AFRICA
“Birthplace of the Human Race"
Week 1
Location,
Location, Location
How does the supply of resources and demands of society affect the
production, distribution, price, and consumption of goods and services?
The Nile River Valley
• Home to two major civilizations
Egypt and Kush.
• Longest river in Africa and in
the world (4,445 miles)
• Flows north from equator into
Mediterranean Sea through
Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan,
Burundi
• Worshipped as a life-giving
god (Hapi)
• Important to both Egyptians
and Kushites
• 22% runs through Egypt,
creating a fertile green valley
across the desert.
• Usage
– Kushites used it for
cleaning, drinking, bathing,
and irrigating crops
– Egyptians used it for
farming
Overview of Africa
• “Birthplace of the human race"
oldest evidence of human-like creatures and people found in
eastern and southern Africa.
• 2nd largest continent; 3 times the size of the continental United
States
Overview of Africa cont’d
• Rivers: The Nile, Congo or Zaire, Niger, and Zambezi.
Nile valley was the cradle of one of the earliest civilizations
(Ancient Egyptians)
• Oceans: Few natural harbors; The Atlantic Ocean borders
Africa to the west, the Indian Ocean borders the east, and the
Mediterranean borders the north. The Atlantic and Indian
Oceans meet to border the south.
• Landforms: Has many environments ranging from the most
arid of desert wastes to tropical rain forest, savanna, vast
swamps, even snow-capped mountains. Home to the largest
desert in the world, the Sahara. Majestic snow-capped peaks of
Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro are located near the Equator.
• Prime Meridian and Equator: Runs through Africa (vertically &
horizontally, respectively)
Regions of Africa
www.africaaction.org/bp/regmap.htm
 North Africa: mild temperature, coastal plains,
inland deserts
 West Africa: narrow coast, major rivers (most
rivers are not very navigable)
 East Africa: plateau, grasslands
 Central Africa: equator, rainforest, hot, humid
 Southern Africa: highlands, fertile
Contributions of Ancient Africa
Obelisks http://www.crystalinks.com/obelisks.html
Flat Roofed Homes
Pyramids
Mummification
Unique Gods and Goddesses
Written Language
http://www.mrnussbaum.com/egyptiandieties.htm
Systems of Irrigation
Number system including fractions
Papyrus
Hieroglyphics Generator
http://kids.discovery.com/fansites/tutenstei
n/interactive/hierogenerator.html
Week 2
Background:
Early Civilizations of Africa
Kingdom of Kush
3800 BCE to 1400 CE
• Location: Upper Nile River
• Major Export: Iron Weapons and Tools, Ivory, Incense, Gold ,
timber, elephant tusks, ebony, leopard skin, ostrich feathers,
emeralds
• Natural resource: Nile River, Gold Mines
• Industries: Farming, mining, trading, defense (army)
• Agricultural crops: Yams (sweet potatoes), beans, rice,
onions, sorghum, millet, papaya, gourds, cattle, sheep, goats,
poultry, cotton, and peanuts.
• Economic specialization: traders, miners, farmers,
blacksmiths, soldiers
• merchants & kings (wealthy)
• Religion: The same gods and goddesses as ancient
Egypt with a few extra thrown in like the 3-headed
Lion God.
• Clothing: In the beginning, the same as Egypt - white,
loose, cool cotton clothes.
As time went on, the Nubians began dressing more
like the people south of the Sahara, dressing in
colorful cotton
Map of the Kingdom of Kush/Nubia
• Nubian River Civilization: Kush conquered
Nubia. Then Nubia conquered Kush
• Ancestors are called Nubians
• Ruled by Egypt-500 years (1000 B.C. broke from
Egypt)
.
• 724 B.C., King Piankhi invaded Egypt & defeated
the Egyptian army
• Kushite king ruled Kush & Egypt
• Adoptions: temple, monuments & pyramids like Egypt
• 671 B.C., Assyrians (iron swords) invaded Egypt &
defeated the Kushites (bronze weapons)-Kushites left
Egypt
• Kushites learned to use iron
• New capital: Meroë-iron production
• Traded with Mediterranean & Red Sea Regions (wealth)
• Kingdom of Axum (Red Sea trading power) invaded Kush
& ended Kushite domination of Northeast Africa
– Axum traded with Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, & Persia
(Christianity from Rome)
Ancient Egypt
http://egypt.mrdonn.org/index.html
Consider
Major Exports
Natural resources
Industries
Agricultural crops
Economic specialization
People
Religion
Clothing
Map of the Kingdom of Egypt
Earliest people
YOUR TURN
1. Using information from Nystrom Atlas of
World History and the Notable Facts
Record Form, work in pairs to determine
and record notable information regarding
Ancient Africa.
2. Prepare to participate in Each One,
Teach One.
More Landforms
of
Ancient Africa
Plateaus and Escarpments
Makonde Escarpment - Tanzania
http://www.ded-tanzania.de/fglw/newal_pictures.html
These kept people OUT of interior Africa.
Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa
www.corbis.com/Charles O'Rear
http://www.mrdowling.com/611africatoday.html
Mount Kilimanjaro
East African Mountains
THIS is why we see snow at the Equator!
Rivers in Africa
Settlements
developed at the base
of the escarpment and
along river banks.
•Zambezi River- in
southern Africa
•Congo River- in the
Dem. Rep. of the Congo
•Nile River- eastern and
northern Africa
•Niger River- west Africa
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/rivers/River%20Articles/victoriafalls.htm
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
"Hyped up" since 1855 when Dr. David Livingstone first set
eyes on Victoria Falls, today the gentle rumbling still reminds
us that this is one of the finest natural spectacles on earth!
Other issues with rivers?
Flooding in Mozambique
River Transportation
• River Transportation impacted by cataracts
http://www.zamsoc.org/photo_gallery/pages/f_scenery04_jpg.htm
http://www.zamsoc.org/photo_gallery/pages/e_aerial03_jpg.htm
• Port cities developed along fall lines & at
mouth of rivers (deltas)-site & situation
• Few natural harbors in Africa (thin coast)
Settlement in Cities and Towns
•European styles of settlement patterns•Town Square
A town
square
in
Lagos,
Nigeria
http://www.marekinc.com/PhotosHeadllines2003.html
Now look at the
settlement!!
Which are the
top 3 populated
countries?
Nigeria
Egypt
Ethiopia
Climate Patterns
• Africa is the only continent to have the
Equator, Prime Meridian, and BOTH
Tropic Lines to run through it.
A
F
R
I
C
A
N
C
L
I
M
A
T
E
•There are similar climate patterns found at
the north and the south of the continent
EXCEPT that they’re...
reversed and mirrored ---WHY??
Tropical
Rainforest
Desert
Savannah
Mediterranean
Coastal Settlements & Countries
• Many landlocked countries
• Interior of Africa is a PLATEAU
• Africa is a storehouse of mineral wealth:
gold , copper, and diamonds
• Africa can make money by exporting RAW
MATERIALS and then purchasing what they
need by importing MANUFACTURED GOODS.
• Potential for HYDRO-ELECTRIC
power. (p.476)
Note the
disparity of
wealth!!! $ $ $
$
http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/5_2_3wealth.html
HOWEVER...
•Africa has a lack of sustainable
agriculture:
•because of the lack of arable
land & seasonable
rainfall...
•and the problem
of infertile soil.
• There is also an extensive range of
climates: from desert to rainforests
**Arid vs. semi-arid lands**
• Desertification: The Sahara is slowly
spreading southward.
• Finally, there are scarce water
resources: Oasis, wadis,
“water holes”
• Man-made: temporary
water deposits &
reservoirs, wells
QUESTIONS
• How might the physical characteristics of
Africa explain starvation?
• Why was it difficult for explorers to get to
the middle of Africa?
• What are some characteristics of Africa’s
climate?
• Why is there a large population along the
coast in Africa?
• What kinds of resources does Africa have
that help its economic base?
Week 3
African Visual Art and Architecture
• Buildings
• Pottery
• Some early life-size
stone statues come
from Egypt
• Anansi Art-Petroglyphs
(See slideshow)
Buildings
• Kushites lived in rectangular homes made from sun-baked
mud
• Others lived in palm-wood homes
• Wealthy homes were built using fire hardened brick; they
had a courtyard on the eastside to take advantage of the
morning sunlight.
• Herders lived in portable beehive-shaped huts covered with
animal skin or reeds
• Some cities were surrounded by walls and moats and they
had streets, palaces, temples, government buildings, shrines
with fountains, observatories, and baths.
• Rich Kushites built pyramid tombs similar to those of
Egyptians
Religion
• Profess a wide variety of religious beliefs
• Polytheists-People Egypt and Kush worshipped Isis, Osiris, Ra,
and the Amen.
• Monotheists-People in West Africa (Bantu) worshipped a sky
god or sun god
• Around 300 AD African religious belief changed:
North and East Africans converted to monotheistic faith
(Christianity).
St. Augustine, great Christian theologian, from North Africa.
Today
• approximately 46.5% are Christian
• 40.5% are Muslim,
• 11.8% follow indigenous African religions
Music and Dance
• West Africa- blues, jazz, reggae, rap, and
rock and roll have roots in West African
culture
• Modern African music- highly-complex
choral singing of southern Africa; dance
rhythms-Congo music
African Literature
• Folktales (stories, word of mouth)
– legends, fables, jokes, tall stories, and fairy tales; many involve mythical
creatures and magical transformations.
• oral and written
• primarily a tradition of oral artistry, passed on by memorizing, performing
and reciting
– folklore, verbal art, oral literature, or (more recently) orature
• very little written until the 20th century
• purpose of text: entertainment, instruction, and commemoration
• Forms of literature: prose, verse, and proverb
What are African Proverbs?
Expressions of wisdom and keys to
understanding the African ways of life in the past
and in the present.
Example
It takes a village to raise a child. (West Africa)
Some Empires of Africa
• Egyptian Empire (1570 BC – 1070 BC)
http://www.pbs.org/empires/egypt/
• Kushite Empire (760 BC – 656 BC)
http://wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/KUSH.HTM
• Ghana Empire (750 AD - 1076 AD)
http://www.accessgambia.com/information/ghana.ht
ml
Week 4
Location,
Location, Location
How does the supply of
resources and demands
of society affect the
production, distribution,
price, and consumption
of goods and services?
Defend the following
statement in the context
of Ancient Africa:
Location is destiny.