Explanation:
Powerful KINGDOMS, beautiful sculpture, complex trade, tremendous wealth, centers for advanced learning — all are hallmarks of AFRICAN CIVILIZATION on the eve of the age of exploration.
Hardly living up to the "DARK CONTINENT" label given by European adventurers, Africa's cultural heritage runs deep. The empires of GHANA, MALI, and SONGHAY are some of the greatest the world has ever known. TIMBUKTU, arguably the world's oldest university, was the intellectual center of its age.
Although primarily agricultural, West Africans held many occupations. Some were hunters and fishers. Merchants traded with other African communities, as well as with Europeans and Arabs. Some West Africans mined gold, salt, iron, copper or even diamonds. African art was primarily religious, and each community had artisans skilled at producing works that would please the tribal gods.
The center of African life in ancient and modern times is the family. Since Africans consider all individuals who can trace roots to a common ANCESTOR, this family often comprised hundreds of members.
