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71-535: Mbanza Kongo (formerly called Nkumba a Ngudi , Mongo wa Kaila and Kongo dia Ngunga ) was founded by the first manikongo , Lukeni, at a junction of major trade routes. The Kingdom of Kongo at its peak reached from southern Africa 's Atlantic coast to the Nkisi River . The Manikongo was chosen by clan leaders to rule some 300 mi, an area that today is part of several countries. The Portuguese who first reached it in 1491 travelled ten days to get there from

142-482: A Bantu language with many Arabic , Persian and other Middle Eastern and South Asian loan words , developed as a lingua franca for trade between the different peoples in southeastern Africa. In the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from " Hottentots ") have long been present. The San evince unique physical traits, and are

213-410: A Business June 2008 through May 2009) , PFI (Press Freedom Index 2009) Sub-Saharan Africa contains over 1,500 languages. With the exception of the extinct Sumerian (a language isolate ) of Mesopotamia , Afroasiatic has the oldest documented history of any language family in the world. Egyptian was recorded as early as 3200 BCE. The Semitic branch was recorded as early as 2900 BCE in

284-526: A Kaila (mountain of division) because recent legends recall that the king created the clans of the kingdom and sent them out from there. In the valley to the south runs the Luezi River. M'banza-Kongo has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen Aw ) similar to Kinshasa or Pointe-Noire , characterised by a fairly long though not intense wet season from October to May, and a relatively short but almost rainless dry season from June to September caused by

355-399: A dry winter season and a wet summer season. According to paleontology , early hominid skull anatomy was similar to that of their close cousins, the great African forest apes , gorilla and chimpanzee . However, they had adopted a bipedal locomotion and freed hands, giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa

426-687: A grouping counterpart to North Africa , which is instead grouped with the definition of MENA (i.e. Middle East and North Africa) as it is part of the Arab world , and most North African states are likewise members of the Arab League . However, while they are also member states of the Arab League , the Comoros , Djibouti , Mauritania , and Somalia (and sometimes Sudan ) are all geographically considered to be part of sub-Saharan Africa. Overall,

497-668: A spiritual religious guardian. This imperial cult or system of divine kings was spread to most of central Africa by rivals in kingship migrating and forming new states. Many new states received legitimacy by claiming descent from the Lunda dynasties. The Kingdom of Kongo existed from the Atlantic west to the Kwango river to the east. During the 15th century, the Bakongo farming community was united with its capital at M'banza-Kongo , under

568-555: Is derived, is also used to mean kingdom and is attested with this meaning in the Kongo catechism of 1624 with reference to the Kingdom of Heaven . The term mwene is created by adding the personal prefix mu- to this stem, to mean "person of the kingdom". Mwene is attested in very early texts, notably the letters of King Afonso I of Kongo , where he writes, to Portuguese kings Manuel I (in 1514) and João III concerning

639-700: Is located on the Swahili coast . Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa . It is the provincial capital and largest city in Gauteng , which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities , it is the seat of the Constitutional Court . The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills, and is

710-482: Is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, and also one of the most populous urban agglomerations . Lagos is a major financial centre in Africa; this megacity has the highest GDP, and also houses Apapa , one of the largest and busiest ports on the continent. Dar es Salaam is the former capital of, as well as the most populous city in, Tanzania ; it is a regionally important economic centre. It

781-517: Is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara . These include Central Africa , East Africa , Southern Africa , and West Africa . Geopolitically, in addition to the African countries and territories that are situated fully in that specified region, the term may also include polities that only have part of their territory located in that region, per the definition of

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852-663: Is thought that the camel was first brought to Egypt after the Persian Empire conquered Egypt in 525 BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade. The Bantu expansion is a major migration movement that originated in West Central Africa (possibly around Cameroon) around 2500 BCE, reaching East and Central Africa by 1000 BCE and Southern Africa by

923-501: The moenipango ( mwene Mpangu ) and twice concerning the moinebata . Mani was used to mean not only "king" but also anyone holding authority, so provincial and sub-provincial officials also were called mani . Afonso did not entitle himself Manikongo, but rather rei de congo (king of Kongo). Subjects were required to prostrate themselves before the Manikongo, approaching him on all fours, and when time came for

994-659: The Bantu expansion . In Southern Africa, their speakers are the Khoikhoi and San (Bushmen), in Southeast Africa, the Sandawe and Hadza . The Niger–Congo family is the largest in the world in terms of the number of languages (1,436) it contains. The vast majority of languages of this family are tonal , such as Yoruba and Igbo . However, others such as Fulani , Wolof and Kiswahili are not. A major branch of

1065-777: The Dutch East India Company . For most of the 17th and 18th centuries, the slowly expanding settlement was a Dutch possession. In 1795, the Dutch colony was captured by the British during the French Revolutionary Wars . The British intended to use Cape Town as a major port on the route to Australia and India . It was later returned to the Dutch in 1803, but soon afterward the Dutch East India Company declared bankruptcy, and

1136-726: The Ethiopian Empire , and the Geledi Sultanate , whose military dominance forced governors of the Omani empire north of the city of Lamu to pay tribute to the Somali Sultan Ahmed Yusuf . According to the theory of recent African origin of modern humans , the mainstream position held within the scientific community, all humans originate from either Southeast Africa or the Horn of Africa. During

1207-464: The H. erectus species. The fossil and genetic evidence shows Homo sapiens developed in Southern and East Africa by around 350,000 to 260,000 years ago and gradually migrated across the continent in waves. Between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, their expansion out of Africa launched the colonisation of the planet by modern humans. By 10,000 BCE, Homo sapiens had spread to all corners of

1278-478: The Jalankuwo , the Manikongo's judgement tree, which can still be found in the downtown area of the city, along with the sunguilu, a rectangular ground level structure where local tradition says the king's body was washed before burial. Both are on the grounds of the royal palace and present day Royal Museum. The Royal Museum, recently rebuilt as a modern structure, houses an impressive collection of artifacts from

1349-594: The Mali Empire , Songhai Empire , the Kanem Empire and the subsequent Bornu Empire . They built stone structures like in Tichit , but mainly constructed in adobe . The Great Mosque of Djenne is most reflective of Sahelian architecture and is the largest adobe building in the world. In the forest zone, several states and empires such as Bono State , Akwamu and others emerged. The Ashanti Empire arose in

1420-674: The Sabaeans , Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo – Greco – Roman trade. In the Middle Ages several powerful Somali empires dominated the region's trade, including the Ajuran Sultanate , which excelled in hydraulic engineering and fortress building, the Sultanate of Adal , whose General Ahmed Gurey was the first African commander in history to use cannon warfare on the continent during Adal's conquest of

1491-662: The Songhai , Zarma and Kanuri . The Old Nubian language is also a member of this family. Major languages of Africa by region, family and number of primary language speakers in millions: Sub-Saharan Africa has several large cities. Lagos is a city in the Nigerian state of Lagos . The city, with its adjoining conurbation , is the most populous in Nigeria , and the second-most populous in Africa after Cairo , Egypt . It

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1562-644: The UN Development Programme applies the "sub-Saharan" classification to 46 of Africa's 55 countries, excluding Djibouti, SADR , Somalia, and Sudan. Since around 3900 BCE , the Saharan and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier that is interrupted only by the Nile in Sudan, though navigation on

1633-488: The United Nations (UN). This is considered a non-standardised geographical region with the number of countries included varying from 46 to 48 depending on the organisation describing the region (e.g. UN , WHO , World Bank , etc.). The African Union (AU) uses a different regional breakdown, recognising all 55 member states on the continent—grouping them into five distinct and standard regions. The term serves as

1704-775: The Walls of Benin , which is the largest man-made structure in the world. In the 18th century, the Oyo and the Aro confederacy were responsible for most of the slaves exported from modern-day Nigeria, selling them to European slave traders . Following the Napoleonic Wars , the British expanded their influence into the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in

1775-629: The medieval period used the general term bilâd as-sûdân ("Land of the Blacks") for the vast Sudan region (an expression denoting Central and West Africa ), or sometimes extending from the coast of West Africa to Western Sudan . Its equivalent in Southeast Africa was Zanj ("Country of the Blacks"), which was situated in the vicinity of the Great Lakes region. The geographers drew an explicit ethnographic distinction between

1846-601: The 14th and 15th centuries, large medieval Southeast African kingdoms and states emerged, such as the Buganda , Bunyoro and Karagwe kingdoms of Uganda and Tanzania. During the early 1960s, the Southeast African nations achieved independence from colonial rule. Settlements of Bantu -speaking peoples, who were iron -using agriculturists and herdsmen, were already present south of the Limpopo River by

1917-474: The 1630s related that 4,000-5,000 baptisms were performed in the city and its immediate hinterland (presumably the valleys that surround it), which is consistent with an overall population of 100,000 people. Of these, perhaps 30,000 lived on the mountain and the remainder in the valleys around the city. Among its important buildings were some twelve churches, including São Salvador, as well as private chapels and oratories and an impressive two-story royal palace,

1988-589: The 18th century in modern-day Ghana . The Kingdom of Nri , was established by the Igbo in the 11th century. Nri was famous for having a priest-king who wielded no military power. Nri was a rare African state which was a haven for freed slaves and outcasts who sought refuge in their territory. Other major states included the kingdoms of Ifẹ and Oyo in the western block of Nigeria which became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively, and center of Yoruba culture. The Yoruba built massive mud walls around their cities,

2059-531: The 1950s and early 1960s, most sub-Saharan African nations achieved independence from colonial rule. According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects , the population of sub-Saharan Africa was 1.1 billion in 2019. The current growth rate is 2.3%. The UN predicts for the region a population between 2 and 2.5 billion by 2050 with a population density of 80 per km compared to 170 for Western Europe, 140 for Asia and 30 for

2130-536: The 4th or 5th century displacing and absorbing the original Khoisan speakers. They slowly moved south, and the earliest ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the Xhosa people , whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoisan inhabitants. They reached the Fish River in today's Eastern Cape Province . Monomotapa

2201-776: The Americas. Sub-Saharan African countries top the list of countries and territories by fertility rate with 40 of the highest 50, all with TFR greater than 4 in 2008. All are above the world average except South Africa and Seychelles . More than 40% of the population in sub-Saharan countries is younger than 15 years old, as well as in Sudan , with the exception of South Africa. GDP per Capita (PPP) (2016, 2017 (PPP, US$ )) , Life (Exp.) (Life Expectancy 2006) , Literacy (Male/Female 2006) , Trans (Transparency 2009) , HDI (Human Development Index) , EODBR (Ease of Doing Business Rank June 2008 through May 2009) , SAB ( Starting

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2272-676: The Congo . The manikongo's seat of power was Mbanza Kongo (also called São Salvador from 1570 to 1975), now the capital of Zaire Province in Angola. The manikongo appointed governors for the provinces of the Kingdom and received tribute from neighbouring subjects. The term "manikongo" is derived from Portuguese manicongo , an alteration of the KiKongo term Mwene Kongo (literally "lord of Kongo"). The term wene , from which mwene

2343-527: The Dutch (now under French control) and the British found themselves at war again. The British captured the Dutch possession yet again at the Battle of Blaauwberg , commanded by Sir David Blair . The Zulu Kingdom was a Southern African tribal state in what is now KwaZulu-Natal in southeastern South Africa. The small kingdom gained world fame during and after their defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War . During

2414-674: The Eastern Baribah or Barbaroi , as the ancestors of the Somalis were referred to by medieval Arab and ancient Greek geographers, respectively. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the populations south of the Sahara were divided into three broad ancestral groups: Hamites and Semites in the Horn of Africa and Sahel related to those in North Africa, who spoke languages belonging to the Afroasiatic family; Negroes in most of

2485-632: The Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea). The Chadic branch is distributed in Central and West Africa. Hausa , its most widely spoken language, serves as a lingua franca in West Africa (Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad). The several families lumped under the term Khoi-San include languages indigenous to Southern Africa and Tanzania , though some, such as the Khoi languages , appear to have moved to their current locations not long before

2556-400: The Manikongo to eat or drink, an attendant would chime two iron rods, cueing them to lay face-down so that they could not see him do so. This African history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This government -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa or Subsahara

2627-651: The Mediterranean. Growing from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period ( c. 4th century BCE), it rose to prominence by the 1st century CE. The Aksumites constructed monolithic stelae to cover the graves of their kings, such as King Ezana's Stele . The later Zagwe dynasty , established in the 12th century, built churches out of solid rock. These rock-hewn structures include the Church of St. George at Lalibela . In ancient Somalia , city-states flourished such as Opone , Mosyllon and Malao that competed with

2698-543: The Niger–Congo languages is Bantu , which covers a greater geographic area than the rest of the family. Bantu speakers represent the majority of inhabitants in southern, central and southeastern Africa, though San , Pygmy , and Nilotic groups, respectively, can also be found in those regions. Bantu-speakers can also be found in parts of Central Africa such as the Gabon , Equatorial Guinea and southern Cameroon . Swahili ,

2769-633: The Nile was blocked by the Sudd and the river's cataracts . There is also an evident genetic divide between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa that dates back to the Neolithic . The Sahara pump theory explains how flora and fauna (including Homo sapiens ) left Africa to penetrate Eurasia and beyond. African pluvial periods are associated with a " Wet Sahara " phase, during which larger lakes and more rivers existed. Geographers historically divided

2840-698: The Sahel (northern Mauritania, northern Mali, northern Niger). The Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic is centered in the Horn, and is also spoken in the Nile Valley and parts of the African Great Lakes region. Additionally, the Semitic branch of the family, in the form of Arabic , is widely spoken in the parts of Africa that are within the Arab world. South Semitic languages are also spoken in parts of

2911-413: The Southeast coast of Kenya and Tanzania encountered by these later Arab and Persian settlers have been variously identified with the trading settlements of Rhapta , Azania and Menouthias referenced in early Greek and Chinese writings from 50 CE to 500 CE. These early writings perhaps document the first wave of Bantu settlers to reach Southeast Africa during their migration. Between

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2982-399: The Sudan region and its analogue Zanj, from the area to their extreme east on the Red Sea coast in the Horn of Africa . In modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea was Al-Habash or Abyssinia, which was inhabited by the Habash or Abyssinians, who were the forebears of the Habesha . In northern Somalia was Barbara or the Bilad al-Barbar ("Land of the Berbers "), which was inhabited by

3053-421: The application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. Prior to the introduction of the camel , the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of oases that were strung across the desert. The trans-saharan trade was in full motion by 500 BCE with Carthage being a major economic force for its establishment. It

3124-411: The art of making fire. They were the first hominids to leave Africa, going on to colonise the entire Old World , and perhaps later on giving rise to Homo floresiensis . Although some recent writers suggest that H. georgicus , a H. habilis descendant , was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider H. georgicus to be an early and primitive member of

3195-476: The carcasses of animals killed by other predators, both for their meat and their marrow. In hunting, H. habilis was most likely not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, although H. habilis likely did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small game and weakened larger prey such as cubs and older animals. The tools were classed as Oldowan . Roughly 1.8 million years ago, Homo ergaster first appeared in

3266-410: The early centuries CE. The Djenné-Djenno city-state flourished from 250 BCE to 900 CE and was influential to the development of the Ghana Empire . The Nok culture of Nigeria (lasting from 1,500 BCE to 200 CE) is known from a type of terracotta figure. There were a number of medieval empires of the southern Sahara and the Sahel, based on trans-Saharan trade , including the Ghana Empire and

3337-437: The eighteenth and nineteenth century. The name was changed back to "City of Kongo" (Mbanza Kongo) shortly after Angolan independence. Mbanza Kongo lies close to Angola's border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It is located at around 6°16′0″S 14°15′0″E  /  6.26667°S 14.25000°E  / -6.26667; 14.25000 and sits on top of an impressive flat-topped mountain, sometimes called Mongo

3408-507: The first millennium BCE. Trade and improved agricultural techniques supported more sophisticated societies, leading to the early civilisations of Sao , Kanem , Bornu , Shilluk , Baguirmi , and Wadai . Following the Bantu Migration into Central Africa, during the 14th century, the Luba Kingdom in southeast Congo came about under a king whose political authority derived from religious, spiritual legitimacy. The kingdom controlled agriculture and regional trade of salt and iron from

3479-534: The first millennium CE, Nilotic and Bantu -speaking peoples moved into the region , and the latter now account for three-quarters of Kenya's population. On the coastal section of Southeast Africa, a mixed Bantu community developed through contact with Muslim Arab and Persian traders, leading to the development of the mixed Arab, Persian and African Swahili City States . The Swahili culture that emerged from these exchanges evinces many Arab and Islamic influences not seen in traditional Bantu culture, as do

3550-441: The following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Goldie . In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate as part of the British Empire , the foremost world power at the time. Nigeria was granted its independence in 1960 during

3621-418: The form of the Akkadian language of Mesopotamia ( Assyria and Babylonia ) and circa 2500 BCE in the form of the Eblaite language of northeastern Syria . The distribution of the Afroasiatic languages within Africa is principally concentrated in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Languages belonging to the family's Berber branch are mainly spoken in the north, with its speech area extending into

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3692-451: The fossil record in Africa. From Homo ergaster , Homo erectus (upright man) evolved 1.5 million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small-brained and used primitive stone tools , much like H. habilis . The brain later grew in size, and H. erectus eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the Acheulean . Potentially the first hominid to engage in hunting, H. erectus mastered

3763-419: The indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of Central Africa. The Nilo-Saharan languages are concentrated in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers of Central Africa and Southeast Africa. They are principally spoken by Nilotic peoples and are also spoken in Sudan among the Fur , Masalit , Nubian and Zaghawa peoples and in West and Central Africa among

3834-460: The king title, Manikongo . Other significant states and peoples included the Kuba Kingdom , producers of the famous raffia cloth, the Eastern Lunda , Bemba , Burundi , Rwanda , and the Kingdom of Ndongo . Nubia , covered by present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt , was referred to as " Aethiopia " ("land of the burnt face") by the Greeks . Nubia in her greatest phase is considered sub-Saharan Africa's oldest urban civilisation. Nubia

3905-403: The largest in sub-equatorial Africa, and a letter from the Portuguese ambassador to Lisbon compared the size of the city (inside the inner walls) to the Portuguese town of Évora . By the 1550s Mbanza Kongo hosted a community of Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries who conspired together in an attempted overthrow of the manikongo Diogo I Nkumbi a Mpudi . In 1568 the manikongo Alvaro I

3976-400: The many Afro-Arab members of the Bantu Swahili people . With its original speech community centered on the coastal parts of Tanzania (particularly Zanzibar ) and Kenya  – a seaboard referred to as the Swahili Coast  – the Bantu Swahili language contains many Arabic loan-words as a consequence of these interactions. The earliest Bantu inhabitants of

4047-453: The most famous being Sungbo's Eredo . Another prominent kingdom in southwestern Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin , whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well-known city of Eko which was named Lagos by the Portuguese traders and other early European settlers. The Edo -speaking people of Benin are known for their famous bronze casting and rich coral, wealth, ancient science and technology and

4118-401: The mouth of the Congo River . The earliest documented kings referred to their city in their correspondence as "the city of Congo" ( cidade do Congo ), and the name of the city as São Salvador appears for the first time in the letters of Álvaro I of Kongo (1568–1587) and was carried on by his successors. When the Portuguese arrived in Kongo, Mbanza Kongo was already a large town, perhaps

4189-425: The north and copper from the Zambian/Congo copper belt. Rival kingship factions which split from the Luba Kingdom later moved among the Lunda people, marrying into its elite and laying the foundation of the Lunda Empire in the 16th century. The ruling dynasty centralised authority among the Lunda under the Mwata Yamyo or Mwaant Yaav. The Mwata Yamyo's legitimacy, like that of the Luba king, came from being viewed as

4260-410: The old Kingdom, even though many were lost from the older building during the Civil War of 1976–2002 . Manikongo Manikongo (also called Awenekongo or Mwenekongo) was the title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo , a kingdom that existed from the 14th to the 19th centuries and consisted of land in present-day Angola , Gabon , the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of

4331-460: The only such building in all of Kongo, according to visitor Giovanni Francesco da Roma (1648). The city was sacked several times during the civil wars that followed the Battle of Mbwila (or Ulanga) in 1665, and was abandoned in 1678. It was reoccupied in 1705 by Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita 's followers and restored as Kongo's capital by King Pedro IV of Kongo in 1709. It was never again depopulated though its population fluctuated substantially during

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4402-507: The period of decoloniszation . Archeological finds in Central Africa provide evidence of human settlement that may date back over 10,000 years. According to Zangato and Holl, there is evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon that may date back to 3,000 to 2,500 BCE. Extensive walled sites and settlements have recently been found in Zilum , Chad. The area is located approximately 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Lake Chad, and has been radiocarbon dated to

4473-508: The region into several distinct ethnographic sections based on each area's respective inhabitants. The concept has been criticised as a racist construction intended to separate North Africa or "European/White Africa" and "Black Africa" or "Africa noire". Critics from various countries have provided arguments supporting the interconnectedness of continental Africa, pointing to historical and cultural connections, as well as trade between North, West, and East Africa . Commentators in Arabic in

4544-464: The rest of the subcontinent (hence, the toponym Black Africa for Africa south of the Sahara ), who spoke languages belonging to the Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan families; and Khoisan in Southern Africa , who spoke languages belonging to the Khoisan family. Sub-Saharan Africa has a wide variety of climate zones or biomes . South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in particular are considered megadiverse countries . It has

4615-437: The status of cathedral in 1596. Pope John Paul II visited the site during his tour of Angola in 1992. Another interesting site of historical significance is the memorial to King Afonso I 's mother near the airport , which commemorates a popular legend that began in the 1680s that the king had buried his mother alive because she was not willing to give up an "idol" which she wore around her neck. Other important sites include

4686-409: The strong influence of the cold Benguela Current during this period. M'banza Kongo is known for the ruins of its 16th century Cathedral of the Holy Saviour of Congo (built in 1491), which many Angolans claim is the oldest church in sub-Saharan Africa . The present-day church, called São Salvador, known locally as nkulumbimbi , is now said to have been built by angels overnight. It was elevated to

4757-462: The world. This dispersal of the human species is suggested by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence. During the 11th millennium BP , pottery was independently invented in West Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali. It spread throughout the Sahel and southern Sahara . After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of

4828-423: Was a major source of gold for the ancient world. Nubians built famous structures and numerous pyramids. Sudan, the site of ancient Nubia, has more pyramids than anywhere else in the world. The Axumite Empire spanned the southern Sahara, south Arabia and the Sahel along the western shore of the Red Sea . Located in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea , Aksum was deeply involved in the trade network between India and

4899-432: Was a medieval kingdom (c. 1250–1629), which existed between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers of Southern Africa in the territory of modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique . Its old capital was located at Great Zimbabwe . In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to reach the southernmost tip of Africa. In 1652, a victualling station was established at the Cape of Good Hope by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of

4970-459: Was driven from Mbanza Kongo by the invading Jagas , who sacked the city. Alvaro managed to reclaim the capital with Portuguese military help, but had to yield Luanda , source of the nzimbu currency used in the kingdom, to them in payment. During the reign of Afonso II , stone buildings were added, including a palace and several churches. Mbanza Kongo grew substantially as the kingdom of Kongo expanded and grew, and an ecclesiastical statement of

5041-441: Was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10 million to 5 million years ago. By 3 million years ago several australopithecine hominid species had developed throughout Southern , East , and Central Africa . They were tool users rather than tool manufacturers. The next major evolutionary step occurred around 2.3 million BCE, when primitive stone tools were used to scavenge

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