Ancient history According to Professor of
IFAN and the
Senghor University in Alexandria,
Egypt, early humans appeared in Senegal around 350,000 years ago. Benga and Thiam posit that, it is in the
Falémé valley in the southeast of the country where we find the oldest traces of human life. In Senegambian
Neolithic history, the period when humans became hunters, fishermen and producers (farmers and artisans) is well represented and studied. This is when more elaborate objects and
ceramics emerged, testifying to various human activities. The Diakité excavation in
Thiès shows evidence of human mobility over a distance of about 600 km, during the Senegambian Neolithic age. Dagan however proposed the
Upper Paleolithic Era. This culture was named after Thiès, the region it is in. (Wassu) The
Senegambian stone circles are also located in this zone. Numerous tumuli, burial mounds, some of which have been excavated, revealed materials that date between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD. According to
UNESCO : "Together the stone circles of laterite pillars and their associated burial mounds present a vast sacred landscape created over more than 1,500 years. It reflects a prosperous, highly organized and lasting society."
Medieval period During the medieval period of Europe which corresponds roughly to the Golden Age of West Africa, several great empires and kingdoms sprang out from the Senegambia region, including but not limited to the great
Ghana Empire, the
Mali Empire, the
Songhai Empire, the
Jolof Empire, the
Kaabu Empire, the Kingdoms of
Sine,
Saloum,
Baol,
Waalo and
Takrur. During this period, several great dynasties rose and fell, and some, such as the
Guelowar Dynasty of Sine and Saloum, survived for more than 600 years despite European colonialism, which fell as recently as 1969, nine years after Senegal gained its independence from France. It was also out of this region that the ancient
lamanic class sprang. The ancient lamanes were the landowning class and kings. According to Barry, the "lamanic system is the oldest form of land ownership in precolonial Senegambia."
Early modern and modern From the 15th century, the region became a focus of Franco-British-Portuguese rivalry. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in the region in the 1450s. Until the 16th century, they held a monopoly on trade. In 1677, the French took the island of
Gorée, and in 1681 they took control of
Albreda on the Gambia River. This started a rivalry with the English, and in 1692 they briefly confiscated Gorée and
Saint-Louis. In 1758, during the
Seven Years' War, Gorée was captured by the British, who held it until 1763. In 1765, the British formed the Senegambia Province. In 1778, during the
American War of Independence, the French went on the offensive, and razed James Island in the River Gambia. In 1783, the Treaty of Versailles recognised British claims to The Gambia and French claims to Saint-Louis and Gorée, dissolving the Senegambia Province. Even before Columbus discovered the
New World in October 1492, an increase in the number of slaves from the region arriving in the
Iberian Peninsula was noted in the 15th century. ==Culture==