It seems certain that all modern humans originated in Africa. Bones have been found in Africa of upright, human-like creatures (australopithicenes) going back at least 4 million years. Evidence of tool-using, complex human societies (sometimes called "Stone Age" societies) can be found going back over 2 million years.
Even as "recently" as 60,000 years ago, there were probably more humans in Africa than anywhere else. As the climate changed and Africa grew hotter, more and more people wandered first into Asia and then into Europe.
Farming started to develop about 10,000 years ago, especially in the fertile regions around the Nile and Euphrates rivers. By about 6,000 years ago, there were farming communities and early cities in Africa, and by 3,000 years ago people were organising themselves into kingdoms. Civilisations
like the mighty Egyptian kingdom flourished, and traded with other important centres like Babylon and Kush (in Sudan.)
You can find more information on early African history at
princetonol.com
