The Middle of the Earth, one of the twelve divisions of the globe, encompasses Africa down to its subcontinent, the lands and seas of the Mediterranean Basin and the Red Sea, the Canary Islands, and the Cape Verde Islands.

The northwestern boundary extends from south-central Germany along the Swiss border, encompassing all Swiss cities except Basel. It then separates southern France from northern France, continues through Spain, and divides Portugal at Setúbal, marking a north-south division within both countries. The boundary then extends into the Atlantic Ocean, where it distinguishes Madeira (a Portuguese territory) from the Canary Islands (ruled by Spain).

The northeastern boundary separates Alpine Austria from the rest of the country, then moves through the Balkans, roughly following the borders between:

• Hungary and Slovenia,
• Serbia and Croatia,
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo,
• Bulgaria and North Macedonia,
• Turkey-in-Europe and Greece.

From there, the line continues through western Turkey and Cyprus, dividing Syria and most of Lebanon from Israel and most of Jordan, and marking the separation between western and eastern Arabia.

The southeastern boundary follows the historic division between North and South Yemen, then extends through eastern Africa, delineating Mozambique from Zambia.

HistoryAtlas contains 18,610 entries for the Middle of The Earth from the Paleolithic period to 1899.

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The Moderns are taller, more slender, and less muscular than the Neanderthals, with whom they share—perhaps uneasily—the Earth.

Though their brains are smaller in overall size, they are heavier in the forebrain, a difference that may allow for more abstract thought and the development of complex speech.

Yet, the inner world of the Neanderthals remains a mystery—no one knows the depths of their thoughts or how they truly expressed them.

Modern humans learn to modulate voice into audible oral speech in the period beginning around 70,000 BCE; this is a development apparently not accomplished by other archaic hominids and one peculiar to our species.

Some also learn at this time to count beyond “one, two, and many.”

West Africa (49,293 – 28,578 BCE): Sahelian Frontiers and Coastal Corridors

Geographic and Environmental Context

West Africa spans the Atlantic coast from modern Senegal southward to Sierra Leone and inland through the Sahel–savanna belt of Mali, Burkina Faso, and northern Ghana.

• During this interval, global sea levels were ~60–90 m lower, pushing the shoreline far west and exposing broad coastal plains and submerged river valleys (palaeo-Senegal, Gambia).

• Inland, a Sahelian steppe–savanna mosaic prevailed north of a denser Guinean woodland strip along the wetter southern margins.

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Climate and Environmental Shifts

• Dansgaard–Oeschger warming pulses and intervening Heinrich cooling events drove large swings in rainfall.

• During wetter interstadials, the monsoon belt pushed north, expanding grasslands and wooded savanna into what is now hyper-arid Sahel; rivers carried larger flows.

• Cool–dry phases contracted woodlands, reduced lake extents, and fragmented river corridors, concentrating resources in riparian zones and high-rainfall coastal belts.

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Subsistence and Settlement

• Coastal zones: shellfish, fish, and turtle foraging complemented hunting of antelope, suids, and small game in adjacent coastal woodlands.

• Inland river corridors: seasonal camps focused on fishing, waterfowl trapping, and pursuit of large grazers like kob and hartebeest.

• In dry pulses, mobility increased, linking permanent-water refuges across the Sahel margin.

• Plant gathering emphasized tubers, wild legumes, and seasonal fruits in wetter phases.

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Technology and Material Culture

• Predominantly Middle Stone Age-derived industries with gradual microlithisation in some regions.

• Quartzite, chert, and quartz microlithic points, backed blades, and scrapers served in both projectile and cutting functions.

• Bone tools (points, gorges) for fishing likely present but rarely preserved.

• Personal ornaments from shell and ochre use show symbolic and possibly social-network functions.

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Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Coastal corridor linked West Africa to the Gulf of Guinea littoral, supporting genetic and cultural exchange.

• Sahel–Niger Bend route tied inland savannas to West-Central African forest fringes.

• Seasonal movements mirrored shifting monsoon boundaries, with wet-phase expansions into grassland hunting territories.

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Cultural and Symbolic Expressions

• Ochre fragments at some sites indicate continued use in body decoration or hide processing.

• Aggregation at river mouths and larger waterholes during wet years may have reinforced alliances and shared knowledge.

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Environmental Adaptation and Resilience

• Flexible switching between coastal–inland foraging systems buffered against climatic volatility.

• Knowledge of ephemeral water sources and seasonal fruiting cycles was critical in dry phases.

• Broad-spectrum diets mitigated the risk of over-reliance on any one resource.

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Transition Toward the Last Glacial Maximum

By 28,578 BCE, West Africa’s human groups had navigated a period of repeated climatic whiplash, maintaining population continuity through mobility, ecotone exploitation, and long-range social ties — strategies that would serve them well as conditions trended toward the harsher aridity of the Last Glacial Maximum.

West Africa (49,293 – 28,578 BCE) Upper Pleistocene I — Foragers of River Valleys and Green Sahara Corridors

Geographic and Environmental Context

The Atlantic and inland belt from Senegal and Mauritania east through Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria (western and central), plus the forest–savanna margins of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

Anchors: Senegal–Gambia valleys, Inland Niger Bend and Inland Delta (Timbuktu, Mopti, Gao), Middle Niger–Kainji basin, Jos Plateau, Hausaland (Kano, Katsina, Zaria), Upper Volta basin, Gold Coast forest margins, Futa Jallon highlands, Dahomey Gap.

• LGM: Sahara hyper-arid; Lake Chad contracted.

• Sahel savanna narrowed to thin strip.

• Niger–Senegal–Volta valleys shrank but retained perennial water.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Cooler, drier; dust storms frequent.

• Seasonal streams ephemeral; only major rivers provided continuity.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Foragers along Senegal–Gambia and Niger hunted antelope, aurochs, and hippo.

• Fishing supplemented lean seasons.

• Futa Jallon uplands provided refugia with springs.

Technology & Material Culture

• Core–flake tools, quartz microliths.

• Shell and bone ornaments.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Senegal–Niger corridor carried movement between coastal and inland refugia.

• Green Sahara corridors limited but provided episodic exchange.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Ochre use and body ornamentation.

• Rock shelters in Mali/Senegal show symbolic traces.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Mobility between rivers and upland refugia buffered aridity.

Transition

By 28,578 BCE, West African foragers had stabilized around perennial river corridors.

Cultural features associated with modern humans, such as careful burial of the dead, the production of art in the form of elaborate cave decoration, and the decoration of objects of everyday use, date from this period.

Between 100,000 and 38,000 BCE, African cultures have adapted to desert, savanna, and forest environments, with distinctive toolkits for each.

Hunting, fishing, and gathering remain the basic way of life, but Africans employ a wider range of strategies in exploiting different environments.

West Africa (28,577 – 7,822 BCE) Upper Pleistocene II — Deglaciation, Mega-Lakes, and Savanna Expansion

Geographic and Environmental Context

The Atlantic and inland belt from Senegal and Mauritania east through Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria (western and central), plus the forest–savanna margins of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

Anchors: Senegal–Gambia valleys, Inland Niger Bend and Inland Delta (Timbuktu, Mopti, Gao), Middle Niger–Kainji basin, Jos Plateau, Hausaland (Kano, Katsina, Zaria), Upper Volta basin, Gold Coast forest margins, Futa Jallon highlands, Dahomey Gap.

• Deglaciation brought wetter pulses; Lake Chad expanded.

• Niger Inland Delta broadened; Senegal estuaries lengthened.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Bølling–Allerød (14.7–12.9 ka): wet pulse, savannas expanded.

• Younger Dryas (12.9–11.7 ka): drought shrank rivers.

• Early Holocene: African Humid Period onset.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Foragers exploited mega-lake fisheries; hippo, crocodile, mollusks abundant.

• Hunting on open savannas intensified.

• Semi-sedentary lake camps formed.

Technology & Material Culture

• Barbed bone harpoons (Niger, Chad); microliths.

• Baked clay figurines (earliest Jōmon–Nok parallels).

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Lake Chad overflow connected Niger–Nile.

• Niger Valley provided cultural trunk.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Ritual deposits in middens; figurines mark symbolic systems.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Broad-spectrum foraging buffered climatic swings.

Transition

By 7,822 BCE, semi-sedentary foragers flourished in wetland savannas.

 

Regional Variability in the Emergence of the Neolithic

The Neolithic period was marked by the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farming and permanent settlements, but these developments did not occur simultaneously or in the same order across different regions. Instead, the characteristic elements of the Neolithic—agriculture, animal domestication, pottery, and permanent settlements—emerged at different times and in different sequences around the world.

Divergent Paths to Agriculture and Settlement

• In the Near East, where some of the earliest farming societies developed, pottery was not initially used. Early Neolithic communities practiced cultivation and animal domestication while continuing to rely on stone tools and basketry for food storage.
• In Britain, the extent to which plant domestication played a role in the earliest Neolithic remains uncertain. It is also unclear whether permanently settled communities had fully developed in the initial stages or whether mobility remained a key aspect of life.

Independent Neolithic Developments Beyond Europe and Southwest Asia

While the Near East and Europe were among the first regions to develop agriculture-based societies, other parts of the world experienced independent Neolithic transitions, each following distinct cultural and technological trajectories:

• In Africa, early agricultural systems arose in multiple regions, including the Sahel, the Nile Valley, and Ethiopia, where sorghum and millet were cultivated.
• In South Asia, the Mehrgarh culture (c. 7000 BCE) in present-day Pakistan is one of the earliest known farming communities, practicing wheat and barley cultivation and early forms of cattle domestication.
• In Southeast Asia, rice cultivation developed independently, leading to the formation of distinct Neolithic cultures that spread across the region.

Early Pottery Without Agriculture: The Case of Japan

A striking example of cultural variation in Neolithic development is found in Japan, where early societies produced pottery before adopting agriculture. The Jōmon culture (c. 14,000–300 BCE) crafted some of the earliest known ceramics, used primarily for cooking and storage, long before transitioning to farming practices.

Conclusion: A Complex and Varied Neolithic Transition

The Neolithic transition was not a single, uniform process but rather a series of regionally distinct developments. Some societies adopted agriculture before pottery, while others developed ceramic traditions long before farming. Understanding these regional variations provides deeper insight into the diverse pathways that led to the rise of complex societies across the world.

West Africa (7,821 – 6,094 BCE) Early Holocene — Wet-Phase Abundance and Proto-Horticulture

Geographic and Environmental Context

The Atlantic and inland belt from Senegal and Mauritania east through Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria (western and central), plus the forest–savanna margins of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

Anchors: Senegal–Gambia valleys, Inland Niger Bend and Inland Delta (Timbuktu, Mopti, Gao), Middle Niger–Kainji basin, Jos Plateau, Hausaland (Kano, Katsina, Zaria), Upper Volta basin, Gold Coast forest margins, Futa Jallon highlands, Dahomey Gap.

• African Humid Period peak; Sahara green with savannas and lakes.

• Niger Inland Delta vast; Senegal–Volta valleys lush.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Monsoons strong; rainfall abundant.

• Lakes and rivers at highstand.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Foragers became semi-sedentary fishers–hunters.

• Early tending of wild millet, sorghum, fonio in Sahel/Upper Volta.

• Oil palm exploited in forest–savanna margins.

Technology & Material Culture

• Polished stone axes; ground slabs; first widespread pottery (~9000–7000 BCE).

• Net weights, fish traps.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Savanna corridors connected Senegal–Niger–Lake Chad.

• Early exchanges in beads, shells.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• Rock art in central Sahara shows cattle/wildlife.

• Burials at river sites with ochre, ornaments.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Dual resource use (crops + fish) stabilized communities.

Transition

By 6,094 BCE, proto-horticulture was underway alongside abundant foraging.