Section 1
Early Africa
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 A variety of societies and cultures emerge in early
Africa
 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D.
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 Oral tradition
 Plateau
 Savanna
 Matrilineal
 Age set
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 Piankhi
 Ezana
 The Nok
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 Nubia
 Kush
 Axum
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 Left few written records
 Most information passed
through oral traditions—
legends and history
passed from one
generation to another by
word of mouth
 Learned from legends
and artifacts
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 Early African cultures
developed technologies
and trade based on
regional natural
resources
 Civilizations came and
went, based movement
of people and the way
natural resources were
developed
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 Multiple climates
 Three times the size of
the United States




Deserts
Mountains
Grasslands
River valleys
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 North Africa
 East Africa
 West Africa
 Central Africa
 Southern Africa
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 North Africa—thin
coastal plain, bordering
the Mediterranean Sea
and inland desert area
 Coastal Africa—mild
temperature and lots of
rain
 South of the of the
“green belt”—a vast
desert known as the
Sahara—the world’s
largest desert—
extending 3,500 miles
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 A plateau—a relatively high, flat area
 Moderate rainfall
 Sustains the ‘savannas’—treeless grasslands—that cover
the plateau
 The Sahara and the Sahel: 40% of Africa
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 Rising above the plateau
are two major mountains
 Mount Kenya
 Mount Kilimanjaro
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 Major Rivers: Niger and Zaire
 Not well navigated
 Few natural harbors
 Limited river travel
 Foreign invasions difficult
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 Lush tropical rain
forests—sunlight cannot
reach the surface
 Further south—another
desert—the Kalahari
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 Near equator is lush rainforest so think that sunlight
can’t penetrate
 Still further south is highland in present-day country
of South Africa
 The African continent has provided rich resources for
its people
 Early cultures developed where rainfall was plentiful or
near lakes or along rivers like the Nile
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 By 3000 B.C. a militarily
skilled people
established a kingdom
called Nubia in the
southern part of the Nile
River Valley
 Mastered the bow and
arrow
 Conquered neighbors
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 The Nubians maintained
close contacts with Egypt
to the north
 Archaeologists
uncovered Nubian king
tombs containing
precious stones, jewelry,
and pottery
 Some believe ideas like
monarchy, eating utensils,
boats, etc., were really
Nubian ideas passed to the
Egyptians
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 By 2000 B.C., the Nubian
river civilization had
developed into the
kingdom of Kush, which
was under Egyptian rule
for 500 years
 They had been defeated in
warfare by the Egyptians
 Egyptian pharaohs
stationed troops in Kush
to collect duties from
goods moving through the
area
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 The Kushite cites of Napata and Meroe stood where
trade caravans crossed the Nile—great trade location
 Gold
 Elephant tusks
 Timber
 Kings grew wealthy
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 1000 B.C. Kush broke away from Egypt and became
politically independent
 The Kushites under king Piankhi (pee.AHNK.hee) in
724 B.C. defeated Egypt in war and became rulers over
both Kush and Egypt
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 Kush Kingdom
 Capital: Napata
 Sandstone temples
 Monuments
 Pyramids
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 Assyrains invade Egypt
and easily defeat the
Kushites
 Easily defeated the
Kushites with iron
weapons
 The Kushites moved
back to their home—
the bend in the upper
Nile
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 Although the Assyrians in 671 B.C. easily defeated
the Kushites, the Kushite kingdom, now based in
the Upper Nile, managed to thrive for 150 years,
becoming a major center for iron production
 They had learned iron making from the Assyrians
 Built this capability in Meroe—major center for making
iron
 Built fine houses with courtyards modeled after those of
Rome
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 Kushite kingdom thrived
for 150 years
 New power—Axum—
located near the Red Sea
 Invaded Kush
 Ended Kushite
domination of
northeastern Africa
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 The Kushites thrived for 150 years then the Axum
invaded and conquered them
 Axum—located near the Red Sea
 Trading power
 Because of its Red Sea location
 Elements of the Roman culture
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 Christian conversion of King Ezana
 Two Christians from Syria shipwrecked and brought
before the king
 Convinced Ezana to become Christian
 Christianity became dominant in Egypt and Kush too
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 A West African culture
called the “Nok”
established itself in the
fertile Niger and Benue
River valleys between
700 and 200 B.C.,
making use of metal to
farm their land more
effectively
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 As West African farmers
produced more food, the
population increased,
eventually leading to
widespread food shortages
and a great migration that
took small groups to the
less populated areas of
West Africa
 Over 1000 years this great
migration took place
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 Axum declined after the
rise of the religion of
Islam during the A.D.
600s
 Axum’s rulers then set up
the Christian kingdom of
Ethiopia
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 Historians call this mass movement the Bantu
migrations because descendants of the people who
migrated throughout the continent share elements
of a language group known as Bantu
 Did not follow a single pattern
 Following rivers
 Following rainforests
 Savannas
 etc
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 As people pushed into new areas, they met other
African groups that adopted their ways of life
 In time, Bantu-speaking peoples became the dominate
group in Africa south of the Sahara
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 Divided into hundreds of ethnic groups
 Each with its own religious beliefs, marriage and family
customs, and traditions
 Communities formed into large households often from
one set of grandparents
 Many villages were “matrilineal”-tracing their
descendents through mothers
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 Boys and girls of similar
ages
 Assigned jobs
 Boys 10-12: herded cattle
 Girls 10-12: plant, tend,
harvest crops
 etc
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 All social laws and traditions were from one god
 Lesser deities flourished below the one god




Storms
Mountains
Trees
Spirits of dead ancestor lived with them
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 Sculptor was important
art form
 Wearing of masks at
ceremonial dances
symbolized link between
the living and the dead
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 Music rich in rhythm was
woven into fabric of
everyday life
 Music provided the
motivation for doing
tedious chores
 Variety of drums, harps,
horns, etc.
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 Excelled in oral literature
 Passed down form one
generation to the other
 Fables
 Histories
 Proverbs
 Traditions
 Values
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Section 2
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 Absorbed many customs and cultures from other
lands—adopted many ideas
 Persian
 Indian
 European
 etc
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 Various arts developed throughout Bant-speaking
Africa, including music rich in rhythm and
sculpture created for ceremonial and everyday use;
oral literature passed down from one generation to
the nest recorded the past and taught traditions
and values
 Wearing of masks in ceremonies symbolized the link
between the living and the dead
 Rhythm often provided the motivation for digging
ditches and doing other laborious work
 Variety of drums used
 Oral literature taught traditions and values
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Chapter 7, Section 2
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 Trade was an important aspect of society in West
Africa
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 Monotheism
 Ghana
 Mosque
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 Sundiata Keita
 Mansa Musa
 Askia Muhammad
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 Ghana
 Mali
 Timbuktu
 Songhai
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 The kingdom of Ghana
became one of the
richest trading
civilizations in West
Africa due to its
location midway
between Saharan salt
mines and tropical gold
mines
 The kings of Ghana
imposed taxes on
goods that entered or
left their kingdom
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 The kings of Ghana
controlled the trading
empire that stretched more
than 100,000 square miles
 They also prospered on the
goods that entered and left
their kingdom
 “Ghana” meant “king” and
because they ruled such a
vast empire they named
the land Ghana
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 There ways two-way trade traffic by caravan between
cities in North Africa and Ghana
 Northern traders from North Africa
 Cloth
 Metelware
 Swords
 Salts
 From Ghana
 Kola nuts
 Farming produce
 Gold
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 Merchants leave goods on the ground and depart the
area
 People bring gold and leave it on the ground beside
the merchandise
 The merchant returns and if the gold is enough, they
take it…if not they depart again the buyer returns with
more gold if they want the merchandise
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 Ghana reached the
height of its economic
and political power as a
trading kingdom in the
A.D. 800s and 900s;
the salt and gold trade
moving through Ghana
brought Islamic ideas
and customs to the
kingdom
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 Salt was an important trade
item for the people of
Ghana, who needed it to
preserve and flavor their
foods
 Salt and other items
moving through Ghana
brought Islamic ideas and
customs. Most converted
to Islam
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 At the end of the A.D.
1000s an attack on the
Ghana trade centers by
the Almoravids, a
Muslim group from
North Africa, led to the
decline of Ghana as a
prosperous kingdom
 Prosperous kingdom
groups broke away to
form smaller Islamic
states
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 Mali, one of the states
to break away from
Ghana, became a
powerful kingdom that
eventually ruled much
of West Africa
 Mali: “where the king
resides”
 Ruled over the former
kingdom of Ghana
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 Sundiata Keita: began to
conquer surrounding
territories and restored the
trans-Saharan trade in gold
and salt and restored
agricultural production
previously interrupted by
the Almoravids
 Agriculture prospered and
kings were able to collect
taxes on surplus food
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 Mali’s greatest king
 A.D. 1312-1332
 Opened and protected trade routes and
introduced Islamic culture
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 On his pilgrimage to Makkah, he took 12,000
slaves each dressed in silk and brocade and
carrying gold bars
 He gave away so much gold, prices fell world wide
 Persuaded a Spanish architect to built mosques and a
palace in Timbuktu
 Became a center for Muslim art and teaching
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 Following the death of Mansa Musa
 Attacked by Berbers
 From Saharan region of the north
 Captured Timbuktu
 Also, the attack came from inside the kingdom, and people
living in the Songhai region of the Niger River Valley rebelled
against the empire
 Ultimately, Mali split into several independent states
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 The rebellious Songhai, who were skilled traders,
farmers, and fishers, were led by strong rulers who
managed to conquer the cities of Timbuktu and
Djenne
 “Led by then current leader, Sunni Ali
 When he died, Ali’s son inherited the kingdom,
 The Muslims overthrew him and installed a Muslim
ruler
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 Under the leadership of Askai Muhammad
 The Songhai Empire reached its height of glory
 Divided empire into 5 provinces and installed governors
 Maintained the peace through cavalry and navy
 Timbuktu became center of Muslim learning
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 Introduced laws based on the teachings of the holy
book of Islam, the Quran
 Lesser crimes sometimes overlooked
 Punishment harsh on serious crimes like robbery or
idolatry
 Appointed Muslim judges to support Muslim laws
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 Askai Muhammad overthrown
 By his son
 Led to a series of struggles for the thrown
 Weakened central government
 Moroccan army invades with guns and cannon
 Easily defeats the Songhai and the empire comes to an
end
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Chapter 7
Section 3
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 Areas in East, Central and Southern African developed as
a result of inland and overseas trade
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 Monopoly: sole control or ownership
 Multicultural: a variety of cultural groups
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 Kilwa
 Malindi
 Mombasa
 Sofala
 Zanzibar
 Karanga
 Great Zimbabwe
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 East Africans sailed with the monsoon winds across
the Indian Ocean to trade with the Arabian Peninsula
and South Asia;
 A.D. 900s, Arab and Persian merchants had settled on
the East African coast and controlled the trade there
 Africans traded with: ivory, gold, iron, and rhinoceros
horn
 Indians traded with: cloth and porcelain
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 By A.D. 1200 small East African trading settlements
had become thriving city-states taxing the goods that
passed through their ports
 The port of Kilwa had a virtual monopoly of the gold
trade with the interior
 Malinda and Mombasa were also important centers.
Sofala, in current day Mozambique was as well
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 The island of Zanzibar was also an important center of
trade, drawing sailors from Southwest Asia as well as
India and China—seeking evory and gold from city
states of East Africa
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 By the A.D. 1300s the city-states of East Africa had
reached the height of their prosperity; they were
multicultured centers in which Islamic and African
cultures blended
 Arab and Persian merchants ruled the trading states.
They converted many African to Islam
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 Arab merchants married local women who had
converted to Islam, families with both African and
Islamic members began speaking Swahili, and the
people of the East African coastal city-states developed
an Arabic form of writing to record their history
 The spoken language was a Bantu language that
included Arabic and Persian words
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 Indian Ocean trade reached far inland, contributing to
the rise of wealthy Bantu kingdoms in Central and
Southern Africa; traders from the coast exchanged
foreign goods—silk, porcelain, glass beads, carpets,
and pottery--with people in the central regions for
minerals, ivory, coconut oil, and enslaved Africans
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 Between A.D. 1000 and
1500, the people of the
bantu kingdom Karanga
built nearly 300 stonewalled fortresses
throughout their territory,
the largest of which was
called the Great
Zimbabwe—meaning
“stone houses”
 The oval stone wall of the
Zimbabwe enclosure was
30 feet high
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 For nearly five
centuries, the Bantu
states grew wealthy
from control of the
chief routes between
the gold mines and the
sea; in the A.D. 1400s,
however, Bantu states
waged civil wars that
brought disorder and
disrupted trade
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 In time, the Changamire
Empire took over Great
Zimbabwe and built the
fortress’s largest structures;
at the same time, European
explorers arrived on the
coast, eager to control
sources of gold, ivory, and
copper
 The Europeans posed
challenges to the survival
of the African civilizations
in the continent’s interior
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