Africa400-1500

“The Kingdoms of Africa Prior to European Rule”

Main ideas for “Classical Africa” (600BC-1500 AD)

• “ALL ADVANCED CIVLIZATIONS PRIOR TO EUROPEAN ARRIVAL”

• Trading kingdoms based on GOLD, SALT, SLAVES & IVORY

• Trading kingdoms-GHANA, MALI & SONGHAI• Geography and Climate impact the development of

Africa (RIVERS)• Religion and belief system- ANIMISM &

WORSHIPPING OF DEAD ANCESTORS.• Question- WHY DO WE KNOW SO LITTLE ABOUT

THE CIVLIZATIONS FROM ABOUT 600 BC-1500 AD?

                                          

      

Essential Questions

• What geographical features affected the development of Africa?

• What conditions contributed to the varied cultures that developed in Africa? How has this been changed over time?

• Why is/was so little known about Africa prior to 1500?• What products were traded along the Africa Western-

Saharan routes?• How did Islam affect the development of cultures in

Africa?• Explain the family patterns of African societies and how

these influenced community and culture.• Why has tribalism been more important than nationalism?• How did European imperialism destroy the cultures and

societies of ancient Africa?

                                             

               

Climatic Zones of Africa

• Four main climates:

1. Rain Forest

2. Savanna

3. Desert

4. Mediterranean

Climates

• Rain Forest: Located near and around the equator. (8% of Africa)

• Heavy rains, leeched soil, many animals, lush vegetation.

• Deforestation is a major problem. Slash and burn for farm land.

• Savannas: Grasslands dotted w/ trees. (Great for wildlife)

• Unreliable rainfall, but it will support life.

• Deserts: dry and limited water.• 40 % of Africa and GROWING each day, week

and year. Desertification.• Sahara Desert is the largest desert in Africa, but

the Kalahari and Namib deserts are large as well.• Mediterranean Climate Zone: the northern and

southern tips of Africa. Mild-Hot wet climate. Great for farming.

• VERY IMPORTANT: Rivers in Africa are non-navigable due to waterfalls and rapids.– THERE ARE CATARACTS (WATERFALLS)

• Rift Valley: East Africa. This has created high peaks and valleys (Mount Kilimanjaro.)

                                               

     

Bantu Migrations

• This is when tribes sudden left Northern Africa and spread southward.

• Many dispersed in the rainforests and on the coastal areas.

• Their common thread: similar language.

The Kingdoms We Examine:

Name of Civilization

Time Period Economic Basis for Existence: Trade or Agriculture

Noteworthy Achievements

Kush: Meroe   

Trade & FarmingIvory, ebony, perfumes

Iron Tools, mixture of Egyptian ideas

AksumAxum

  

Trade: gold, iron, emeralds, spice incense, ivory

Obelisk, laws, churches

Swahili(Kilwa)

  

Traders Streets

Zimbabwe    Farmers Monetary system

Ghana   

Traders: gold, slaves, salt

Arabic alphabet, taxes, Islam

Mali 800-1400 AD  

Traders: gold ivory and slaves

Islam, universities

Songhai(y)  

900- 1500 ADTraders & Commerce: Slaves, Gold, Salt

Learning centers, Islam

400-1200 AD

2000-350 BC

900 BC-600 AD

900-1500 AD

Kush(2000BC-350BC)

• The Kingdom of Kush developed in the Upper Nile

• This was a trading kingdom (ivory, gold, wood and perfumes.)

• Used iron for their armies/weapons.• Axum:• As it declined Axum emerged!• Axum continued the trade between Africa and the

Mediterranean. (gold, ivory, animal pelts)• Blend of Arab and African values/cultures

West Africa Traders

• Ghana (400-1200)

• Gold-Salt trade route in the Niger Valley

• Height of power in 900

• Their time came to an end when devout Muslims attacked

• The kingdom of Mali emerges from the ruins of Ghana

ROYALTY GORGEOUSLY ATTIRED

"The King adorns himself like a woman wearing necklaces round his neck and bracelets on his forearms and he puts on a high cap decorated with gold and wrapped in a turban of fine cotton. He holds an audience in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses covered with gold-embroidered materials…and on his right, are the sons of the vassal kings of his country, wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold.

At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree. Round their necks they wear collars of gold and silver, studded with a number of balls of the same metals."10th century geographer Al-Bakri, quoted in Corpus of Early Arabic Sources for West African History.

Kingdom of Mali

• Sundiata Keita defeated rivals and built an empire on the remains of Ghana

• Gold-Salt Traders• Most were farmers and herders• In the 1000’s most of Mali converts to Islam.• In 1324 Mansa Musa went to Mecca because he

was a Muslim…this spread Islam across Saharan Africa.

• Ibn Battuta wrote a famous description of his travels (you’ll get this later!)

Kingdom of Songhai

• 1464 Songhai gained control of the Gold Salt trade

• Sonni Ali was the leader

• Later Timbuktu became a great center.

• Invasions made Songhai splinter…then it lead to it’s demise.

Family Life

• Africa Tribes center around the nuclear family.

• All member contributed equally for the success of the tribe.

• Women’s roles varied from tribe to tribe.• Their importance rested in the fact she

could bare children…if no children then this would be a disgrace!

• Marriages were arranged by the parents.

• Government and Law: Most of the kingdoms of Africa were headed by a KING who was divine.

• Local rule was done by a council of elders.• Animism: There was a sense of a supreme

being, but there was a respect for nature and the animals in nature.

• History and Literature: Oral History through story tellers.

The Lost Wax ProcessThe process begins with beeswax, latex, or another material with a low melting point. It must be soft enough for carving fine details, but hard enough to retain its shape. After the wax object has been carved, increasingly coarse layers of clay are applied to the object and allowed to dry. The first and finest clay slips capture the wax details in the smooth mold, and the coarser clay layers provide strength. The entire assemblage is fired, causing the original wax carving to melt away, leaving only a baked clay shell. Liquid metal is poured into the empty mold and left to cool and harden. Later, the clay exterior is broken open, revealing the finished metal object beneath. In direct lost-wax casting, the object produced is always unique, as the mold is necessarily destroyed as part of the casting process.

                                    Asante (Ghana)Gold weightBrass

                                                                                        

Cast in the lost wax method, gold weights are the result of a beeswax mold carved into a specific shape or form. The beeswax mold form is then covered with a clay casing and fired. As the heat melts away the wax mold, molten metal is poured into the clay casing mold. Metal such as copper, bronze, or brass are most common. When the metal has hardened, the clay mold is broken apart to reveal and remove the metal gold weight. Since the mold is broken in the process, each gold weight is original and unique.

A variation of this process that is repeatedly and successfully practiced by the Asante is a "direct cast technique", also known by some as the "lost beetle technique." In this process, natural objects are used instead of a wax figure to create the clay mold. Examples of objects that have been used to make such gold weights are the body of a beetle, a peanut shell, an animal foot, or a cocoon.