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Ife
Ife (aka Ile-Ife) was an ancient African city which flourished between the 11th and 15th century CE in what is today Nigeria in West Africa. Ife was the capital and principal religious centre of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife, which prospered...
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Map of Niger River
The Niger River is the most important river in West Africa, and is the third longest river in Africa after the Nile River and Congo River. Known for its distinctive "boomerang" shape, the Niger River flows from the Guinea Highlands to the...
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Bird Shaped Pestle
A bird-shaped pestle. Stone, 6000-2000 BCE. Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. Most modern vegetables and cereals were first cultivated around 10,000 years ago. This pestle was made for grinding taro, one of the crops farmers in Papua New...
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The Dutch Discovery of Australia
17th-century Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) navigators were the first Europeans to set foot on Australian soil. Although there is a strong theory that the Portuguese explorer, Cristóvão de Mendonça (1475-1532...
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Slavery in Plantation Agriculture
The first plantations in the Americas of sugar cane, cocoa, tobacco, and cotton were maintained and harvested by African slaves controlled by European masters. When African slavery was largely abolished in the mid-1800s, the center of plantation...
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The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief sculptures, engraved figures and symbols, and paintings onto a rock surface...
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Map of the Mali Empire
A map illustrating the rise and extent of the Mali Empire (c. 1235 - 1672) as it reached its height in the 13th century as one of the most powerful and wealthy states in West Africa. Spanning a vast territory that included modern-day Mali...
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Map Showing William Dampier's 1699 Expedition Route
Map showing William Dampier's expedition along the west and northwest coast of New Holland (Australia) and the coasts of Timor, New Guinea and New Britain in 1699 aboard the HMS Roebuck.
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Historical Map of São Tomé
A 1665 map drawn by Johannes Vingboons of the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. The island was a Portuguese colony from c. 1486 to 1975. (National Archives of the Netherlands)
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An Illustration from 'A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland' by William Dampier.
Illustrations of fish off the coast of New Guinea in William Dampier's (1651-1715) book, A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland.