Ancient African Art

(second page; click for the first page)

Along the coast, in East Africa, Islamic and Indian influence beginning about 1000 AD led people to create art in an Indian-Islamic-African style.

In south Africa, the San people painted rock art onto the walls of caves. Many of these paintings have been destroyed, but a few have survived.

Further north again, in West Africa, people molded ceramic and bronze and brass sculptures by about 700 AD, continuing until around 1500 AD.

After people began to trade regularly across the Sahara Desert, West African people again built cities and mosques at the end of the trade routes for gold and slaves, especially at Timbuktu (in modern Mali).

And in North Africa (modern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya), first the Carthaginians built cities, and then the Romans, and then the Arabs.

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First page of African Art
African Art books and toys, games and movies
Egyptian Art Main Africa page
Main art page Kidipede - History for Kids home page