African Civilizations

1
African Civilizations
2
Land of Geographic Contrasts

• Deserts
• Rainforests
• Savannas
• Coastal areas/Mediterranean climate

3
Early Societies

• Nok, Djenne-Djeno early groups
• Common elements
• - Basic social unit family
• - Local religions
• - Polytheistic
• - Animism spirits are present in animals,
  plants, natural forces
• - Some belief in one creator god or supreme
  deity
• - Oral traditions - storytellers, or griots

4
Migrations How did people spread through the
continent?
5
Migrations

• Clue to examining migrations
• - Language!
• Why?
• 1) People bring languages with them
• 2) Languages evolve and change
• 3) Languages show that two peoples meet

6
Why the Bantu?

• Niger-Congo languages one of the major world
  language groups
• Africas largest
• Over 900 languages
• Bantu is a major languagefamily of Niger-Congo
  group
• Bantu 2/3 of Africas population
• 300 ethnic groups
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Swahili is a widely spoken Bantu language

7
Why did the Bantu Migrate?

• Fear of famine
• Overcrowding/population boom
• Drought
• Unreliable climate
• Scarcity of land for farming/grazing
• External pressures
• Attacks from outsiders (Arabs in W. Africa)

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• Internal conflicts
• Disagreements between clans
• Ownership of lands, scarcity of resources
• Disease (tsetse fly)
• Natural disasters (earthquakes, extreme flooding)

9
Why did the Bantu Migrate?

• Search for fertile land?
• Love for adventure?
• Influenced by movement of family or friends?

10
Effects of Migration Positive

• Introduction of iron-working
• New crops (yams, bananas)
• Absorbed other tribes
• Spread language
• Centralized govt
• Permanent structures
• Subsistence agriculture
• Rise of large states

11
Effects of Migration Negative

• Depopulation
• Loss of cultures due to cultural absorption
• Transformation of languages

12
Other Ethnic Groups of Africa

• Berbers (Morocco, Algeria)
• Dinka (of Sudan)
• Fulani (Western Africa)
• Hausa (Nigeria, Niger)
• Khoikhoi (Namibia)
• Manding (Western Africa)

13
African Kingdoms

• Mali
• Songhai
• Aksum (Ethiopia)
• Ghana, Benin (West Africa)
• Efe, Almoravids/Almohads (North Central Africa)
• Zimbabwe, Mutapa (Eastern Southern empires)

14
Aksum East Africa

• Strategic location ? trade route between Asia
  Mediterranean world
• Aksums origins Arab traders mixed with people
  of Kush
• Aksum traded salt, gold, ivory, spices

15
Culture of Aksum

• Many different cultures
• Greek language
• Christianity widespread
• Technologies
• Tall structures
• Farmed on terraces to hold water
• Only early culture (other than Egypt) to have
  written language

16
Aksum Foreign Influence

• Askum was able to remain free from Muslim control
• Decline
• Cut off from trade, had to retreat to mwhen
  attacked

17
North Central Kingdoms

• The Efe
• Hunter-gatherers (traditional economy)
• Rain-forest
• Traveled in kinship groups
• Leader was elder male (patriarchal)
• Age sets for children

18
Stateless Societies

• No central govt
• No person has sole authority
• People made own decisions as families

19
Islam North Africa

• Berbers North Africans who converted to Islam
• Tried to spread Islam
• N. African societies became theocratic
• Encouraged Islamic tradition of obeying law
  supported by govt (religion govt together)

20
West African Kingdoms

• Use of camels allowed trade across Sahara Desert
• Gold-salt trade was essential
• Ghana monarchy
• Islam was brought to Ghana through trade w/Muslim
  merchants
• DIRECT CULTURAL DIFFUSION

21
West African Kingdoms

• Mali
• Under ruler Mansa Musa, it became an Islamic
  empire
• Songhai
• Arose in 1400s
• Used canoes horses to attack others
• Fell in 1591 because others had better weapons
• Other kingdoms Benin, Ife, Oyo

22
Eastern City-States

• Swahili blend of Bantu-speakers and Berber
  Muslims
• Trade
• Porcelain from China
• Jewels cotton from India
• Exported ivory, gold, tortoise shells, etc.
• Kilwa was the riches of the trading ports
• Later attacked burned by Portuguese

23
Islam Africa

• Adoption of Islam changed political structure
• Most govt officials and wealthy merchants
  converted to Islam
• Many commoners kept traditional beliefs (animism,
  etc.)
• Muslim merchants engaged in human slave trade
  (sent slaves as far as Persia India)
• Shona people ? decline
• Overuse of soil, destroyed grasslands, lack of
  timber
• Couldnt support large population