Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
The continent of Africa has a deeply rooted history that goes back all the way to the first hominids. Anatomically modern humans, called Homo sapiens, emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago. As the second largest continent, Africa has a large number of people living on the continent and a plethora of geographic features. From the massive Sahara Desert, to one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World (Victoria Falls), to the vast biodiversity of the Congo rainforest, Africa is home to almost every geographic feature you could think of. As such a large continent with such a wide variety of environments in which to live, Africa does not have a single culture. Throughout history, there have been over 3,000 distinct tribal and cultural entities. While Africa has its periods of dark history, like the slave trade or the Scramble for Africa and the subsequent conquering and pillaging of African communities by European powers, Africa is home to some of the most significant and culturally rich communities. Mansa Musa, a ruler of Mali, is arguably the richest man in the entire history of the world, the elaborate bronze statues in the Empire of Benin which are incredible achievements of art, or the warrior queens that ruled various tribes in Africa are all examples of how African history can transcend the horrors perpetrated to the people there.