Prior to WWI, what were the countries of Europe competing for?

Prior to world War I, European countries were occupied with competing for colonial holdings in africa through which they exploited African countries majorly for resources. This was starting to stir up the chanced of war between European countries so they tried to settle it at the Berlin conference, where the African continent was distributed within European countries.

one way archaeology us understand the past is through the material objects it finds, allowing us to know what was being used, and when. for example a dig recently found a flute, believed to be the oldest musical instrument found to date.

i hope this