Africa: Difference between revisions

'''Africa''' is a continent on [[Earth]], and is the second-largest continent after [[Wikipedia:Asia|Asia]]. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 mi²) including adjacent islands, it covers around 6.0% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area. The continent is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Africa, particularly central eastern Africa, is widely regarded [within the scientific community] to be the origin of [[human]]s and the [[Wikipedia:Hominidae|Hominidae family]] (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their possible ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago – including ''[[Wikipedia:Sahelanthropus|Sahelanthropus tchadensis]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Australopithecus africanus|Australopithecus africanus]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Australopithecus afarensis|Australopithecus afarensis]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Homo erectus|Homo erectus]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Homo erectus|Homo habilis]]'' and ''[[Wikipedia:Homo erectus|Homo ergaster]]'' – with among the latest being ''[[Human|Homo sapiens]]'' found in Ethiopia being dated to ca. 200,000 years ago. <ref>http://web.utah.edu/unews/releases/05/feb/homosapiens.html</ref>

Africa has always played a key role in human history, being the likely birthplace of humanity as a species. Periodical waves of outward migration resulted in the spread of several species to more distant parts of the world, including the earliest known migrations of Homo erectus, and several later migrations of [[Human|Homo sapiens]]. By the time humanity first settled other worlds beyond Earth, however, it was not even known with certainly that Earth was humanity's planet of origin, let alone Africa the respective continent from whence it emerged. Following the conclusion of the [[Human-Forerunner Wars]], the humans that were permitted to live on were taken to Earth and were given over to the care of [[lifeworkers]] for observation and study. The [[Librarian]] herself gave many humans [[geas]] at that time. In Africa, one exceptionally large city eventually arose called [[Marontik]]. When the [[Didact]] chose to go into exile, it was Africa that became the resting place of his cryptum. Geas that his wife had seeded in humans previously led to two humans waking him when the time was right. As the last years of the [[Forerunner-Flood War]] waned, the [[Conservation Measure]] saw species from all across the globe collected for future preservation, in one way or another. It was from Africa that the [[Librarian]] oversaw her efforts on Earth, and it was there she remained even up unto the point where [[star roads]] and[[the Flood]] entered the [[Sol system]]. Her last act was to set the construction of [[the Portal]] in East Africa into motion. It would go on to be completed after the firing of the [[Halo Array]], but even after humans were returned once more to the planet, it lay dormant, eventually being covered by the Earth as the years went on.