West African peoples of Ounjougou independently invent pottery in Mali
Pottery at Ounjougou, in present-day Mali, dates to around 9,250 B.C.E., making it the earliest ceramics found anywhere in Africa. On the Bandiagara Plateau, people shaped small decorated bowls to cook and store wild grains — likely the work of women. It’s one of only a handful of times humans invented ceramics from scratch.