Library Research Guides: AFR 239: African Civilization to 1700s: Find Primary Sources

Find Primary Sources in SuperSearch

You can find some primary sources through SuperSearch, but don't stop there, or you'll miss a lot of materials that are accessible to you through the library and beyond. SuperSearch does not include materials from several of our historical newspaper databases and other primary source collections.

Try a search in SuperSearch, then use the filters under Refine Results to narrow your search. The Publication Date filter allows you to focus on sources created during a particular time period. You can also filter by Source Type, such as newspaper articles. If you're searching for images, use the filter Non-Print Resources.

Selected Books with Primary Sources

Women Writing Africa Project
This four-volumes series "seeks to document and map the extraordinary and diverse landscape of African women's oral and written literatures." Includes stories, songs, letters, drama, oral history, diaries, and historical documents. In print in Clapp Library: PN849.A3552 W66

Primary Sources

These are just a few of the primary source collections available to you through Wellesley and on the open web. For more ideas, see our Primary Sources guides for History and Literature, or contact me for help finding sources related to your topic!

Internet African History Sourcebook
Direct links to primary source documents, links to sites with more information, articles and discussion, as well as educational websites. Covers ancient history to present.
Center for Africana Studies
University of Pennsylvania. This is a portal to many topics.
African Studies
Another portal of useful links - Columbia University

Artstor This link opens in a new window
Digitized images of art, architecture, and other forms of visual culture from around the world, from museums, archaeology, photo archives, slide collections, and art reference works, dating from B.C.E. to present.

Requires creation of an Artstor account to download images. This account also grants you off-campus access for 60 days. If your account is inactivated or you need to create an account, make sure to use a library link (such as this one) to get to Artstor so that you will be recognized as a Wellesley user.
Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Includes primary source documents, maps, and images, in addition to thousands of articles by scholars in the field. Covers Africa and the African diaspora

Islamic Manuscripts from Mali
32 digitized Malian and West African manuscripts from collections in Timbuktu, Mali, available through the Library of Congress.

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Enormous historical map collection searchable by keyword, geographic area, subject, and time period.
Perry Castañeda Library Map Collection
Over 44,000 map images of the Library's 250,000 map collection have been scanned. From the University of Texas.
Ross Archive of African Images
Mostly focuses on later images, but some pre-1700 objects.
Stanford Maps of Africa
Over 700 maps of Africa from the 15th century to present.
Brooklyn Museum African Art Collection
Over 4000 images online of African Art.
16th-20th Century Maps of Africa
This collection features digital copies of 113 antique maps of Africa and accompanying text dating from the mid-16th Century to the early 20th Century. From Northwestern University Libraries.

African Language Materials Archive
Includes audio, video, music, newspapers, plays, poetry, storytelling, teaching materials, and other documents in more than 20 African languages.
African Language Resources on the Internet
An extensive list of links compiled by Columbia University Libraries.

HistoryMakers Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The HistoryMakers is a growing collection of over 3,000 interviews of African American first person video oral history. By recording the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans, The HistoryMakers seeks to preserve and elevate the cultural equity of the African American community.