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Exploring Africa

The Beginnings of History

The Iron Age The next great discovery was how to make tools and weapons out of iron. Iron hoes and axes were much stronger than the old stone ones, and could be used to clear large areas of land for farming. This time is known as the Iron Age and first developed in Africa from about 6000 bce .

T he Sahara Desert was once a lush, green land. This rock painting was made by people who lived there thousands of years ago.

The Stone Age S cientists now believe that the very first human beings lived in Africa two million years ago. Because the early humans used stone tools as hunting weapons, this period of history is known as the Stone Age. People lived in small groups, moving about from place to place in search of food. People lived in this way for many thousands of years (until about ten thousand years ago). Stone Age people learned how to farm and keep animals. They started building permanent homes, growing rice and wheat and other grains, and keeping goats, sheep and cattle for food. Their numbers

The Nok culture

A n ancient Egyptian wall painting in a tomb. Early Civilizations Ancient Egypt was one of the world’s first great civilizations. It developed along the banks of the River Nile around 3000 bce and flourished for over two thousand years. The Egyptians produced the first 365-day calendar, developed basic arithmetic and invented a form of picture-writing called hieroglyphics. They built great temples and buried their rulers in massive tombs called pyramids. Ancient Egypt survived longer than any other known civilization and even conquered Nubia, a region of the Upper Nile. Around 1000 bce , the Nubians broke away and formed their own kingdom which was called Kush. The Kush civilization survived until 350 ce and was a center of art, learning and trade.

increased because there was enough food to feed everyone and they even built fires to keep themselves warm.

T he Nok culture in western Africa lasted from 500 bce to 200 ce . The people of Nok made beautiful terra cotta sculptures of human heads and animals.

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