Western African culture is very diverse and interconnected, dozens of Indigenous tribes inhabited the land on undefined borders. It is very difficult to know the history of just a single country since modern borders were placed without regard to where Indigenous people lived.

Human settlers first arrived in Western Africa around 12 000 B.C.E. The Pygmies are thought to be the first to begin settling the region and they began developing forms of agriculture, as well as making contact with Mediterranean civilizations in the north. Modern sedentary farming was developed sometime around 5 000 B.C.E., and they also began domesticating cattle at this time.[6]

By 400 B.C.E., people living in West Africa had developed iron working technology, allowing for a rapid expansion of agriculture, as a result of this, the first city-states were formed. West Africa further secured its place in the cross-Saharan trade by domesticating camels, using their unique ability to survive in the desert to make contact with tribes across the continent.[6]