Chapter 3 Early African Societies and the Bantu
Chapter 3 Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations 1 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Africa: Geography n n n n 5, 000 miles north-south, east-west North: q mountainous coastline Sahara desert West: q interior grasslands, tropical jungle on coast East (on Indian ocean): q snowy mountains, upland plateaus Central: Jungles South: hills, plateaus, deserts 2 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Development of African Agriculture n n n Sahara desert originally highly fertile region Western Sudan region nomadic herders, c. 9000 BCE q Domestication of cattle c. 7500 BCE q Later, cultivation of sorghum, yams, increasingly diverse Widespread desiccation of the Sahara c. 5000 BCE 3 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Who was Herodotus? n Where am I from? 486 BCE-425 CE The father of history-he was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically and critically, and then to arrange them into a historiographical narrative. “The Histories” 4 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
The “Gift of the Nile” phrased by Herodotus The Nile Valley, 3000 -2000 BCE n n n Gradual, predictable flooding q Inundation (July-October) q Sprouting q Summer Communication: q Nubia-Egypt n Current: north n Winds: south q Sub-Saharan Africa. Mesopotamia Increased in importance w/ desiccation of Sahara 5 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Calendar 12 months, 30 days n Divided into 3 seasons: n Akhet-innudation Perket-growing Shemu-drought or harvest n n 6 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Early Agriculture in Nile Valley n 10, 000 BCE migrants from Red Sea hills (northern Ethiopia) q n n Introduce collection of wild grains, language roots of Coptic (the language of ancient Egypt) 5000 BCE Sudanic cultivators, herders migrate to Nile river valley Adaptation to seasonal flooding of Nile through construction of dikes, waterways q Villages dot Nile by 4000 BCE 7 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Impact on Political Organization n n As in Mesopotamia a need formal organization of public affairs Need to maintain order and organize community projects Egypt: simple, local irrigation projects Rural rather than heavily urban development Trade networks develop 8 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Unification of Egypt n Legendary conqueror Menes, c. 3100 unifies Egyptian kingdom q q q Sometimes identified with Narmer-maybe the same person? Tradition: founder of Memphis, cultural and political center of ancient Egypt Instituted the rule of the Pharaoh (Horus) n n n Claimed descent from the gods-Gods living on earth Absolute rulers, had slaves buried with them from 2600 BCE Most powerful during Archaic Period (3100 -2660 BCE) and Old Kingdom (2660 -2160 BCE) 9 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
The Pyramids n n Symbols of the pharaoh’s authority and divine status A testimony of the pharaohs’ ability to marshal Egypt’s resources. Largest Khufu (Cheops) 2. 3 M limestone blocks avg weight 2. 5 tons Role: burial chambers for Pharaohs 10 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Relations with Nubia n n n Competition over Nile trade Military conflict between 3100 -2600 BCE Drives Nubians to the south q n Established Kingdom of Kush, c. 2500 BCE Trade, cultural influences continue despite military conflict 11 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
The New Kingdom Imperial Egypt, 1400 BCE n n n ALL HAIL Few pyramids, but major monumental architectural projects Engaged in empire-building to protect against foreign invasion Local resistance drives Egypt out of Nubia Kingdom of Kush revives c. 1100 BCE Invasions of Kushites, Assyrians destroy Egypt mid 6 th century BCE 12 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Egyptian Urban Culture n Major cities along Nile river, especially at delta q n Nubian cities include Kerma, Napata, Meroë q n Memphis c. 3100 BCE, Heliopolis c. 2900 BCE Located at cataracts of the Nile Well-defined social classes q Pharaohs to slaves. Archaeological discoveries in Nubia also support classbased society Patriarchal societies, notable exceptions: female Pharaoh Hatshepsut (r. 1473 -1458 BCE) http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Jb. BNkp 1 Ff. Mc q 14 mins q q q 13 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Economic Specialization n Bronze metallurgy introduced late, with Hyksos invasion Development of iron early, c. 900 BCE Trade along Nile river q q More difficult in Nubia due to cataracts Sea trade in Mediterranean 14 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Hieroglyphs n “Holy Inscriptions” q q q n Writing appeared at least by 3200 BCE Pictographic supplemented with symbols representing sounds and ideas Survives on monuments, buildings and sheets of papyrus Hieroglyphs formal writing, hieratic script for everyday affairs used from 2600 BCE – 600 CE Adopts Greek alphabet – demotic and Coptic scripts Meroitic writing - flexible system borrowed from hieroglyphs, represents sounds rather than ideas 15 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Meroitic -Nubian 16 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Hieratic glyphs and the hieroglyphs they evolved from 17 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Development of Organized Religious Traditions n n Principal gods Amon and Re Religious tumult under Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) (r. 1364 -1347 BCE) q q n n Introduces sole worship of sun god Aten One of the world’s earliest expressions of Monotheism Death of Akhenaten, traditional priest restore the cult of Amon-Re to privileged status http: //discoveringegypt. com/egyptian-videodocumentaries/akhenaten-the-rebel-pharaoh/ 18 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Mummification and the Afterlife n n Inspiration of the cycles of the Nile Belief in the revival of the dead q First: ruling classes only, later expanded to include lower classes n Cult of Osiris http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=OFL-03 Xjam 4 n 4 mins/ 5 mins q q q n Lord of the underworld Power to determine who deserved immortality Held out hope of eternal reward for those who lived moral lives Nubian worship of Apedemak and Sebiumeker 19 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Mummy curse n http: //www. unmuseum. org/mummy. htm 20 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Bantu Migrations, 3000 -1000 BCE n n Bantu: “people” Migration throughout sub-Saharan regions q n Over 500 variations of original Bantu language q n n Population pressures 90 million speakers By 1000 BCE, occupied most of Africa south of the equator Eduplace. com 21 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Similar to Indo-European migrations…How? 22 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
n Sanskrit, Persian, Greek and Latin languages are influences… not Egyptian! 23 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
http: //www. eduplace. com/kids/socsci/ca/books/bkf 3 /imaps/AC_06_206_bantu. ht ml 24 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
Bantu Religions n n Evidence of early monotheism Deistic views as well q n Prayers to intercessors, e. g. ancestor spirits Great variations among populations 25 Copyright © 2007 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.
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