early african civilization

7/31/2019 Early African Civilization

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Early African Civilizations,

2000 BCE - 1500 CE

The

Development of

Civilizations in

Africa

Kingdoms and

States of Africa

African Society

and Culture

The Development of

Civilizations in Africa

Objectives:

1. Identify Africas fourdistinct climate zones

that affected thedevelopment of African

civilizations

2. Explain how themastery of farming

gave rise to the firstcivilizations in Africa:

Egypt, Kush, and Axum


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The Land of Africa

After Asia, Africa is thelargest of the continents

five thousand miles

Distinct geographicalzones: Northern and

southern mountainouszones, south of that, thelargest desert on earth

*Sahara

In the west is the humpof Africa, grasslandinteriors and tropical

jungles along the coast


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The far east,mountains, upland*plateaus (high, flat

land areas), andlakes

*Great Rift Valley,mountains over

deep canyons withgrassland

populations

*Congo River is partof the Congo basin

The Climate of Africa A mild climate zone stretches acrossnorthern and southern regions;Crop production could support

large populations

Deserts were large climate zones (40%)the Sahara and the *Kalahari

Rain forests that stretches along theequator (10 %); the region had littlecattle and people due to the *tsetse

fly

*Savannas, broad grasslands, dottedwith trees and shrubs (40 %)much

farming and herding of animals

Emerging Civilization

and the Rise of Islam

Kush

By 2000 BCE, trade arosebetween Egypt and southern

*Nubia

Trade items: ivory, ebony,frankincense, and leopard

skins

Once controlled by Egypt,they freed themselves and

formed an independent state


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In 750 BCE, *Kushitesconquered Egypt but

eventually wasoverwhelmed the Assyrians

The economy of Kush wasbased at first on farming

but became a trading statethe city of Meroe: a

centered for iron weaponfor the Roman Empire,

Arabia, and India

They traded for luxurygoods

The Rise of Axum Kush flourished from about 250BCE to 150 CE, resulting in the

rise of a new power

Axum in the highlands of now

Ethiopia, founded as a colonyby Arabs

Independent state thatcombined Arab and African

cultures

Prosperity along the Red Sea ledAxum to be the main trade

center between India and theMediterranean

*King Ezana, theAxumite ruler, launchedan invasion of Kush and

conquered it

In 330 CE, Ezanaconverted to Christianity

brought by SyrianChristianseventuallybecoming the official

religion

Within a few centuries,Islam brought changes

to the kingdom


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The Coming of Islam

By the early eighthcentury, Axum came

under Arab rule

Relations betweenChristian Axum andits Muslim neighbors

were relativelypeaceful

Objectives:

1. Identify Africas four

distinct climate zonesthat affected thedevelopment of African

civilizations

2. Explain how themastery of farminggave rise to the first

civilizations in Africa:Egypt, Kush, and Axum

Kingdoms and States of Africa


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Objectives:

1.Analyze hoe theexpansion of trade

led to migration andthe growth of new

kingdoms

2. Discuss the

different forms ofgovernmentintroduced by rulers

The Kingdom of Ghana

*Ghana, the first great

trading state in WestAfrica, emerged as early

as 500 CE

Most were farmers livingin villages under the

authority of a local ruler;the villages formed the

kingdom of Ghana

The Kings of Ghana

The kings of Ghanawere strong rulers whogoverned without any

laws

Ghanaian kings reliedon a well-trainedregular army of

thousands of men


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Economy and TradeGhana lived off the land,

prospered from theirpossession of both iron and

gold

Abundant supply of iron ore,gold (Ghana was located

near one of the richest gold-producing areas) in Africa

Muslim merchants from

North Africa brought toGhana metal goods, textiles,horses, and salt (it was usedto preserve food, improve

taste, and replace salt)

Other exports: ivory,ostrich feathers, hides,

and slaves

Much of the trade was

carried by *Berbers,nomadic peoples whose

camel caravans wereknown as the fleets of the

desert

Trading merchantsbecame wealthybut bythe 8th/9th centuries alltrade was conducted by

Muslim merchants

The Kingdom of

Mali

Ghana wasweakened by wars

and collapsed inthe 1100s

The stateestablished afterthis was *Mali by

*Sudiata Keita


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Founding and Economy

Sundiata is consideredthe founder of Mali,

defeating the Ghanians asthey declined and seized

the capital in 1240

He created the famous

trading city *Timbuktu,center of Mali wealth andpower from the gold and

salt trade

Reign of Mansa Musa

One of the richest and

most powerful kings was*Mansa Musa, who ruled

from 1312 to 1337

He created a strongcentralized government

and divided the kingdominto provinces ruled by

governors whom heappointed

He converted Islam andtook a pilgrimage to

Mecca; his spread of goldand the market reaction

Creation of center ofIslamic learning and

cultural center inTimbuktugreat library

and school

Civil war divided Mali in1359 and the new kingdom

of Songhai emerged topower


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The Kingdom of

Songhai

The Niger River floods andthus provides a rich soil for

raising crops and raising cattle

The ruler Kossi converted toIslam in 1009 and established

the Dia dynastytheybenefited from Muslim traderoutes linking Arabia, North

Africa, and West Africa

Under *Sunni Ali, whofashioned a new dynasty after

his name, the Songhaiexpanded

Under *MuhammadTure, the militarycommander anddevout Muslim,

overthrew the son ofSunni and seized

power and created thenew dynastyAskia

After Muhammad, theSonghai entered a

slow decline and thesultan of *Morocco

gained power

Societies in East

Africa

Migration of the Bantus

A mixture of people livedinland from the mountains of

Ethiopia; hunting and gathering

Farming peoples who spokedialects of the *Bantu family of

languages moved from theNiger river into East Africa

Their communities were basedon *subsistence farming

growing crops for personal use;

iron use for farming (whichspread this technology south) as

well as the spread of bananasand yams


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Indian Ocean Trade and

Ports

The eastern coast of Africabecame an important part of the

trading network along theIndian Ocean

The formation of a string oftrading ports emerged including

*Mogadishu, *Mombasa, and*Kilwa in the south

The Arab traveler *Ibn Battutacalled Kilwa, One of the mostbeautiful towns in the world

Kilwa began todecline, and the

Portuguese sacked

the city in 1505

A mixed African-Arabian culture,

eventually known as*Swahili (a mixed

language of Arabicand Bantu) began toemerge throughout

the coastal area

States and Stateless

Societies in South Africa

In the southern half of theAfrican continent, states

formed more slowly

*Stateless society is a groupof independent villages

organized by clans and ledby a local ruler or clan

head

Regions to the south of the*Zambezi River, a mixedeconomy of farming andcattle herding emerged


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Objectives:

1.Analyze hoe theexpansion of trade

led to migration andthe growth of new

kingdoms

2. Discuss thedifferent forms of

governmentintroduced by rulers

African Society and Culture

Objectives:

1. Characterize theextended family

units that formedthe basis of Africa

villages

2. Evaluate theimportance of the

arts to early Africanculture


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Aspects of African

Society

Towns began asfortified walled

villages andbecame centers ofgovernment, andthe markets werefilled with goods

from farawayregions

King and Subject

In Africa, the gulf betweenking and common people

was not as great

The ruler would hold anaudience to allow people to

voice their complaints

Merchants received favorsfrom the king, and the

kings treasury was filledwith taxes paid by

merchants

Family and Lineage

Extended families livedtogether: parents, children,

grandparents, and otherfamilies

They lived in small, rounddwellings made of packed

mud and topped with thatch

Larger communities wereknown as *lineage groups(the basic building blocks if

African society)


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The Role of Women

Women were usuallysubordinate to men in Africa, as

they were in most earlysocieties around the world

Women often worked in thefields while the men of thevillage tended the cattle or

went on hunting expedition

In many African societies,lineage was based on the

mother rather than the father

*matrilinealsocieties, rather

than *Patrilineal

Women were oftenpermitted to

inherit property,and the husband

was often expectedto move into his

wifes house

Community Education and

Initiation

At six, girls and boys lefttheir mothers training andmoved to the house of thewomen and house of the

men to learn their respectiveskills

When they reached puberty,the young entered the

community fully havingunderwent a ritual ceremonysymbolizing their death and

new rebirth as adults


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Slavery Slavery had been practiced inAfrica since ancient times; not

unique to Africa but was commonin many societies throughout the

world

North Africa regularly raidedfarming villages south of the

Sahara for captives and sold them

The use of captives for forcedlabor or for sale was also common

in African societies

Slaves were not inferior but rathercould be trusted servants

Religious Beliefs in

Africa

Most African societies shared somecommon religious ideas

Belief in a single creator god. The*Yoruba peoples in *Nigeria

believed that their chief god sent hisson Oduduwa down from Heaven

The *Ashanti people of Ghanabelieved in a supreme being called

Nyame

One way to communicate with thegods was through ritual done by aspecial class of *diviners with the

power to foretell events

The importance of ancestors inritual ceremoniescloser to

the gods and affect the world

Islam spread first in the north;the first rulers to convert werethe royal family of Gao By

the 15th century, the southlands bellow the Sahara had

accepted Islam

It had less success in the

mountains of Ethiopia; manybeliefs of Islam conflicted

with traditional African beliefsand customs


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Islams insistence ondistinct roles formen and women

and modesty isdress was odd

In Africa, importedideas were

combined withnative beliefs

resulting in anAfricanized Islam

African Culture The earliest art forms in Africawere rock paintingsa famous

example of this is the TassiliMountains from 4000 BCE

Wood carvers throughout Africamade masks and statues

representing gods, spirits, orancestral figures and embodied

the spiritual powers of thesubjects

Metal workers at *Ife, the capitalof the Yoruba, created iron

statues


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African music and dance oftenserved a religious purpose:

heavy rhythmic beats were themeans of communicating the

spirits

Music was used to pass on toyoung people information

about the history of thecommunity since there was no

written language

Priests or a special class ofstorytellers known as *griots

taught these histories

Objectives:

1. Characterize the

extended familyunits that formedthe basis of Africa

villages

2. Evaluate theimportance of the

arts to early Africanculture

early african civilization

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