibiri Traore, Bernard Sodio and Sharron Hawkes Abstract The ancient city of Timbuktu was the main centre for commerce and scholarship in West Africa from the 13th century until the 17th century. Books were bought from North Africa and other centres of Islamic learning, and local scholars also wrote many books on astronomy, medicine, mathematics, literature, law and islam. Scholarship peaked during the 16th and 17th century but declined gradu- ally until the 19th century. Our project aims to study the ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu in order to search for astronomy in them. The main aim of the project is to document our research and use it to attract African youth into science and technology by appealing to their heritage. This paper outlines progress made since the inception of the project in 2006. Introduction The city of Timbuktu was the major commercial and intellectual centre of the Mali and Songhay empires. Scholarship in Timbuktu peaked in the 15th and 16th cen- turies due to the tremendous support from the Songhay emperor Askia Mohammed, and its increased link with North Africa and Egypt in particular. Fabulously wealthy, Timbuktu’s commercial success created fertile ground for an important African cen- tre of learning where scholars of religion, arts and sciences flourished. During this period, thousands of manuscripts were commissioned and meticulously executed by Timbuktu academics. A thriving book trade existed with other parts of the Islamic world. This resulted in various manuscripts being imported, including exclusive copies of the Koran for wealthy families. Rodney Thebe Medupe Astronomy Department, University of Cape Town E-mail: thebe@saao.ac.za J. Holbrook et al. (eds.), African Cultural Astronomy – Current Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy Research in Africa. C  Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008 179