Timbuktu started out as a seasonal settlement and became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and slaves.
Great Ardra, also known by numerous variant spellings, was a coastal West African kingdom in what is now southern Benin. It was named for its capital, the modern Allada.
Dagomba are one of the ethnic groups with a sophisticated oral tradition. Most of their history, until quite recently, has been passed down via oral tradition with drummers as professional griots.
The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (c.1075–1220) was a medieval state in South Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe.
The first period of Malagasy oral history is known as the Vazimba period, beginning with the Vazimbas’ establishment of kingdoms – often ruled by Queens – in the central Highlands region of Madagascar.
Author Onwuejeogwu suggested that Nri influence in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century, and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century.
The Hausa Bakwai kingdoms were established around the 7th to 11th centuries. The Hausa Kingdoms were independent political entities in what is now Northern Nigeria. The Hausa city states emerged as southern terminals of the Trans-Saharan caravan trade.
Archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived from the Malay Archipelago between 250 B.C.E. and 550 C.E., making Madagascar one of the last major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans.
The early history of Seychelles is unknown. Malays from Borneo, who eventually settled on Madagascar, perhaps lingered here circa 200-300 C.E.
It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered to be among the oldest urbanized centers and the best-known archaeology site in sub-Saharan Africa.
