9781422275382

Chapter A frica Africa is considered the birthplace of humanity, but some of the history of African sculpture is buried under desert sands. We lack some historical knowledge of African sculpture made of wood or clay, because such sculptures couldn’t survive rainy forest conditions for very long. From the art that has survived, it is clear that African sculpture is among the most diverse of the world’s sculptural traditions, fromWest African expressive art to the monuments and sculpture of Nubian kings and the artwork of Great Zimbabwe. 1