Bellwork
• Name one of the previous African societies
we discussed. What characteristic do you
think helped these societies become more
powerful?
• Be prepared to discuss this at the beginning
of class.
World History
Section 4, Unit 2
North and Central African
Societies
Objectives
• Identify the characteristics of huntergatherer societies in North and Central
Africa
• Define and differentiate patrilineal and
matrilineal societies
• Define stateless societies
• Explain the role of Muslim growth in North
Africa
Effects of Geography
• As we discussed in prior lessons, the
geography of Africa has defined how
Africans organize themselves.
– Egyptians settled themselves near the Nile, the
Aksumites utilized terraces to make a
mountainous region habitable, etc.
• Both Central and Northern Africa would be
defined by their geography and location to
other groups.
What’s Different?
Central Africa
Northern Africa
What is the difference
between these two areas?
How do you think life
would be different?
Central African Society
• Central Africans tended
to live in stateless,
hunter-gatherer
societies.
• They were able to live off
the land provided, as
they lived in areas far
more tropical and– at
least in comparison–
hospitable than those in
the North, where the
desert defined the
landscape.
Hunter-Gatherer Societies
• Hunter-gatherer societies- the world’s
oldest form of social organization- began in
Africa.
– These societies continue to exist today, but are a
very small portion of the overall population.
• Most of these societies have distinct
languages and use different hunting
techniques depending on the area in which
they live.
Forest Dwelling Peoples
• Many groups of people
take up home in the
Ituri rainforest in
modern day
Democratic Republic
of Congo.
• Many of these groups
are fully defined by the
forest around them.
Life in the Forests
• Homes in the forests are
rarely permanent, as
search for food causes
them to move to new
areas within the forest.
• In their societies,
women tend to be the
gatherers and search the
forest looking for roots,
yams, mushrooms, and
more.
• Men tended to do the
hunting and will often
use poison-dipped
weapons, such as bows.
Some groups engaged in trade
with other societies– they would
trade resources found in the
forests with other nomadic
groups (like honey) or trade for
goods produced by farmers in
nearby villages.
Social Structure
• In many cultures, a respected older male
often served as a group leader.
– However, the leader wasn’t necessarily a chief.
Because Africans valued the familial unit, each
family could make it’s own decisions in direct
opposition to the elder male.
– If such decisions created too much conflict, the
groups may separate.
• These groups had no written laws and
worked by a logical code of conduct to
determine how groups interact with one
another.
Lineage
• Because familial organization was so
important in African society, families were
organized by lineage– the belief that the
groups had a common ancestor.
– A lineage included past generations
(represented as spirits) and future generations
(unborn children). Lineages formed strong
relationships within the family group.
Question: How do you think such family units would
define their “government system”. In another words,
would there be a central government where all the
decisions are made?
Stateless Society
• Because of family units, many societies were
formed around lineages, rather than being
centralized.
• Authority was often balanced among
different lineages with equal power so no
one group could have too much control.
• Any dispute was often settled by the elders
of the lineages.
This society would fall apart after
European colonialism, due to the
fact Europeans believed that one
person should rule.
Family Descent
• Familial descent (and inheritance) was
defined often by gender in these societies.
• Lineage was defined in two ways:
– Patrilineal
– Matrileal
Patrilineal
• In a patrilineal society,
they would trace their
ancestors through the
fathers family, which
passes from father to
son. When a man
marries, his wife and
children remain part
of this fathers family,
but do not trace
lineage through a
mothers family.
Matrilineal
• Unlike a patrilineal
society, a matrilineal
society is one where
children trace their
ancestors through their
mothers.
• In this case, young men
inherit land and wealth
from their mother’s
family.
– Despite the fact that
lineage is traced through
women, men still tend to
hold more power in these
societies.
Islam
• While stateless societies developed south of
a Sahara Desert, Islam began to grow in the
Northern reaches of Africa.
• After Muhammad died, Muslims swept
across the Northwestern part of Africa and
converted many either by conquest or
peacefully.
– By 670, Muslims had control over Egypt and
influenced many African leaders.
Islamic Leaders
• Many African leaders
began to center their
laws around Islamic law
and relied on Muslim
scholars as government
advisors.
Effect of Islamic Law
• Islamic law (sharia; which we discussed in a
previous lesson), unified individual states
and the Muslim world.
• Despite cultural differences that might have
existed between peoples, the law was
standard and accepted. It brought many
nations together.
Berbers
• In the wake of spreading
Islam, a native group to
northern Africa (who
have made up past
people including the
Libyans), the Berbers,
would have a profound
affect on Islam in Africa.
• From them, two
powerful empires would
appear:
– Almoravids
– Almohads
Almoravid Dynasty
• In the 11th century, Muslim reformers
founded the Almoravid Dynasty.
• The members came from the Berbers and
were founded after a Berber Muslim- Ibn
Ibrahim- took the pilgrimage to Mecca and
returned.
Almoravids
• When he returned, the pilgrim convinced a
Muslim scholar- Abd Allah Ibn Yasin- to
return with him and teach Islam.
• Ibn Yasin’s teachings attracted followers and
he formed a strict religious brotherhood:
the Almoravids.
Marrakech and further Conquest
• In the 1050’s, Ibn Yasin
lead his followers to
spread Islam through
conquest.
• During their conquest,
the Almoravids
conquered presentday Morocco in
Northern Africa and
founded their capital
city, Marrakech.
Almoravid Empire
• After founding
this city, the
Almoravids
spread and
conquered parts
of Ghana and
southern Spain–
after Ibn Yasin’s
death.
Almohads
• In the mid-11oo’s, the Almohads- another
group of Berber Muslims- took power from
the Almoravids.
• The Almohads were a militant religious
movement who followed Ibn Tumart, a
former Almoravid who denounced their
teachings and formed a new sect of Islam.
Beliefs
• Ibn Tumart believed that the Almoravids
moved away from the traditional practices
and urged his followers to instead obey the
teachings of Qu’ran and Islamic Law.
Question: If Ibn Tumart disagrees with the
Almoravids, what do think he’s going to do.
Abd Al-Mumin
• The Almohads, under
Abd Al-Mumin, fought
to oust the Almoravids
and remain true to
traditional Islamic
beliefs.
• By 1148, the Almohads
controlled most of
Morocco and ended
Almoravid rule.
Reform
• The new Muslim reformers decided to keep
Marrakech as their capital and, by the 12th
century, they conquered much of southern
Spain.
• In Africa, their territory spread from
Marrakech to Tripoli.
Almohad Dynasty
As we can see,
they controlled
much of modern
Spain and the
southern tip of
Portugal. Aside
from their
European
holdings, the
Almohads had
control of much
of Northern
Africa.
Decline
• Despite such power, the Almohad Dynasty
eventually declined and broke up into
individual kingdoms.
Effect of the Berbers
• While the empire only lasted for about 100
years, it had a long lasting effect of uniting
Northwestern Africa for the first time.
• Aside from unifying Northwestern Africa,
the Almohad and Almoravid empires also
helped spread both Islam and Arabic
culture into Africa and into Europe.
Africa
• To sum, in the last few lessons, we have
discussed the changes in Africa throughout
history. We saw the beginnings of African
culture from nomadic cultures to large scale
empires.
• When we return to Africa, we are going to see
the effects of further European interference in
African affairs– from European colonization in
Africa to the African slave trade.
Elsewhere
• While Africa was experiencing it’s own
growth and changes– expanding empires,
new religions, and so forth– a new empire
was about to begin growing in the east and
will have a profound effect on the Muslim
empires, Asia, and Europe.
Review Objectives
• Identify the characteristics of huntergatherer societies in North and Central
Africa
• Define and differentiate patrilineal and
matrilineal societies
• Define stateless societies
• Explain the role of Muslim growth in North
Africa
Questions?
• If you have any questions, please ask now.
Next Lesson
• In the next lesson, we are going to discuss
the Mongols
Reading Review
Please read the handout “Great
achievements in science in technology in
ancient Africa” and answer the following
question:
What achievements has Africa made in the
fields of: math, astronomy, metallurgy,
architecture, medicine, and navigation. You
must have an answer for each and your
response must be at least one page long.