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The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic , Khoisan , Niger-Congo , and Nilo-Saharan populations.
The history of the indigenous African peoples spans thousands of years and includes a complex variety of cultures, languages, and political systems. Indigenous African cultures have existed since ancient times, with some of the earliest evidence of human life on the continent coming from stone tools and rock art dating back hundreds of thousands of years.
The Culture of Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of a mixture of countries with various tribes depicting their unique characteristic and trait from the continent of Africa. [1] It is a product of the diverse populations that inhabit the continent of Africa and the African diaspora .
The Serer people of Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania are bilineal, but matrilineality (tiim, in Serer) is very important in their culture, and is well preserved. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] There are a multitude of Serer maternal clans with their various history and origins.
Maasai traditional clothing is both a means of tribal identification and symbolism: young men, for example, wear black for several months following their circumcision. The Maasai began to replace animal skin, calf hides and sheep skin with commercial cotton cloth in the 1960s.
Akan culture is one of the traditional matrilineal cultures of Africa. [26] Akan art is wide-ranging and renowned, especially for the tradition of crafting bronze gold weights, using the lost-wax casting method. The Akan culture reached South America, the Caribbean, and North America. [27]
A collection of tribes, each led by a noble, forms a confederation whose chieftain, the amănokal, is elected from among the nobles by the tribal chiefs. [63] [62] The chieftain is the overlord during times of war, and receives tribute and taxes from tribes as a sign of their submission to his authority. [65]
As of about 5000 BC, the populations of North Africa were descended primarily from the Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures, with a more recent intrusion being associated with the Neolithic Revolution. [84] The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the late Bronze- and early Iron ages. [85]