Characteristics:

• Constructed of granite slabs.
• Oldest monumental stone structure south of the Sahara 1000-520 B.P (1000-1480AD).
• Consists of a series of walls and towers.
• Massive stone masonry, without mortar.

Characteristics:

• Mud architecture with buttresses and parapets called toron
• Found throughout the Mande world, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast.
• Date from 1700-100 B.P (1300-1900 A.D).
• Structures include tombs of religious leaders as well as mosques.
• Structures have minarets that tower above their roofs.

Characteristics:

• Found in Mauritania.
• Architecture made from stone and covered with adobe.
• Houses have two stories, flat roofs and interior courtyards.
• Exterior walls painted with red ochre and doors and windows decorated with curvilinear patterns.
• Interior of rooms painted white with red motifs. 
• Motifs inspired by the Arabic script and referred to as arabesques.
• Painted by Soninke women.