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=Welcome to Africa! = media type="file" key="baver - Drummm.mp3" width="248" height="39" align="center"

 The continent of Africa is almost as old as the earth itself. At one time, it was the foundation of a huge super continent called Pangaea. The continents have shifted and drifted apart over millions of years to form earthquakes and volcanic eruptions along with the movement of the oceans. Since then, Africa's location has not changed drastically throughout the centuries.



**History** Over the centuries many different peoples and cultures have made Africa their home. Indeed it is believed by many archeologists that Africa is the birthplace of the human race. Early African peoples did not usually leave a written record. Instead, they passed on their histories through oral traditions and stories.This lack of written histories has made the task of studying these peoples more difficult. Archeologists have had to learn as much as they can by collecting these oral traditions, and by studying ancient artifacts.

**Culture** The culture of Africa includes all of the cultures within the whole continent of Africa. These African cultures are widely varied and diverse. There are innumerable tribes, ethnic and social groups that make up the culture of Africa. Some single countries within Africa contain over 20 different ethnic groups. The food, music, folktales and art of Africa are all a part of the culture. Overall Africa has a rich tradition of using arts, crafts, music and storytelling as a form of expression. African arts include sculpture, woodcarvings, paintings, pottery, and leather works. The African culture also places emphasis on personal appearance, jewelry and elaborate masks are often worn. In general Africans live in rural areas and live almost entirely off of the food that they grow themselves. In Western Africa many people grow cassava, maize, millet and plantains for food and women do most of the cooking. Fast food restaurants and grocery stores, as we have here, do not exist in most of Africa. People buy, and sell food and clothing at outdoor markets. African music is as diverse as the various populations in Africa. Much of African music is centered around the drum, and the music is “polyrhythmic” which means it consists of multiple rhythms in one song. Much like their music with many rhythms, Africa is a continent of many languages. Very few countries in Africa use one single language. Some of the most languages are Arabic, Swahili and Hausa. Some Africans also speak English, Spanish, French, and Dutch.

Africa consists of many different countries. Click on the links along the side to learn more about Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya and Morocco!

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