Aim: How much did geography influence ancient African civilizations?

Do Now: Which of these two pictures do you think is the most accurate portrayal of Africa today?

Explain.NY State Standards 2, 3Common Core R.S. 2, 7

I Traditional African CultureA) “African” culture does not actually

exist, as there are 1000s of different ethnic groups, cultures, and languages in Africa today. However, we can make some generalizations about common traditions found in Africa before European colonization:

B) Prior to the introduction of monotheistic religions, Africans practiced animism (belief in spirits in nature). Shamans acted as spiritual leaders and healers.

C) History was passed down orally by storytellers and/or musicians.

II Ancient African MigrationsA) By 5500 BCE Neolithic farmers

cultivated the Nile River Valley. Farming spread throughout northern Africa, which was much wetter than it is today.

B) 2500 BCE desertification dried out northern Africa, creating the Sahara Desert.

An ancient Egyptian carving of a hippo. Do hippos live in desserts?

The Sahara Today… Many Africans Still Lack Access to Clean Water

Women collect water from a well in Niger. Child carrying water in Cameroon.

“More people [worldwide] have a mobile phone than a toilet.” – World

Health Organization, 2012

Ancient African Migrations Continued…

C) Between 1000 BCE and 1000 CE, millions of central African farmers migrated to the south and east. This is one of the largest periods of human migration in history!

D) How do we know this if there are few written records? Linguists have traced many modern African languages back to a common root language; Bantu.

E) Today there are approximately 500 spoken languages that are descended from the original Bantu language, including Swahili.

Why did these early Bantu speakers migrate? Possible reasons may be desertification and/or tribal conflict.

III The Empire of Nubia/Kush 3000 BCE – 300s CE

A) Nubia/Kush was an ancient African empire that grew along the upper Nile river valley. It’s northern neighbor was Egypt, which led

to a lot of cultural diffusion.B) By 1500 BCE, Egypt had conquered Nubia. However, in 730 BCE

Nubia was able to conquer Egypt (for 60 years).C) In the 4th century CE, King Ezana of Aksum conquered Nubia

"Having traversed this part in forty days as I have said, you take a boat again and so travel for twelve days until you come to a

great city called Meroë, which is said to be the capital of all Ethiopia." - Herodotus

A Nubian Pharaoh

The Empire of Nubia/Kush Continued…D) While the Nubians had many things in common with the

Egyptians, there were some differences.

Ancient Egyptians Nubians

Polytheistic Polytheistic but not all of

their gods were the same as

the Egyptian ones System of writing:

hieroglyphics on papyrus System of writing: developed

an alphabet much later Built pyramids to house their

mummified pharaohs. 81 Egyptian pyramids have been found.

Built pyramids, but smaller

than those of Egypt. 228

Nubian pyramids have been

found.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics vs. the Nubian Alphabet

The Egyptian Pyramids at Giza vs. Nubian Pyramids

Are the Nubian pyramids more alike or

different from the Egyptian pyramids?

IV Aksum 300 – 700 CEA) Aksum controlled trade along the Red Sea and the

Horn of Africa (modern day Ethiopia and Somalia).B) In 330 CE King Ezana converted to Christianity and

made it the official religion of Aksum.C) Aksum was conquered by the early 8th century CE by

Muslim invaders.

King Ezana’s Obelisk

Many Ethiopians believe that the sacred Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia! It is believed to be kept safe in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, the oldest

church in Ethiopia.

V Outside influences in North AfricaA) Recall that the Phoenicians built an Empire based in Carthage 800 BCE – 146 BCE.B) Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE.C) The Romans defeated the Phoenicians in the Punic Wars (ended 149 BCE), and then

Cleopatra and Marc Antony in 31 BCE. This added northern Africa to their growing empire.

Temple of Isis, Libya, 1st Century CE, Roman

Outside influences in North Africa Continued…C) Arab Muslims conquered northern Africa by the 7th century

CE.

VI Arab Influence in Eastern AfricaA) When Aksum was declining (by 600 CE), many

commercial city-states arose on the East African coast.

Mogadishu Mombasa Kilwa

Nubia lasted from 3000 BCE to the 300s CE

Nubia was conquered by Aksum. Aksum lasted from the 4th

century CE to 700 CE.East

African trading states arose.

Arab Influence in East Africa Continued…

Goods from Africa Goods from IndiaIvoryLeopard skinsIronCopperGold

ClothSilkSpicesPorcelainGlasswareSwords

B) By the 7th century East African sailors took advantage of India’s monsoons to help carry their trading ships.

Arab Influence in East Africa Continued…C) Arab influence in East Africa led to cultural diffusion:1. A new language, Swahili “of the coast” developed (combination of Bantu & Arabic)2. Architecture blended East African and Arabic designs

What features in the wall on the left are Arabic? What

features are African?

East Africa Today

Mogadishu, Somalia Mombasa, Kenya

US Marines with Somali pirates, 2013

VI Great Zimbabwe (900 – 1500 CE)A) Bantu settled by the Limpopo river. B) They built stone enclosures to protect their livestock.C) By 1300 Zimbabwe “Stone House” was a city-state that traded with India and China.D) Zimbabwe’s decline by 1500 is unknown. It may have been due to invading Europeans.

In 1871, archaeologist Cark Mauch began to excavate the

site at Great Zimbabwe. He was so impressed with what he

found, that unfortunately due to his racist beliefs, he concluded that a "civilized [white] nation must once have lived there.” Thankfully today, the Bantu [African] builders have been

given their due credit.

VII Western African Civilizations

Western African Civilizations Continued…A) Ghana

800 – 1050 CEB) Mali

1200 – 1450 CEC) Songhai1460 – 1600 CE

Ghana developed by the Niger and Senegal rivers

King Sundiata conquered Ghana and began the Kingdom of Mali. He kept control of the gold-salt trade.

Sonni Ali conquered the weakened Mali Empire, and began the Kingdom of Songhai. He kept control of the gold-salt trade.

Capital at Kumbi Saleh Mansa Musa was the most famous King of Mali (he ruled 1312 – 1337 CE). As a Muslim, he went on his hajj to Mecca in 1324. His caravan included 60,000 travelers, and 80 camels, each loaded with 300 lbs of gold!

Timbuktu flourished as great centers of trade and learning. Islam spread.

Ghana became wealthy by controlling the gold – salt trade.

By establishing ties across the Muslim world, Mansa Musa was able to make his city, Timbuktu, into a great center of trade and learning.

The Kingdom of Songhai was conquered by Muslim Berbers (nomads of the Sahara Desert) from the north.

Western African Civilizations Continued…

People from North Africa desired gold, and people from West Africa needed salt. Salt was mined northeast of Ghana in the Sahara Desert. Tribes close to

Ghana in West Africa had access to gold mines (the locations were kept secret). Anyone who wished to trade gold for salt had to travel through Ghana and pay a tax. The trade was done by silent barter; the traders would leave

their goods in a guarded location, and never meet the people they were trading with face to face!

Sahara Salt “Farm”

The Djenna Mosque at Timbuktu

Unfortunately Islamic terrorists from the modern nation of Mali have recently been

destroying many of Timbuktu’s sacred places, including burning ancient texts.

Western African Civilizations Continued…Mansa Musa Primary Source

The following description of the visit to Cairo in 1324 by the King of Mali, Mansa Musa, was written by Al-Umari, who visited Cairo several years after the Mansa

Musa’s visit.

“From the beginning of my coming to stay in Egypt I heard talk of the arrival of … Musa on his Pilgrimage and found the [people of Cairo, Egypt] eager to recount what they had seem of [Musa’s wasteful] spending. [ Musa] forwarded to the royal treasury many loads of unworked native gold and other valuables… He left no court emir nor holder of a royal office without the gift of a load of gold….They exchanged gold until they depressed its value in Egypt and caused its price to fall.” …

Mansa Musa Tops the 10 Wealthiest People in Human History! – Celebrity Net Worth’s List, 2012

1. Mansa Musa I, (Ruler of Malian Empire, 1280-1331) $400 billion2. Rothschild Family (banking dynasty, 1740- ) $350 billion3. John D Rockefeller (industrialist, 1839-1937) $340 billion4. Andrew Carnegie (industrialist, 1835-1919) $310 billion5. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (last Emperor of Russia, 1868-1918) $300

billion6. Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (last ruler of Hyderabad, 1886-1967)

$236 billion7. William the Conqueror (King of England, 1028-1087) $229.5 billion8. Muammar Gaddafi (former Libyan leader, 1942-2011) $200 billion9. Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company founder, 1863-1947) $199 billion10. Cornelius Vanderbilt (industrialist, 1794-1877) $185 billion

Western African Civilizations Continued…

D) Kingdom of Benin (1300 – 1897)1. Located on the Niger river2. Skilled in the art of making figurines from bronze, copper, and ivory

Summary Questions1. What were the main achievements of the

East African civilizations (Nubia, Aksum, Swahili Trading States)?

2. Explain the gold-salt trade in your own words and how it benefitted the West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai.

3. What were the main achievements of the West African civilizations (Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Benin)?

4. How should Mansa Musa be remembered? *Give at least 2 specific pieces of evidence to support your answer.

5. Why do you think many modern African nations are so poor when Africa has many natural resources?

Key Vocabulary