What is the main source of information about early African civilizations?

What is the main source of information about early African civilizations?

Archaeologists’ main source of information about early West African cultures has been from artifacts such as pottery, charcoal, and slag—a waste product of iron smelting. By dating these artifacts, scientists can piece together a picture of life in West Africa as early as 500 B.

What were the resources available in early West Africa?

One feature, the Niger River, has been particularly important in the region’s history, providing water, food, and transportation for people. In addition, salt and iron deposits can be found in the region. Such resources were the basis for a technology that allowed people to create strong tools and weapons.

What were two of West Africa’s most important resources?

Africa’s two most profitable mineral resources are gold and diamonds. In 2008, Africa produced about 483 tons of gold, or 22 percent of the world’s total production.

Why is it important to learn about the history of early African civilizations?

The geography of Africa helped to shape the history and development of the culture and civilizations of Ancient Africa. The geography impacted where people could live, important trade resources such as gold and salt, and trade routes that helped different civilizations to interact and develop.

What natural resources were found in Africa?

Africa is rich in natural resources ranging from arable land, water, oil, natural gas, minerals, forests and wildlife. The continent holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources, both renewables and non-renewables.

What were two of the early West Africa’s important mineral resources?

– the two important early mineral resources were the salt and gold. How are these resources related to West Africa’s physical geography? – These resources supports the development of the civilizations in the area.

Why is Africa important in world history?

What is the best source for West African history?

Sifting through six centuries of Arabic writings, Levtzion and Hopkins created an invaluable resource: these 314 pages of carefully translated writings are the main source for West African history between the ninth and fifteen centuries.

What is the history of West Africa like?

Of any region on the African continent, West Africa had the biggest concentration of ancient kingdoms and empires in its pre-colonial history. It’s no easy task to capture snapshots of West Africa at various points in its evolution.

Is African dominion a good introduction to West African history?

Although it is accompanied by maps and written in a clear style, African Dominion is not an introduction to West African history and presupposes basic knowledge of the empires it covers, which can be quickly acquired by reading through our History of West Africa at a Glance article.

How does Michael Gomez explore the history of West Africa?

By carefully extracting the threads of ancient Arab sources, oral traditions and archaeological studies, Michael Gomez weaves the early West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhay together and inextricably binds them to the rest of the world in a ground-breaking way.