Early Civilizations in Early Civilizations in AfricaAfrica

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The Continent of AfricaThe Continent of Africa

The Emergence of CivilizationThe 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

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Ancient Ethiopia and NubiaAncient Ethiopia and Nubia

AxumAxum 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 Would be renamed Ethiopia

The Sahara The Sahara From 8000 to 4000 B.C.E. a warm, humid climate that

created lakes, ponds, grasslands, and game After 3000 B.C.E. farming spread to the savannas to the

south 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 AfricaEast and Southern Africa

Bantu language group ( Bantu-Speaking People) Introduced cultivation of crops and

ironworking The Bantu settled into rural communities See Migration route on page 222 in text

Commercial trade Egyptians may have arrived looking for trade

goods Trade across the Indian Ocean

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Ancient AfricaAncient Africa

The Coming of IslamThe Coming of Islam African Religious Beliefs before Islam

Common beliefs• Single creator god

• Sometimes accompanied by 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 Animism – a belief in which spirits play an important role in daily

life, spirits are present in animals, plants and other natural forces

The Coming of Islam (cont.’d)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 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: CultureEast Africa: Culture

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

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The Emergence of States in The Emergence of States in AfricaAfrica

The States of West AfricaThe 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

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Trans-Saharan Trade RoutesTrans-Saharan Trade Routes

States and Stateless Societies in States and Stateless Societies in Southern AfricaSouthern 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

African SocietyAfrican Society

African Society Urban life Village Life Role of women Slavery

African CultureAfrican Culture Painting and Sculpture

Rock paintings, wood carving, pottery, metalwork 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 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 QuestionsDiscussion 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?