ABSTRACT
AFRICA, when seen in perspective, was a full partner in the development of the Old World, participating in a continual process of cultural give-and-take that began long before European occupation. Neither isolation nor stagnation tell the tale. It is as incorrect to think of Africa as having been for centuries isolated from the rest of the world as it is to regard the vast area south of the Sahara as "darkest Africa," whose peoples slumbered on until awakened by the coming of the dynamic civilizations of Europe. The only area of the world that had no contact with the others during most of the existence of man on earth was the Americas.
