African Civilizations

I. Geography of Africa

• The last region that was colonized and divided by the Western powers.

• It was called Dark Continent• It remained a region of which they had limited

knowledge until the 19th century.• The hottest and rainiest part of Africa is near

the equator.

• Savana- a wide and open grassland or grassy area with trees.

• Oasis- is a place in the desert where there is fertile soil and water to give life to plants.

A Huge and Diverse Land

• Second largest continent in the world• From North to South– A succession of climatic zones– Desert, savannah, rain forest, mountain ranges

Africa: Climatic Regions and Early Sites

Map 1–1. Africa: Climatic Regions and Early Sites.

Africa is a large continent with several climatic zones. It is also the home of several early civilizations.

II. Birthplace of Humanity

• Fossil and genetic evidence– Out-of-Africa model • Modern humans emerged 200,000 years ago • Migrated to the rest of the world 100,000 years ago

– “Eve” model• All modern humans from a single African woman

Fossilized Bones

Anthropologists discovered these fossilized bones of a female australopithecus afarenisis, nicknamed “Lucy,” in 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia. Dated to 3.2 million years ago, Lucy’s bones are among the more famous in the world. They provide strong evidence that human origins lay in Africa.

SOURCE: The Cleveland Museum of Natural History

III. Ancient Civilizations

• Egypt and the Nile River Valley• Mesopotamia and Sumer– Race debate• Martin Bernal

– Black Egyptians colonized ancient Greece– Became the progenitors of Western civilization

• Mary Lefkowitz– Modern racial categories irrelevant to ancient Egypt

• Egypt influenced Greek and Western civilization

Ancient Egypt and Nubia

Map 1–2. Ancient Egypt and Nubia.

Egyptian Civilization

• Nile River– Annual flooding irrigates • River banks and deposits new • Wheat, barely, goats, sheep, and cattle• Transportation and communications artery

Egyptian Society

• Patrilineal/patriarchal– Male dominated

• Hierarchical– Warriors, priests, merchants, artisans, peasants– Comprehensive bureaucracy

Egyptian Society (cont.)

• Women

– Owned property

– Managed household slaves

– Educated their children

– Held public office

– Served as priests

– Operated businesses

Egyptian Society (cont.)

• Polytheistic religion– Re (Ra): the sun god– Osiris: god of the Nile

• Immortality

– Personal and state combined in kings

• Elaborate funerary

Kush, Meroë and Axum

• Nubia – Egyptian colony ~ copper and gold deposits

• Kush – Nubian independent kingdom

• Meroë – Africa’s first industrial center– Iron deposits and geographic location

• Axum– First Christian state in sub-Saharan Africa

• Influenced by Hebrew culture

The Ruined Pyramids of Meroë

The ruined pyramids of Meroë on the banks of the upper Nile River are not as old as those at Giza in Egypt, and they differ from them stylistically. But they nonetheless attest to the cultural connections between Meroë and Egypt.

Giant Stele at Axum

This giant stele at Axum demonstrates the spread of Egyptian architecture into what is today Ethiopia. Probably erected during the first century CE, before Axum converted to Christianity, this is the last of its kind still standing.

SOURCE: Copyright Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY

IV. West Africa• Physically, ethnically, and culturally diverse– Savannah and forest• Home to a variety of cultures and languages• Cultivated crops• Tended domesticated animals• Produced iron tools and weapons

– Trade with North Africa• Essential part of the economy and kingdoms

Ancient Ghana

• First known kingdom in the western Sudan– Founded between fourth and eight centuries CE– Warfare and iron weapons created an empire

• Commerce– Camel caravans– Imported silk, cotton, glass beads, horses, mirrors,

dates, and salt– Exported pepper, slaves, and gold mined in another

region and taxed passing through– Commerce and religion destroyed Ghana in the 12th

century

Empire of Mali, 1230-1468

• Battle of Kirina– Sundiata

• Reigned 1210-1260 • Led the Mandinka to victory over the Sosso in 1235

• Larger than Ghana – Greater rainfall– More crops – Control of Wangara gold mines– Population reached eight million

Empire of Mali (cont.)

• Commerce, bureaucracy and scholarship– Most merchants and rulers • Converted to gain stature among Arab states

• Timbuktu – Major trading hub• Gold, slaves, and salt

– Center of Islamic learning ~13th century– 150 Islamic schools– Cosmopolitan community• Religious and ethnic toleration common

Empire of Mali (cont.)

• Mansa Musa – Reigned 1312-1337– Pilgrimage across Africa to Mecca in Arabia– Empire declined with Musa’s death

The Empires of Ghana and Mali

Map 1–3. The Empires of Ghana and Mali. The western Sudanese empires of Ghana and Mali helped shape West African culture. Ghana existed from as early as the fourth century CE to 1076. Mali dominated the western Sudan from 1230 to 1468.

Mansa Musa Portrayed on Catalan Atlas

Mansa Musa, who ruled the West African Empire of Mali from 1312 to 1337, is portrayed at the bottom center of this portion of the fourteenth-century Catalan Atlas. Musa’s crown, scepter, throne, and the huge gold nugget he displays symbolize his power and wealth.