Bell Ringer:
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Bell Ringer: Explain this passage: “Until the lions have their historians, tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter” What is the African proverb conveying? 8 Classical Era Variations: Africa and the Americas 500 BCE - 1200 CE ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Continent of Africa Early Africa Few written records of early African people Historians learn about early African people through oral traditions = legends & history passed by word of mouth through generations We also learn about them through art and artifacts that have been left behind Geography & Environment African continent is 3 times larger than the U.S. Contains deserts, mountains, grasslands, river valleys, rainforests, etc. 5 regions (N, S, E, W, and Central) Geography & Environment Sahara Desert in the north = the world’s largest desert Another major desert = the Kalahari in the south Geography & Environment South of the Sahara lies a great plateau = high, flat area = called the Sahel Sahel = covered by savannas = treeless grasslands Geography & Environment Major highlands and mountains in eastern Africa Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya Tropical rainforests in central Africa Geography & Environment Geography & Environment As a result of Africa’s size and environmental variations, many separate societies, cultures, and civilizations grew throughout Africa Africa’s Climate Africa is one of the most tropical continents in the world As a result of this tropical climate: 1) Poorer and less fertile soil = less productive agriculture than in Eurasia 2) Many disease-carrying insects and parasites = long-term health problems Africa’s Proximity to Others Close to Eurasia and Arabia This facilitated trade, interaction, and cultural diffusion Stop! Hammer Time How does Africa’s geography, climate, and environment have an impact on the civilizations? How do you think this will impact the development of civilizations on this continent? Africa in the Classical Era The Emergence of Civilization The Land 5,000 miles long Sahara is the great divide Kush Agriculture may have first appeared in Nubia rather than the lower Nile valley Perhaps the site of the first true African kingdom Nubia became an Egyptian tributary Disintegration of the Egyptian New Kingdom (end of second millennium B.C.E.) resulted in the independent state of Kush • Kush became a major trading state • Little known about the society of Kush • Seems to have been widespread material prosperity ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Ancient Ethiopia and Nubia Nubian Civilization Rural Areas Herders & farmers Rain-based agriculture Nubian Civilization Fell apart in the centuries following 100 CE due to: - Deforestation - Conquest by the neighboring state of Axum Axum, Son of Saba Conquered Kush in first millennium C.E. Axum founded as a colony of the kingdom of Saba (Sheba) in first millennium B.C.E. Saba a trading state, goods from South Asia to the Mediterranean Axum continued the trade after Saba declined Location on trade routes responsible for prosperity Competed for control of ivory trade Followed Egyptian Christianity (Coptic) Would be renamed Ethiopia Called the “hermit kingdom” by Europeans Axum Decline Started to decline in the 600s CE due to: Soil exhaustion and erosion Deforestation Rise and spread of Islam The Sahara and Its Environs From 8000 to 4000 B.C.E. a warm, humid climate that created lakes, ponds, grasslands, and game Desiccation began in 6th and 5th millennium B.C.E. After 3000 B.C.E. and farming spread to the savannas to the south; Berbers were intermediaries Carthage became focal point of trans-Saharan trade Ironworking by the people along the Niger River in the middle of the first millennium B.C.E., Nok culture East and Southern Africa Bantu language group Introduced cultivation of crops and ironworking The Bantu settled into rural communities Commercial trade Egyptians may have arrived looking for trade goods Rhapta a commercial metropolis Trade across the Indian Ocean Khoisan language group ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Ancient Africa Bantu Migrations Bantu Migrations People left West Africa for less populated areas Settled all across southern and western Africa Called the Bantu Migrations because descendants of the people that migrated shared elements of a language known as Bantu These people brought their culture & knowledge as they migrated Bantu languages became dominant south of the Sahara Bantu Migrations Bantu people were able to displace, absorb, or eliminate hunter-gatherers they encountered due to: 1) Agriculture - they had a productive economy and could sustain a larger number of people in a small area 2) Iron -- used it to make tools and weapons 3) Disease -- they brought infectious diseases (like malaria) with them Bantu Africa Bantu-speaking people became divided into hundred of ethnic groups Bantu Religion Bantu people focused on ancestral and nature spirits Power of dead ancestors accessed through sacrifice rituals Charms also used -- could be activated to control the rains, defend the village, achieve success in hunting, etc. Bantu Religion Diviners = could connect to the supernatural world Used dreams, visions, charms, or trances to identify the source of misfortune and to prescribe remedies Divination Horn Bantu Arts Sculpture was an important art form Masks worn at dances & ceremonies -symbolized link between living & dead Music was importantchoral singing, dances for ceremonies Major effect of Bantu Migration Diffusion Africa. of iron metallurgy in Sub-Saharan. The Coming of Islam African Religious Beliefs before Islam Common beliefs • Single creator god • Sometimes accompanied by a pantheon of lesser gods • Most believed in an afterlife in which ancestral souls floated in the atmosphere through eternity • Closely connected to importance of ancestors and lineage • Rituals very important Challenge by Islam but not always replaced; synthesized The Coming of Islam (cont.’d) North Africa Arab forces seized the Nile delta of Egypt in 641 New capital at Cairo Arabs welcome due to high taxes and periodic persecution of Coptic Christians by Byzantines Arabs seize Carthage in 690, called Al Maghrib Berbers resisted for many years The Kingdom of Ethiopia: A Christian Island in a Muslim Sea Axum began to decline Shift in trade routes and overexploited agriculture Muslim trading states on the African coast of the Red Sea transforming Axum into an isolated agricultural society • Source of ivory, resins, and slaves Attacked by Muslim state of Adal in early 14th century Became a Christian state in mid-twelfth century East Africa: The Land of Zanj Legend says a Persian and his six sons founded the trading centers on the coast of East Africa Self-governing city-states Trade with the interior Trade with the Indian Ocean, China, and along the coast Mixed African-Arab culture Mixed culture and language called Swahili Conversion to Islam grows ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Emergence of States in Africa The States of West Africa Expansion of Islam has impact on political system Introduction of Arabic for a writing system Ghana Majority of people were farmers Primary reason for Ghana’s growth was gold Trans-Saharan trade with Ghana becomes very important Divine right monarchy assisted by hereditary aristocracy Kings did not convert to Islam, but many of their subjects did Mali Ruinous wars by the twelfth century in Ghana • New states of Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausa states Greatest state was Mali • Gold trade • Farming in the savanna region • Mansa Musa (1312-1337), king, encouraged Islam • Timbuktu becomes center of trade, religion and learning ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Trans-Saharan Trade Routes States and Stateless Societies in Southern Africa From the basin of the Congo River to the Cape of Good Hope Stateless society Progress made with regional trade Zimbabwe (sacred house) Capital known as Great Zimbabwe Benefited from trade between interior and coast Evidence of great wealth, but Great Zimbabwe abandoned The Khoi and the San (Bushman) people African Society African Society Urban life Village Life Role of women Slavery African Culture Painting and Sculpture Music and Dance Often served religious purposes Wide variety of instruments Integration of voice and instrument Music produced for social rituals and educational purposes Architecture Rock paintings, wood carving, pottery, metalwork Pyramid Stone pillars Stone buildings Sometimes reflected Moorish styles Literature Written works did not exist in the early traditional period Professional storytellers, bards Importance of women in passing down oral traditions Discussion Questions How is Axum a “bridge” between East African society and the culture of Southern Arabia? What is the history of the geography and climate of the Sahara? How is the Sahara both a barrier and a highway in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa? How are the East African states and the West African states alike? How are they different?
