As the origin of humankind, Africa has been the home of many nations and kingdoms. While ancient North African civilizations such as ancient Egypt and Carthage are famous in Europe and elsewhere, most pre-colonial nations of sub-Saharan Africa are not well-known outside the continent, leading to the misconception among most Westerners that pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa was comprised exclusively of hunter-gatherer cultures. This article describes destinations from the early Neolithic up until the European and American colonization of Africa in the 19th century.
The Neolithic revolution of agriculture began in ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia. Farming and livestock herding spread slowly across the African continent with difficulties of different climates.
Since classical antiquity, North Africa has been part of the Mediterranean cultural sphere, under ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, Islamic Golden Age and the Ottoman Empire.
The Sahel and West Africa have seen many kingdoms rise and fall, such as the Songhai and Mali empires. They were famous for their trans-Saharan caravans and as centres of Islamic scholarship.
East Africa have seen exchange with the Middle East and has an Islamic heritage. Ethiopia is one of the world's oldest Christian nations, famous for resisting European colonialism well into the 20th century.
International interest in pre-colonial African history has been on the rise in the 21st century, with many locations earning status as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Great Zimbabwe. One of the best known archaeological sites in southern Africa, lending its name to the modern country of Zimbabwe.
Senegambian stone circles. A collective UNESCO World Heritage Site across Senegal and the Gambia; the world's largest cluster of stone circles, built across a period across 1500 years.
Twyfelfontein. A UNESCO World Heritage site of ancient rock engravings, displaying one of the largest concentrations of rock petroglyphs in Africa.
Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata. A UNESCO World Heritage site including a cluster of trans-Saharan trading posts from the 11th and 12th century.
Bassari Country. A UNESCO World Heritage site with a well-preserved multicultural landscape.
Chongoni Rock Art. A UNESCO World Heritage site with 127 sites of rock art.
Lopé National Park. A natural and cultural UNESCO World Heritage site known for its petroglyphs.
Agadez. A trans-Saharan trading post, home of the Tuareg people.
The Swahili Coast refers to what is today the coastal areas of Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros and Northern Mozambique, which are mainly inhabited by Swahili people. It was never a unified kingdom in the pre-modern era, but instead comprised of several powerful and prosperous city-states, which nevertheless shared close cultural and linguistic ties.
Modern-day Mali was once the centre of the powerful Mali Empire. Mansa Musa, the ninth king of the Mali Empire, is widely regarded as the richest person in the history of the human race.