Africa is “cradle of mankind” and these are some of the continent’s oldest tribes

6. Berbers

This northern African tribe is over 10,000 years old. They are currently about 20 to 30 million people spread across Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, northern Mali, Tunisia, northern Niger, part of western Egypt and Libya.

The Berbers are believed to be descendants of the pre-Arabs that occupied North Africa and they call themselves Amazigh. They have existed in the region from the inception of its recorded history.

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In Greek and roman history, the Berbers were the only representation of Africa in history referred to as Libyans. It was the Romans that named them babarus, the Latin word for barbarians. Today the Berbers are imbibed with the various cultures of their invaders.  They speak different Berber languages and Maghrebi Arabic dialects.