History of West Africa more states. Early human settlers arrived in West Africa around 12,000 BCE. In the fifth millennium, as the ancestors of modern West Africans began entering the area, the development of sedentary farming began to take place in West Africa. The Iron industry, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons, appeared in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BCE, and by 400 BCE, contact had been made with the Mediterranean civilizations, and a regular trade included exporting gold, cotton, metal, and leather in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, and beads. Culture developed further with the Nok culture (1000 BCE to
History of Africa is no longer widely accepted. Metalworking in West Africa has been dated as early as 2,500 BC at Egaro west of the Termit in Niger, and iron working was practiced there by 1,500 BC. In Central Africa, there is evidence that iron working may have been practiced as early as the 3rd millennium BC. Iron smelting was developed in the area between Lake Chad and the African Great Lakes between 1,000 and 600 BC, long before it reached Egypt. Before 500 BC, the Nok culture in the Jos Plateau was already smelting iron. The ancient history of North Africa is