Chapter 6- Africa: Early History to 1000 A.D.:
(1). Describe the geography, climate,
peoples, and languages of Africa.
(2). Examine Africa’s Wet Holocene
period and its impact on early
Saharan Cultures.
(3). Discuss the later Saharan desiccation
and its impact on Neolithic Sudanic Cultures.
(4). Describe the early Iron Age Nok
culture, and explain its significance.
(5). Trace the development of the Kushite
kingdoms and subsequent Napatan and Meroitic Empires.
(6). Describe the rise of the Aksumite
Empire and the significance of its conversion to Christianity.
(7). Outline the key aspects of Africa’s
early trade routes and States of the Western and Central Sudan.
(8). Discuss the culture of the Khoisan
Peoples, and trace the Bantu migrations and diffusion.
(9). Outline the early history of East
Africa.
(10). Explain the significance of pre-Islamic Africa’s contributions to world
civilizations’ development.
v
Introduction
Ø
Problems of
Interpretation & sources
§
A Question of Definition
·
“Civilization” & its limitations
¨
Accurate description of Ancient River Valleys
Ø
Writing, cities, metallurgy, social complexity
¨
Broader interpretations
& applications
Ø
Intellectual, cultural, & artistic traditions
·
Sub-Sahara African Peoples & the “narrow” definition
¨
Important states
w/writing, cities, & technology
¨
Rich & varied
traditions not an easy fit
§
Problem of Sources
·
Stateless societies without written records
·
Small local societies
w/o writing, bureaucracies, cities
·
Limitations of oral traditions & bias outside
observers
·
Destruction of Tropical
wet climate over time
·
Example: Nok & Zimbabwean remains hard to
decipher
v
Physical Description & geography (Map)
Ø
Major Rivers
– most navigable inland
§
Niger, Congo, Nile, Zambezi, & Orange
Ø
Physical
variations: mountains to swamps
§
Tropical forests
& deserts
§
Rain forests near
equator
§
Savannah,
Sahel, and the Sahara
Ø
Other key
features: tropical soil & its impact
§
Limited sustained
agriculture
§
Severe drought
§
Crop & animal pests
§
Primary food sources
§
Rich mineral wealth
Ø
Major
regional identities (Map):
§
North, Nilotic, & the Sudan
§
West, East, Central, and Southern
Africa
v
African Peoples
Ø
Hominid
Ancestors – Lucy
§
Homo sapiens
& their spread from Great Rift region
Ø
Africa &
Early Human Culture
§
Interaction & impact
of trade contacts
·
Key internal &
external contacts => impact
Ø
Diffusion of
Languages & Peoples
§
Cultural &
linguistic diffusion
·
1000-3000 languages
& dialects
·
4 key language groups
(Map)
·
Food production
determinants & migration
Ø
Racial
Distinctions
§
Recent distributions:
North vs. Sub-Sahara
§
Africa South of the
Sahara & Egypt
·
The Sudan
·
Southern Africa: herders & hunter/gathers
¨
Khoikhoi & San (Hottentots & Bushman)
§
Racial Theories & their limitations
·
Various African
populations broadly mixed
·
Problematic concept
linking color & physical attributes
v
The Sahara & the Sudan to start of AD
Ø
Early Saharan
Cultures
§
Wet Holocene Period (7500-2500 BC) & its impact
§
Rapid Desiccation
(2500-1000 BC)
Ø
Neolithic
Sudanic Cultures
§
Impact of Desiccation
(speculation & hypothesis)
§
South & eastward migrations
§
Agricult. techniques, iron works, agricultural revolution
§
Result: population
growth in more fertile Sudan
Ø
Early Iron
Age & The Nok Culture (NE
Nigeria-Map):
§
Iron Age people & terra cotta sculpture (Pix)
§
Significance: earliest
West African Iron Age culture
·
Laid basis for later Sudanic civilizations
v
Nilotic Africa & the Ethiopian Highlands
Ø
The Kingdom
of Kush (Upper Nile basin- Map)
§
Lower Nubian land
§
Role of Egypt
§
2nd earliest
literate & politically unified civilization
§
Kerma’s independent
kingdom & its significance
Ø
The Napatan
Empire (Below 4th
Cataract- Map)
§
Independence &
wealth of Nubian gold mines
§
Role & relationship
with Egypt
§
Impact of Assyrian conquest during 7th
century BC
Ø
The Meroitic
Empire (Map)
§
Impact of Assyria & Persia
·
Relocation south
§
Role of Kushite Kings => Kordofan (Map p.
179)
·
Shift to Meroe capital & center of Kushite domain
§
Iron industry & extensive commercial
trade
·
“Middleman”
of goods & commerce for Ancient world
§
Result: High Culture, prosperity, & ultimate decline
Ø
The Aksumite
Empire
§
Conquers Kushite Empire => dominate power
(Map)
§
Christianized state with mix of Kush & Semitic speakers
§
Major commercial center:
Aksum during Roman Empire
·
Economic prosperity
& extensive trading partners
¨
Rome, Byzantium, India, Sri Lanka, & Meroe
Ø
Pre-Christian=> Christian Ethiopia => later Isolation
§
Pagan worship=> natural phenomena & animal sacrifice
·
Tolerance toward Jewish, Meroitic & Buddhist beliefs
§
Islam’s rise
to power => decline & relative isolation
·
Ethiopia
(Aksum) => sole Christian state in Africa
¨
Belief: Monophysite nature of Christ & Ge’ez liturgy
·
Basis of Ethiopic/Abyssianian Christian Church
v
Western & Central Sudan
Ø
Agriculture,
Trade, & Rise of Urban Centers
§
Early trade routes of Western & Central Sudan (Map-194)
Ø
Sudanic
Kingdoms in the 1st Millennium
§
Sparked growth of
settled agricultural populations – 1st mil
·
Development &
expansion of trans-Sahara trade
·
Role of Berbers & camel caravans
§
Coincidence with rise
of Western
& Central Sudan states
·
Most based on
agriculture settlements (except: Kanem
)
v
Central, Southern, & East Africa
Ø
Area comprised of African subcontinent
§
South of line from Niger Delta & Cameroon=>
·
Southern Somalia on East Coast (Map)
§
Limited sources available
for area’s reconstruction
Ø
The Khoisian
Peoples
§
Minority speakers of
Khoisian=> San & Khoikhoi
·
aka by early
Europeans: “ Hottentots” & “Bushman”
·
San: likely
descendants of Neolithic & iron age peoples
§
Originally Hunter-gathers => later evolved as pastorialists
·
Responsible for creating
prehistoric rock paintings
§
Comprised of a mix of
several diverse sub-groups
·
Emanate from several
locals throughout southern Africa
§
Khoikhoi: more homogeneous sheep & cattle herders
·
Spoke related Khoisan languages
·
Originated from Botswana => expanded west so. Africa
¨
to Cape of Good hope
·
Mid 17th
century: tragic encounter with invading Dutch
¨
Resulted in end of them
as distinct people
Ø
Bantu
Migrations & Diffusion (see
Map p. 184)
§
Bantu
speakers migrated along 2 basic routes (Map)
·
Intermixed & adapted in diverse way along
the way
¨
Evidenced by wide
variety of physical types
¨
Spread influence of Bantu language along way
Ø
400+ languages of
southern subcontinent evolved
¨
Most Bantu were grain farmers who lived in
villages
§
Extremely efficient in
absorbing people they came across
·
One theory: strong
social cohesion permits adsorption
¨
Extremely adaptive &
successful in imposing culture
¨
Uncertain how Bantu able to accomplish this process
¨
Poss. disease or sear
numbers overwhelmed natives
¨
In time Bantu became
thoroughly intermingled
v
East Africa
Ø
East Coast
Africa:
§
Significant difference
from inland highlands
§
Long distance travel
much easier along coast
§
Extensive maritime
contact & international trade
·
Evidence: Indonesian & Asian foods
·
Linguistic &
cultural tradition widely varied
·
Imports & exports
very diverse
·
Greco-Roman
documents confirm 1st century contact
Ø
Inland
Highlands:
§
Little know before 1000
AD
§
Ancient era trade by
both regions likely
§
Linguistic & some
other evidence only clues available
·
Kushitic speakers
from North down Rift Valley (Map)
·
Displace Neolithic Khoisan hunter-gatherers
§
Nilotic-Saharan
speakers migrated from SW Ethiopia
·
Move to upper Nile &
then east &south over Rift Valley
·
Settled modern Uganda, W. Kenya (Lwo), & Tanzania
§
Inland melting pot:
·
Bantus (from
West) mix throughout inland Highlands
¨
Kushitic, Nilotic, Bantu, & Khoisan groups
·
Result: enormous cultural & linguistic diversity
v
Africa to 1000 in World Perspective
Ø
Possible origins of
early man
Ø
Major political powers
& cultures emerged in Africa:
§
Egypt, Kush (Napata & Meroe), Aksum, & Nilotic
culture
§
All effected trade,
cooperation, conflict, religion, culture
§
All made key contacts
& contributions to other cultures
Ø
Through trade spread
diverse ideas & culture along w/goods
§
Affect Hellenistic & Roman worlds, India, Iran, & Arabia
Ø
Culture: Christian monasticism began in Egypt
§
Greek translation of Bible completed in Alexandria
§
Augustine of Hippo established early Christian doctrine
§
Ethiopia
protected early Muslim refugees at Abyssinia
Ø
Islam’s
expansion would redefine & eliminate much of above