Culture Upemba

The Upemba culture is the name by which an ancient African culture is known of some peoples who would have established themselves in the depression of the Upemba - a depressed region in the upper basin of the Congo river formed by lakes and marshy areas - and that in turn would form the State Luba. The region was already occupied by humans in the 5th century BC, as witnessed by the archaeological remains that have been found.

The inhabitants of the Upemba culture built palafitos since the 6th century and already knew the metals, in particular the iron, which is explained by the contact that they could maintain with other cultures. Their culture was improved by trade (especially palm oil and dried fish), and by the tenth century they were farmers and traders. Their trade routes reached the Indian Ocean where they exported salt and iron products and where glass and spices were taken. The need to store water for the dry season encouraged them to build dikes to conserve the water from overflowing rivers.

On the formation of the Luba State there is no certainty, since myths overlap history, but in no case would it be prior to the fifteenth century.

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