Malinga ndi Baibulo lina, mawu akuti "Africa" amachokera ku dzina la Berber fuko Afrigia, amene ankakhala kumpoto kwa Africa Africa, panalinso chigawo Roma wa Africa. Chigawo cha Roma cha Africa chinakhazikitsidwa ndi Roma mu 146 BC. e. pamalo a dziko la Carthaginian, lomwe linali kumpoto chakumadzulo kwa Tunisia yamakono. Munthawi ya Ufumu, Africa inali ya zigawo za senatori ndipo inkalamulidwa ndi bwanamkubwa. Nyengo ya Ufumuyo imadziwika ndi kutukuka kwa dongosolo lamatawuni. Mizinda inalandira ufulu wa makoloni ndi matauni. Anthu amene ankalamulira m’mizindayi anali atsamunda achiroma komanso anthu apamwamba a m’derali. Mwachikhalidwe, panthawi ya Ufumu, chigawo cha Africa chinali ndi gawo lalikulu. Komabe, anthu a m’madera akumidzi sankadziwa Chilatini komanso chikhalidwe cha Aroma. M'zaka za 4-5. linakhala chigawo cha zipolowe zazikulu za akapolo ndi mizati, zimene zinafooketsa kwambiri Ufumu wa Roma ndi kusonkhezera kugwa kwake. Mu 5 c. Owononga adakhazikika ku Africa. Mu 6th c. Mfumu ya Byzantium Justinian anatha kubweza mzere wa m'mphepete mwa nyanja, koma mphamvu ya Byzantium inali yofooka. M'zaka za zana la 7 Chigawo cha Africa chinagonjetsedwa ndi Arabu.
Kumpoto kwa Africa, kumbuyoko mu 1st Millennium BC. e. panali mayiko angapo odziyimira pawokha: Carthage, yomwe idakhazikitsidwa ndi anthu ochokera ku Foinike, omwe amalankhula chilankhulo cha Semitic pafupi ndi Chihebri, Mauritania ndi Numidia, chopangidwa ndi a Libyans. Kutsatira kugonjetsedwa kwa Carthage ndi Aroma mu 146 BC. e. maiko awa, pambuyo pa kumenyana kouma khosi, anakhala chuma cha Aroma. Zaka mazana angapo isanafike nyengo yatsopano, chitukuko cha gulu lamagulu chinayamba kudera la Ethiopia yamakono. Limodzi mwa maiko omwe adayamba pano – Aksum – adafika pachimake m'zaka za zana la 4 BC. n. e., pamene katundu wake kumadzulo anafika ku dziko la Meroe mu Nile Valley, ndi kum'mawa – "Arabia Wodala" (Yemen yamakono). Mu II Zakachikwi ndi. e. mayiko amphamvu atukuka ku Western Sudan (Ghana, Mali, Songhai ndi Bornu); kenako, mayiko anapangidwa pa gombe Guinea (Ashanti, Dahomey, Congo, etc.), kumadzulo kwa Nyanja Chad (zigawo za anthu Hausa) ndi m'madera ena ambiri a ku Africa.
Zilankhulo za anthu aku Tropical Africa, okhala kumwera kwa banja la Semitic-Hamitic, nthawi zambiri zimaphatikizidwa m'mabanja awiri: Niger (Congo) – Kordofan ndi Nilo-Saharan. Gulu la Niger-Kordofani likuphatikizapo gulu la Niger-Congo – magulu ochuluka kwambiri komanso ogwirizanitsa: West Atlantic, Mande, Volts, Kwa, Benue-Congo ndi Adamawa-Eastern. Anthu a kumadzulo kwa Atlantic akuphatikizapo anthu ambiri a Fulbe omwe amakhala m'magulu osiyana pafupifupi mayiko onse a Kumadzulo ndi Pakati pa Sudan, Wolof ndi Serep (Senegal), ndi ena. ), anthu a Volta (moy, loby, bobo, Senufo, etc.) – ku Burkina Faso, Ghana ndi mayiko ena. Anthu a Kwa Kwa amaphatikizapo anthu aakulu a m’mphepete mwa nyanja ya Guinea monga Ayoruba ndi Ibo (Nigeria), Akan (Ghana) ndi Ewe (Benin ndi Togo); kufupi ndi Aewe kuli makulitsidwe, amene amakhala kummwera ndipo nthaŵi zina amatchedwa Dahomeans; malo akutali amakhala ndi anthu omwe amalankhula zilankhulo (kapena zilankhulo) za Kru. Awa ndi Bakwe, Grebo, Krahn ndi anthu ena okhala ku Liberia ndi Ivory Coast (Ivory Coast). Gulu laling'ono la Benue-Congo limapangidwa ndi anthu ambiri, omwe poyamba ankadziwika kuti ndi banja lapadera la Bantu ndi gulu la Eastern Bantu. Anthu a Bantu, omwe ali ofanana m'zilankhulo ndi zikhalidwe, amakhala m'maiko a Central ndi Eastern ndi Southern Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo (omwe kale anali Zaire), Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, etc.). Bantu amagawidwa ndi akatswiri a zinenero m'magulu 15: 1st – duala, lupdu, fang, etc.; 2 -teke, mpongwe, kele; 3 – bangi, pgala, mongo, tetelya; 4 – Rwanda, rundi; 5 – ganda, luhya, kikuyu, kamba; 6th-nyamwezi, nyatura; 7 – Swahili, togo, hehe; 8 – Kongo, ambundu; 9th-chokwe, luena; 10-luba; 11th-bemba, fipa, tonga; 12 – Malawi 13th – Yao, Makonde, Makua; 14 – ovimbundu, ambo, herero; 15 – Shona, Suto, Zulu, Spit, Swazi, etc.
Zilankhulo za Bantu zimalankhulidwanso ndi magulu a Pygmies a ku Congo Basin (Efe, Basu A, Bambuti, etc.), omwe nthawi zambiri amadziwika kuti ndi anthu osiyana. Pakati pa anthu a kum'maŵa ndi pakati pa Bantus, chinenero cha Chiswahili, chomwe chakhudzidwa kwambiri ndi Chiarabu, chafala kwambiri m'zaka zaposachedwapa, chiwerengero cha anthu omwe amachilankhula ndi 60 miliyoni (anthu a Chiswahili amakwana 1.9 miliyoni). Adamaua, gulu lakummawa, akuphatikizapo Azande, Cham-Ba, Banda, ndi ena okhala ku Central ndi Eastern Sudan.
Gulu la Kordofan, lomwe ndi laling'ono komanso laling'ono m'gawo lomwe limakhala, likuphatikizapo anthu a Koalib, Tumtum, Tegali, Talodi ndi Katla (Republic of Sudan).
Banja la Nilo-Saharan likuimiridwa ndi magulu: Songhai, Sahara, Shari-Nile, komanso mitundu iwiri yosiyana zinenero Maba ndi For (Fur). The Songhai ikuphatikizapo Songhai yoyenera, komanso Djerma ndi Dandy, omwe amakhala m'mphepete mwa nyanja ya Niger; ku gulu la Sahara – kanuri, tuba (tibbu) ndi zagava, okhala m'mphepete mwa nyanja ya Chad ndi Central Sahara. Gulu lofunika kwambiri la Shari-Nil m'banjali limaphatikizapo anthu a Kum'mawa kwa Sudan (Dinka, Puer, Luo, Bari, Lotuko, Masai, Nuba, kapena Nubians, etc.), omwe poyamba adaphatikizidwa m'banja lodziimira la Nilotic; Anthu aku Central Sudanese (Bagirmi, Morumadi), Berta ndi Kunama. Anthu a gulu limeneli amakhala kumpoto kwa Zaire ndi kum’mwera kwa Sudan. Zilankhulo za Morumadi zimalankhulidwa ndi mafuko a Pygmy (Efe, Basua, etc.).