Archaeologists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have uncovered a major Iron Age settlement in the Ubangi River Basin, featuring thousands of unique terracotta figurines and advanced iron-smelting furnaces. Dating back to 500 BCE, the site shows evidence of a high-density urban center that was part of a previously unknown regional trade network dealing in ivory, iron tools, and pottery.
The discovery is forcing a re-evaluation of the 'Bantu Expansion' timeline, suggesting that indigenous forest-based civilizations developed complex urban societies much earlier than the arrival of western agriculturalists. The artistic style of the terracotta finds, characterized by detailed facial scarification patterns, points to a rich and sophisticated symbolic culture that flourished in Central Africa for centuries.