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The westernmost region of Africa which forms the watershed of the great rivers of the Senegal, the Volta and the Niger, is home to one of the world's oldest surviving building traditions, called the ‘Sudano-Sahelian’ architecture.
6 months ago

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More from African History Extra

Stone towns on the Highveld of South Africa: an archaeological history of the Sotho-Tswana capitals (ca. 1450-1850)

The eastern plateau of South Africa, known as the Highveld, is dotted with the ruins of numerous stone towns founded at the end of the Middle Ages.

2 months ago 22 votes
The currencies and monetary systems of pre-colonial Africa

A bewildering variety of currencies circulated freely in the various states and societies of Africa during the pre-colonial period.

2 months ago 20 votes
A forgotten African empire: the history of medieval Kānem (ca. 800-1472)

A century before Mansa Musa’s famous pilgrimage, the political and cultural landscape of medieval West Africa was dominated by the empire of Kānem.

2 months ago 32 votes
Online resources for African history: links to African collections held at 33 Western Museums

Up to 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s material cultural legacy is kept outside of the continent, according to a French government-commissioned 2018 report by Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr and French historian Bénédicte Savoy.

3 months ago 31 votes
What did they write about? : An intellectual history of Timbuktu ca. 1450-1900.

No single body of primary sources in the literary heritage of West Africa has attracted as much attention and attained as much celebrity as the fabled manuscripts of Timbuktu.

3 months ago 29 votes

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On the Spot: Kathleen DuVal

On the Spot: Kathleen DuVal JamesHoare Tue, 07/15/2025 - 08:09

12 hours ago 2 votes
How Odysseus Survived the Terrifying Sea Monsters Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla and Charybdis appear mainly in book twelve of Homer’s Odyssey, in which Odysseus and his crew must sail through the rocks near where the monsters live. Little information is known about their origins, though some stories are provided in myth. Scylla and Charybdis were located on opposite sides of the Strait of Messina […]

23 hours ago 2 votes
Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters

“I have never described any thing without first having seen it with my eyes” – Ulissi Aldrovandi, who shows us dragons and other monsters in his Monstrorum Historia     Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia is a huge 13-volume encyclopaedia of life on Earth. The books cover different subjects: quadrupeds, fish, sea life, birds, serpents, plants … Continue reading "Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters" The post Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters appeared first on Flashbak.

41 minutes ago 1 votes
What Are the Literary Sources for the Trojan War?

When considering the Trojan War, most people think of Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. But these two defining works only tell part of the story. The Iliad is set in the ninth year of a ten-year war, and the Odyssey is the tale of a hero returning after the conflict. Episodes […]

yesterday 3 votes
A Tale of Zeus as a Goose

The Totally Unhinged Story Behind the Stars

yesterday 3 votes