Editing Sub-Saharan Africa (section)

===Prehistory===
{{Further|History of Africa#Prehistory|Prehistoric West Africa|Prehistoric Central Africa|Prehistoric East Africa|Horn of Africa#Prehistory|Prehistoric Southern Africa|African archaeology}}
[[File:Olduvai stone chopping tool.jpg|thumb|Stone chopping tool from [[Olduvai Gorge]]]]

According to [[paleontology]], early hominid skull anatomy was similar to that of their close cousins, the great African forest [[great ape|apes]], [[gorilla]] and [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]. However, they had adopted a [[biped]]al locomotion and freed hands, giving them a crucial advantage enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open [[savanna]] at a time when Africa was drying up, with savanna encroaching on forested areas. This occurred 10&nbsp;million to 5&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name="Shillington, Kevin 2005 p. 2">Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: [[Palgrave Macmillan]], p. 2, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

By 3&nbsp;million years ago several [[Australopithecus|australopithecine]] [[hominid]] species had developed throughout [[Southern Africa|Southern]], [[East Africa|East]], and [[Central Africa]]. They were tool users rather than tool manufacturers. The next major evolutionary step occurred around 2.3&nbsp;million&nbsp;BCE, when primitive [[Lithic technology|stone tools]] were used to scavenge the carcasses of animals killed by other predators, both for their meat and their marrow. In hunting, ''H. habilis'' was most likely not capable of competing with large predators and was more prey than hunter, although ''H. habilis'' likely did steal eggs from nests and may have been able to catch small [[game (food)|game]] and weakened larger prey such as cubs and older animals. The tools were classed as [[Oldowan]].<ref name="Shillington, Kevin 2005 p. 2-3">Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 2–3, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

Roughly 1.8&nbsp;million years ago, ''[[Homo ergaster]]'' first appeared in the fossil record in Africa. From ''Homo ergaster'', ''[[Homo erectus]]'' (upright man) evolved 1.5&nbsp;million years ago. Some of the earlier representatives of this species were small-brained and used primitive [[lithic technology|stone tools]], much like ''[[Homo habilis|H. habilis]]''. The brain later grew in size, and ''H. erectus'' eventually developed a more complex stone tool technology called the [[Acheulean]]. Potentially the first hominid to engage in hunting, ''H. erectus'' mastered the art of making fire. They were the first hominids to leave Africa, going on to colonise the entire [[Old World]], and perhaps later on giving rise to ''[[Homo floresiensis]]''. Although some recent writers suggest that ''[[H. georgicus]]'', a ''H. habilis'' [[lineage (anthropology)|descendant]], was the first and most primitive hominid to ever live outside Africa, many scientists consider ''H. georgicus'' to be an early and primitive member of the ''H. erectus'' species.<ref>Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 3, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref>

The fossil and genetic evidence shows ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' developed in East and Southern Africa by around 350,000 to 260,000 years ago<ref name=Schlebusch350-260>{{cite journal |last=Schlebusch |display-authors=etal |title=Southern African ancient genomes estimate modern human divergence to 350,000 to 260,000 years ago |journal=Science |volume=358 |issue=6363 |date=3 November 2017 |pages=652–655 |doi=10.1126/science.aao6266 |pmid=28971970 |bibcode=2017Sci...358..652S |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="NAT-20190910">{{cite journal |last1=Mounier |first1=Aurélien |last2=Lahr |first2=Marta |title=Deciphering African late middle Pleistocene hominin diversity and the origin of our species |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=3406 |doi=10.1038/s41467-019-11213-w |pmid=31506422 |pmc=6736881 |year=2019 |bibcode=2019NatCo..10.3406M }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Scerri |first1=Eleanor M. L. |last2=Thomas |first2=Mark G. |last3=Manica |first3=Andrea |last4=Gunz |first4=Philipp |last5=Stock |first5=Jay T. |last6=Stringer |first6=Chris |last7=Grove |first7=Matt |last8=Groucutt |first8=Huw S. |last9=Timmermann |first9=Axel |author-link9=Axel Timmermann|last10=Rightmire|first10=G. Philip |last11=d’Errico |first11=Francesco |date=1 August 2018 |title=Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter? |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=582–594 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005 |issn=0169-5347 |pmid=30007846 |pmc=6092560 |bibcode=2018TEcoE..33..582S }}</ref> and gradually migrated across the continent in waves. Between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago, their expansion [[Single-origin hypothesis|out of Africa]] launched the colonisation of the planet by modern humans. By 10,000&nbsp;BCE, ''Homo sapiens'' had spread to all corners of the world. This dispersal of the human species is suggested by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence.<ref name="Shillington, Kevin 2005 p. 2-3"/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Tishkoff SA, Reed FA, Friedlaender FR, etal |title=The genetic structure and history of Africans and African Americans |journal=Science |volume=324 |issue=5930 |pages=1035–44 |date=May 2009 |pmid=19407144 |pmc=2947357 |doi=10.1126/science.1172257 |bibcode=2009Sci...324.1035T }}</ref>

During the 11th millennium [[Before Present|BP]], pottery was independently invented in West Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali.<ref name=swissinfo>{{Cite web |last1=Bradley |first1=Simon |title=Swiss archaeologist digs up West Africa's past |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-archaeologist-digs-up-west-africa-s-past/5675736 |date=18 January 2007 |website=SWI swissinfo.ch |publisher=Swiss Broadcasting Corporation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306002155/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Home/Archive/Swiss_archaeologist_digs_up_West_Africas_past.html?cid=5675736 |archive-date=6 March 2012 |language=en }}</ref> It spread throughout the [[Sahel]] and southern [[Sahara]].<ref name="Pottery">{{cite journal |last1=Jesse |first1=Friederike |title=Early Pottery in Northern Africa - An Overview |issue=2 |pages=219–238 |journal=[[Journal of African Archaeology]] |volume=8 |jstor=43135518 |year=2010 |doi=10.3213/1612-1651-10171 }}</ref>

After the Sahara became a desert, it did not present a totally impenetrable barrier for travelers between north and south because of the application of animal husbandry towards carrying water, food, and supplies across the desert. Prior to the introduction of the [[camel]],<ref>Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin Books. p. 16. {{ISBN|0-395-65237-5}}.</ref> the use of oxen, mule, and horses for desert crossing was common, and trade routes followed chains of [[Oasis|oases]] that were strung across the desert. The [[trans-saharan trade]] was in full motion by 500&nbsp;BCE with [[Carthage]] being a major economic force for its establishment.<ref>Collins, Robert O. and Burns, James. M(2007). A History of Sub-saharan Africa. Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], p. 62, {{ISBN|978-0-521-86746-7 }}</ref><ref>Davidson, Basil. Africa History, Themes and Outlines, revised and expanded edition. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], p. 54, {{ISBN|0-684-82667-4}}.</ref><ref>Shillington, Kevin(2005). History of Africa, Rev. 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 47, {{ISBN|0-333-59957-8}}.</ref> It is thought that the camel was first brought to [[Egypt]] after the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] conquered Egypt in 525&nbsp;BCE, although large herds did not become common enough in North Africa for camels to be the pack animal of choice for the trans-saharan trade.<ref>McEvedy, Colin (1980) ''Atlas of African History'', p. 44. {{ISBN|0-87196-480-5}}.</ref>