-
1500 BCE
Complex Societies Start
-
500 BCE
Evidence of Iron Smelting in Nigeria
Spreads to rest of West Africa by 1000 AD -
Period: 200 BCE to 500 BCE
Movement of Bantu peoples to east and southern Africa
"The Bantu Migrations." -
Period: 300 to 1200
Ghana's African Empire
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800
Islam spreads throughout Africa
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1000
Iron Technology Spreads to the Rest of Africa
-
1067
Ghana Is Surrounded by Independent KIngdoms
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1148
Gold Coin in Square Cardstock Envelope
Thin, circular with double square (or lozenge according to the orientation established by the hole at either side) and Arabic script, pearled border. Almohad Dynasty, Fez mint. Depositor's notes written on envelope -
Period: 1200 to 1500
Mali's African Empire
-
1300
Red colored bowl with lightly incised parallel lines around the rim.
African potters--primarily women--handbuild a variety of vessels that they embellish with beautiful colors, designs and motifs before firing them at low temperatures. Containers made for daily use hold water or serve as cooking utensils. They also make vessels to be used in special ceremonies or that become part of an assemblage of objects placed in a shrine. -
1300
Equestrian figure with a quiver slung across the back diagonally from the right shoulder down.
Since the 1940s, low-fired ceramic figures and fragments such as this have been unearthed at various sites throughout the Inland Niger Delta region, an area that once had highly developed urban centers. These works are among the earliest known surviving art forms in sub-Saharan Africa. -
1340
Ghana is Incorporated into Mali
-
1350
Ceramic figure seated cross-legged.
Ceramic figure seated cross-legged. Upper arms missing. -
Period: 1350 to 1450
Time of Numerous Conquests
-
1400
Mali's Gold
Mali is The Source of Almost Half the Gold in the Old World -
1450
Cast copper alloy cross
Christianity has a long history in Ethiopia, dating from its introduction in Aksum under the reign of King Azana in about A.D. 330. Its spread among the peoples of the highlands, and the arrival of nine monks from Syria toward the end of the fifth century, is said to have introduced monasticism to Ethiopia and to have contributed strongly to the production and use of liturgical objects. -
Period: 1464 to
Songhai's African Empire
Started under control of Mali Empire. -
Mahmud IV Dies
-
Realm Remains Under Mandinka Control
-
Discovery of Australopithecus
Near Taung, South Africa. -
Homo Habilis Skulls Found
In Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and Lake Turkana, Kenya -
Semi-complete skeleton of "Lucy" found
In Omo Valley, Ethiopia -
Thirteen Australopithecus Remains Found
Homo Erectus skull found Lake Turkana -
Australopithecus Footprints Found
In Laetoli, Tanzania. -
Discovery of Australopithecus
In Sterkfontein, South Africa