The powerful stories that shaped Africa

There are few areas of African art history that I feel as passionately about as countering the terrible misrepresentation of our pre-colonial story.

Africa was never the isolated, backward continent that some Western histories suggest and that so many continue to believe. The evidence of Africa's cultural sophistication, its diversity and complexity was widely known beyond the continent before the Medieval period. And perhaps more than great buildings, incomparable wealth and exquisite material culture, these were peoples who were also known for beautiful intellectual traditions.

The truly awe-inspiring things that these varied peoples have left behind hint at the accomplishments of these pre-colonial African cultures and suggest that there remain rich streams of this history to for us to consider.

The great Akan and Wolof goldsmith traditions are built on the same seams of yellow Gold mined in the same region that made the Mali Empire unmatched in the region across much of the medieval period. These can seem amongst the collections of the National Museum of African Art's superb Wolof gold pieces.

Henry Louis Gates's brilliant PBS series is a superb tour through this early history, touching upon many of the continent’s most significant cultures.

My forthcoming book describes the rise and fall of Mali Empire and the place that Sundjata and Mansa Muss played in the development of this unrivaled state.