Abstract: Named the Dark Continent by 19th-century European explorers because so little was known about it, Eyewitness Africa brings to life the people and pre-colonial culture of the vast continent that is Africa. Rich color photographs offer a unique "eyewitness" view of the houses, tools, and artifacts of traditional African cultures and civilizations. See the gold of King Kofi-Karikari of the Asante, a priest's costume made of bird's feathers, a traveler's magic charm, the flywhisks and crowns of the Obas of Nigeria, and the incredible distorted masks of the Bamileke of Cameroon. Learn how bronzes were made by the lost wax process, about the journey of a slave from Africa to North America, how elephants were trapped by hunter-gatherers, what life in a compound was like. Discover what warriors and their horses wore into battle, how a thatched house is built, the mysteries of the secret societies, how gourds are carved, and much, much more!