3,000 year-old lost city found in Egypt
Egyptian archeologists have unearthed a 3,000 year-old lost city complete with mud brick houses, artifacts and tools from the times of the pharaohs. The mortuary city, in the southern province…
Africa created stars & moon system 7,000 years ago. World’s oldest astronomical site
This 7,000-year-old stone circle tracked the summer solstice and the arrival of the annualmonsoon season. It’s also the oldest known astronomical site on Earth.For thousands of years, ancient civilizations around…
The largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. Praised for the ‘Battle of Adwa’
The Oromo are a Cushitic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Ethiopia and Kenya whospeak the Oromo language. They are Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, accounting for 34.5percent of the country’s…
An ancient San rock art mural in South Africa reveals new meaning
The indigenous San communities of southern Africa were originally hunting and gathering peoples. One of the greatest testaments to San history is the rock art found throughout the subcontinent. The oldest rock…
Bantu-speakers arrive in present-day South Africa with iron & cattle 1500 years ago
Bantu-speaking Africans, for whom the descendants make up the vast majority of SouthAfrica’s current population, had moved south of the Limpopo River around 1,500 years ago.The Bantu speakers came from…
The African tribe that never changed their ancient customs
The Himba (singular: Omuhimba, plura: Ovahimba) are an ancient tribe in Namibia, closelyrelated to the Herero.The origins of the Himba peopleTheir roots can be traced back to central and western…
Dufuna Boat: The 8,000 years oldest Canoe in Africa; second oldest on earth
The Dufuna Canoe was discovered in 1987 by a Fulani cattle herder a few kilometers from thevillage of Dufuna in the Fune Local Government Area of Yobe State, Nigeria, near…
Ghana Empire (Wagadu). A Kingdom that controlled gold in ancient world
In the Middle Ages, the tales about the land of gold in Africa spread throughout Europe. Arabmerchants talked about the Wagadu Empire, known also as the Ghana Empire.One of the…
The Great Pyramid was the world’s tallest man-made building for over 3,800 yrs
The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid ofCheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids that make up the Gizapyramid…
The Kingdom of Kongo 1390–1857
The Kongo kingdom is one of the kingdoms that flourished in the 1300s (14th century). We touch on the history of countries such as Angola and the Democratic Republic of…
History of Black music: How did we come to call that unique genre Jazz?
The artistic inventions of people who have been held in subservience to a supposed master-race for about half a millennium are constantly under question and that should surprise neither students…
Africa ruled the World for 15,000 years & civilized mankind
In ancient times, the Oracle of Amon at Siwah was the most celebrated, and Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes, were representatives of the best of Egyptian civilization and culture. Thebes, a…
Ubang: The African community where men and women speak different languages
Generally speaking, the difference between a man and a woman around the world is their gender, but it’s more than that in Ubang, a rural community in southern Nigeria. Men…
How the 36 states of Nigeria got their names
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and where one can find more Black people than in any other country on the planet, has a uniquely complicated colonial history. Archaeological findings pieced together show…
How Libya came to have its name
After the overthrow of the enigmatic Muammar al-Gaddafi nearly ten whole years ago, Libya has fallen off the cusp of self-determination that many countries, African and otherwise envied. What has played out…
How Malawi came to have its name
The southeastern African country of Malawi did not become independent from British colonial rule until July 6, 1964, when the territory formerly known as Nyasaland became a republic in1966 under the presidency of Hastings…
The rise and origin of Ovambo People
The Ovambo people are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, mainly present Namibia. They are the largest known ethnic group in Namibia, accounting to about half of the…
Taytu Betul, Empress of the Ethiopian Empire Who Founded Addis Ababa
Betul Taytu c. 1851 to 11 February 1918), reigning from 1889 to 1913, was the Empress of the Ethiopian Empire. She was the third wife of Ethiopia’s Emperor Menelik II…
The Rise of Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, also called the Zulu Empire, was a Southern African state in what is now South Africa. During and after the Anglo-Zulu War, the small kingdom gained world…
Mauritania: Oldest “Large Stone Village”?
Archeologists have discovered “large stone villages” in the Tichitt-Walata Region of Mauritania dating from 1100 BC. The villages consisted of approximately circular interlinked streets. Dhar Tichitt is in the southwestern…