Editing Ancient history (section)

====Sahel====
=====Djenné-Djenno=====
{{Main|Djenné-Djenno}}

The civilisation of Djenné-Djenno was located in the Niger River Valley in the country of [[Mali]] and is considered to be among the oldest urbanised centres and the best-known archaeology site in [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. This archaeological site is located about {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} away from the modern town and is believed to have been involved in [[Trade|long-distance trade]] and possibly the domestication of African rice. The site is believed to exceed {{convert|33|ha|acre|abbr=off}}; however, this is yet to be confirmed with extensive survey work. With the help of archaeological excavations mainly by [[Susan McIntosh|Susan and Roderick McIntosh]], the site is known to have been occupied from 250 BC to AD 900. The city is believed to have been abandoned and moved where the current city is located due to the spread of Islam and the building of the [[Great Mosque of Djenné]]. Previously, it was assumed that advanced trade networks and complex [[Society|societies]] did not exist in the region until the arrival of traders from [[West Asia|Southwest Asia]]. However, sites such as Djenné-Djenno disprove this, as these traditions in [[West Africa]] flourished long before. Towns similar to that at Djenne-Jeno also developed at the site of Dia, also in Mali along the [[Niger River]], from around 900&nbsp;BC.

=====Dhar Tichitt and Oualata=====
{{Main|Dhar Tichitt|Oualata}}

Dhar Tichitt and Oualata were prominent among the early urban centres, dated to 2000 BC, in present-day Mauritania. About 500 stone settlements littered the region in the former savannah of the Sahara. Its inhabitants fished and grew millet. It has been found that the Soninke of the Mandé peoples were responsible for constructing such settlements. Around 300 BC, the region became more desiccated and the settlements began to decline, most likely relocating to Koumbi Saleh. From the type of architecture and pottery, it is believed that Tichit was related to the subsequent Ghana Empire. Old Jenne (Djenne) began to be settled around 300 BC, producing iron and with sizeable population, evidenced in crowded cemeteries. The inhabitants and creators of these settlements during these periods are thought to have been ancestors of the Soninke people.

=====Bantu expansion=====
{{main|Bantu expansion}}

Peoples speaking precursors to the modern-day [[Bantu languages]] began to spread throughout southern Africa, and by 2000 BC they were expanding past the [[Congo River]] and into the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes]] area. By AD 1000 these groups had spread throughout all of southern Africa south of the equator.{{sfn|Bentley|Ziegler|2006|p=81}} Iron metallurgy and agriculture spread along with these peoples, with the cultivation of millet, oil palms, sorghum, and yams as well as the use of domesticated cattle, pigs, and sheep. These technologies helped increase population, and settled communities became common in sub-Saharan Africa except in deserts or heavy forests.{{sfn|Bentley|Ziegler|2006|pp=82–83}}