Editing History of Mali (section)

==Prehistory==

===Paleolithic===

The [[Sahara]] has experienced [[African humid period|significant climatic fluctuations]] throughout its history, with periods both drier and wetter than today. It was inhospitable to human life during certain intervals, such as between 325,000–290,000 years ago and again between 280,000–225,000 years ago, except for a few favorable refuges like [[Lake Tihodaïne]] in the water-retaining [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] region.<ref name=":3">Ouardia Oussedik: Les bifaces acheuléens de l’Erg Tihodaine (Sahara Central Algérien): analyse typométrique, in: Libyca 20 (1972) 153-161.</ref> During these arid phases, the desert expanded far beyond its present-day boundaries, leaving behind sand dunes that stretch well beyond the modern Sahara. Human occupation is primarily linked to the wetter "green" phases, when ecological conditions were more suitable for settlement and migration.

It is possible that anatomically modern humans, who may have emerged in isolation south of the Sahara between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago, already inhabited the humid, water-rich regions during a prolonged green phase over 200,000 years ago. Around 125,000 to 110,000 years ago, an extensive network of rivers and lakes enabled the northward spread of fauna, followed by human hunter-gatherer groups. Among these water systems was [[Lake Chad|Mega Lake Chad]], which at its largest extent covered over 360,000 km².<ref name=":4">S. J. Armitage, N. A. Drake, S. Stokes, A. El-Hawat, M. J. Salem, K. White, P. Turner, S. J. McLaren: ''Multiple phases of North African humidity recorded in lacustrine sediments from the Fazzan Basin, Libyan Sahara'', in: Quaternary Geochronology 2,1-4 (2007) 181–186.</ref> However, during a subsequent arid phase between 70,000 and 58,000 years ago, the Sahara once again became a formidable barrier to migration. Another green period followed between 50,000 and 45,000 years ago.<ref name=":5">Isla S. Castañeda et al.: ''Wet phases in the Sahara/Sahel region and human migration patterns in North Africa.'' In: ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] '' 106,48 (2009) 20159–20163, [[doi:10.1073/pnas.0905771106]].</ref>

In present-day Mali, archaeological evidence is less abundant than in northern neighboring regions. However, excavations at the [[Ounjougou]] complex<ref>Das Projekt ''Peuplement humain et paléoenvironnement en Afrique'' began in 1997 in Ounjougou ([http://www.ounjougou.org/fr/projets/mali/ ''Pays dogon – Mali'']).</ref> on the [[Dogon people|Dogon]] Plateau, near [[Bandiagara]], have revealed signs of human presence dating back over 150,000 years. Evidence of continuous habitation is firmly established for the period between 70,000 and 25,000 years ago. The [[Paleolithic]] period in Mali ended relatively early, likely due to the onset of another extremely arid phase — the Ogolia — around 25,000 to 20,000 years ago, which transformed the region back into a dry savannah landscape.<ref name=":6">Stefan Kröpelin et al.: ''Climate-Driven Ecosystem Succession in the Sahara: The Past 6000 Years.'' In: '' Science'', 320,5877 (2008) 765–768, [[doi:10.1126/science.1154913]].</ref>

===Neolithic===
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Following the [[Last Glacial Maximum|last glacial maximum]] and the retreat of northern ice sheets, the climate in the Sahara region became significantly more humid than today. The Niger River formed a vast inland lake near Timbuktu and [[Araouane]], while a similarly large body of water developed in the [[Chad Basin|Lake Chad basin]]. During this period, which began around [[10th millennium BC|9500 BCE]], the landscape of northern Mali resembled the [[Savanna|savannah]] ecosystems found in southern Mali today. The humid phase that followed the [[Younger Dryas]] (a cold climatic episode) was eventually replaced by increasing aridity around [[5th millennium BC|5000 BCE]].

The [[Neolithic|Neolithic period]], marked by a transition from foraging to food production, developed during this wetter era. It is usually divided into three phases, separated by distinct dry intervals. [[Sorghum]] and [[millet]] were among the earliest cultivated crops, and by [[8th millennium BC|8000 BCE]], large herds of cattle—closely related to modern [[Zebu|zebus]]—grazed across what is now the Sahara. [[Sheep]] and [[Goat|goats]] were introduced much later from [[West Asia]], whereas cattle were likely first domesticated within [[Africa]].

[[Pottery]] appeared independently at several sites, including Ounjougou in central Mali, with [[Ceramic|ceramics]] dated to around 9400 BCE—one of the earliest known examples in West Africa.<ref name=":3" /> Some of the earliest Neolithic cultures practiced a productive way of life without fully developed [[agriculture]] or [[animal husbandry]]. At the Ravin de la Mouche site (part of the Ounjougou complex), dates between 11,400 and 10,200 years ago have been recorded. Other nearby sites, such as Ravin du Hibou 2, date to between 8000 and [[7th millennium BC|7000 BCE]]. However, a hiatus in occupation is evident between 7000 and [[35th century BC|3500 BCE]], likely due to unfavorable climatic conditions that hunter-gatherers could not withstand.

Archaeological and paleoenvironmental data suggest a return of [[Nomadic pastoralism|nomadic pastoralists]] around [[4th millennium BC|4000 BCE]], just prior to the end of the last humid phase, which waned around 3500 BCE. Sites like [[Karkarichinkat]] (ca. [[25th century BC|2500]]–[[1600s BC (decade)|1600 BCE]]) and possibly Village de la Frontière (3590 BCE), along with sediment layers at [https://sites.google.com/marsci.haifa.ac.il/petrolab/projects/ongoing-projects/lake-fati Lake Fati], illustrate this period of climatic transition. Lake Fati existed between 10,430 and 4660 BP, with a 16-centimeter sand layer indicating a desiccation event around 4500 BP—approximately 1,000 years later than comparable changes on the [[Mauritania|Mauritanian coast]]. Increasing aridity peaked about a millennium later, prompting southward migrations of cattle-herding populations into Mali as northern lakes dried up.<ref name=":4" />

This late Neolithic period also saw further immigration from the Sahara around 2500 BCE, as the region transitioned into an increasingly arid desert. Archaeological surveys based on ceramic typology identified three cultural groups living around [[Méma]], the [[:ceb:Canal_de_Sonni_Ali|Canal de Sonni Ali]], and [https://chroniclesofmalabar.blogspot.com/2012/05/syrian-church-of-malabar-under-british.html Windé Koroji] (near the Mauritanian border) around 2000 BCE. Key excavation sites include Kobadi (1700–1400 BCE), MN25 (near Hassi el Abiod), and Kirkissoy near [[Niamey]], [[Niger]] (1500–1000 BCE). These suggest a southward movement of populations, culminating in the introduction of agriculture, including the cultivation of [[pearl millet]] (Pennisetum glaucum) and possibly [[wheat]] and [[emmer]]—grains domesticated much earlier in eastern Sahara, now reaching Mali. Ecological evidence implies [[tillage]] began as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, though this phase ended abruptly around [[400 BC|400 BCE]] due to severe drought.

The use of [[ochre]] in funerary practices—sometimes extending to animals—persisted into the 1st millennium BCE. A striking example is the burial of a horse at Tel Matamata, west of the [[Inner Niger Delta|Inland Niger Delta]] near Thial in the [[Ténenkou|Tenenkou]] Cercle, where the remains were covered with ochre. Rock art, including both symbolic and anthropomorphic depictions, is found across Mali in areas such as [[Boucle du Baoulé National Park]] (Fanfannyégèné), the Dogon Plateau, and along the [[Niger Delta|Niger River Delta]] (Aire Soroba).

Further excavations at Karkarichinkat Nord (KN05) and Karkarichinkat Sud (KS05)—located in a fossil riverbed roughly 70 km north of [[Gao]]—revealed the earliest known evidence in West Africa south of the Sahara for ritual tooth modification among women, dating to ca. 4500–4200 BP. These practices, which included tooth filing and extractions resulting in pointed teeth, resemble similar customs documented in the Maghreb. The modification was predominantly observed in female remains, and similar traditions continued in the region into the [[19th century]].<ref name=":5" />

[[Isotope analysis|Isotopic analysis]] from these sites showed that 85% of dietary [[carbon]] came from [[C4 carbon fixation|C4 plants]], particularly grasses, indicating either the consumption of wild cereals (like wild millet) or early domesticated species.<ref name=":6" /> These results offer some of the earliest evidence of agriculture and cattle herding in West Africa, around 2200 cal BP.

The Dhar Tichitt tradition (1800–800/400 BCE), centered in the Méma region—a former river delta west of today’s Inland Niger Delta (sometimes called the “dead delta”)—represents another major cultural development. Settlements ranged from 1 to 8 hectares but were not continuously occupied, likely due to environmental limitations. The [[tsetse fly]], prevalent during the rainy season, posed a significant obstacle to cattle rearing and limited expansion to the south.

By contrast, the Kobadi tradition, which developed in the mid-2nd millennium BCE, relied primarily on fishing, gathering wild grasses, and hunting, and remained relatively sedentary. Both traditions utilized [[copper]] sourced from Mauritania and maintained interregional exchanges, as evidenced by material culture and stylistic similarities in ceramics.

===Earlier Iron Age===
A number of early towns and cities were established by Mandé-speaking peoples related to the [[Soninke people|Soninke]], along the middle Niger River in what is now Mali. Among the earliest was Dia, which was settled around 900 BCE and reached its peak around 600 BCE.<ref name="Arazi">{{cite web |last1=Arazi |first1=Noemie |title=Tracing History in Dia, in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali -Archaeology, Oral Traditions and Written Sources |url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1444342/1/U591645.pdf |website=University College London |publisher=Institute of Archaeology}}</ref> Another major site was [[Djenné-Djenno]], occupied from approximately 250 BCE to 800 CE.<ref name="sub">{{cite journal |last1=Mcintosh |first1=Susan Keech |last2=Mcintosh |first2=Roderick J. |date=Oct 1979 |title=Initial Perspectives on Prehistoric Subsistence in the Inland Niger Delta (Mail) |journal=World Archaeology |volume=11 |issue=2 Food and Nutrition |pages=227–243 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1979.9979762 |pmid=16470987}}</ref> Djenné-Djenno formed a substantial urban complex, consisting of 40 mounds spread across a 4-kilometer radius<ref>{{cite book |last1=McIntosh |first1=Roderick J. |title=The Social Construction of Ancient Cities |last2=McIntosh |first2=Susan Keech |publisher=Smithsonian Books |year=2003 |isbn=9781588340986 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Monica L. |editor-link1=Monica L. Smith |place=Washington, DC |pages=103–120 |chapter=Early urban configurations on the Middle Niger: Clustered cities and landscapes of power}}</ref>.The site itself likely extended over 33 hectares (82 acres) and participated in both local and long-distance trade networks.<ref name="AAC">{{cite journal |last1=Mcintosh |first1=Susan Keech |last2=Mcintosh |first2=Roderick J. |date=February 1980 |title=Jenne-Jeno: An Ancient African City |journal=Archaeology |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=8–14}}</ref>

During Djenné-Djenno's second phase—which occurred during the first millennium CE—the site expanded significantly, possibly covering over 100,000 square meters. This period also saw the emergence of permanent mud-brick architecture, including the construction of a city wall. The wall, built using cylindrical mud-brick technology, was approximately 3.7 meters wide at its base and extended for nearly two kilometers around the town.<ref name="AAC" /><ref>Shaw, Thurstan. ''The Archaeology of Africa: Food, Metals and Towns''. Routledge, 1993, pp.&nbsp;632.</ref>

References to Mali appear sporadically in early [[Islamic literature]]. The [[11th century|11th-century]] geographer [[al-Bakri]] (writing in [[1068|1068 CE]]) mentions the regions of "Pene" and "Malal," which may correspond to areas within early Mali<ref>al-Bakri in Nehemiah Levtzion and J. F. Pl Hopkins, eds and trans., ''Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History'' (New York and London: Cambridge University Press, 1981, reprint edn Princeton, New Jersey,: Marcus Wiener, 2000), pp. 82-83.</ref>.The historian [[Ibn Khaldun]], writing in the late [[14th century]], recounts the conversion to Islam of an early Malian ruler known as Barmandana<ref>ibn Khaldun in Levtzion and Hopkins, eds, and transl. ''Corpus'', p. 333.</ref>.Additional geographical details are found in the [[12th century|12th-century]] works of [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|al-Idrisi]].<ref>al-Idrisi in Levtzion and Hopkins, eds. and transl, ''Corpus'', p. 108.</ref>