2500 BC to 1399

Early farmers and traders

Between about 2500 and 1400 BC, villages of the Kintampo culture farm and keep livestock in central Ghana. Much later, towns such as Begho, on the edge of the forest, trade gold and kola nuts north to Mande merchants of the Niger bend. In the north, the kingdoms of Mamprusi and Dagbon take shape around the fifteenth century, founded by horsemen who rule over local farmers.