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Chapter 3. Early African Societies & The Bantu Migrations. A View of Egypt by Satellite. Development of African Agriculture. Sahara desert originally highly fertile region Western Sudan region nomadic herders, c. 9000 BCE Domestication of cattle c. 7500 BCE
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Chapter 3 Early African Societies & The Bantu Migrations
Development of African Agriculture • Sahara desert originally highly fertile region • Western Sudan region nomadic herders, c. 9000 BCE • Domestication of cattle c. 7500 BCE • Later, cultivation of sorghum, yams, increasingly diverse • Widespread desiccation of the Sahara c. 5000 BCE
The Gift of the Nile Gradual, predictable flooding • Inundation (July-October) • Sprouting • Summer Communication: • Nubia-Egypt • Current: north • Winds: south • Sub-Saharan Africa-Mesopotamia Increased in importance w/ desiccation of Sahara
The Nile Valley, 3000-2000 BCE The Delta & The Cataracts
Early Agriculture in Nile Valley • 10,000 BCE migrants from Red Sea hills (northern Ethiopia) • Introduce collection of wild grains, language roots of Coptic • 5000 BCE Sudanic cultivators, herders migrate to Nile river valley • Adaptation to seasonal flooding of Nile through construction of dikes, waterways • Villages dot Nile by 4000 BCE
Impact on Political Organization • As in Mesopotamia a need for 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
Unification of Egypt • Legendary conqueror Menes, c. 3100 unifies Egyptian kingdom • Sometimes identified with/as Narmer • Tradition: founder of Memphis, cultural and political center of ancient Egypt • Instituted the rule of the Pharaoh • Claimed descent from the gods • Absolute rulers, had slaves buried with them from 2600 BCE • Most powerful during Archaic Period (3100-2660 BCE) and Old Kingdom (2660-2160 BCE)
Menes: Unifier of Upper & Lower Egypt c. 3050 B. C. E. ?
The Pyramids • 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 million limestone blocks w/ average weight of 2.5 tons • Role: burial chambers for Pharaohs
Valley of the Kings View of the central East Valley
Relations with Nubia • Competition over Nile trade • Military conflict between 3100-2600 BCE • Drives Nubians to the south • Established Kingdom of Kush, c. 2500 BCE • Trade, cultural influences continue despite military conflict
The New Kingdom Imperial Egypt, 1400 BCE • 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 6th century BCE
Egyptian Urban Culture • Major cities along Nile river, especially at delta • Memphis c. 3100 BCE, Heliopolis c. 2900 BCE • Nubian cities include Kerma, Napata, Meroë • Located at cataracts of the Nile • Well-defined social classes • Pharaohs to slaves • Archaeological discoveries in Nubia also support class-based society • Patriarchal societies, notable exceptions: female Pharaoh Hatshepsut (r. 1473-1458 BCE)
Ancient Egyptian Housing Middle Class Homes Peasant Homes
An Egyptian Woman’s “Must-Haves” Mirror Perfume Whigs
Economic Specialization • Bronze metallurgy introduced late, with Hyksos invasion • Development of iron early, c. 900 BCE • Trade along Nile river • More difficult in Nubia due to cataracts • Sea trade in Mediterranean
Hieroglyphs • “Holy Inscriptions” • Writing appeared at least by 3200 BCE • Pictographic supplemented with symbols representing sounds and ideas • Survives on monuments, buildings and sheets of papyrus • Hieroglyphs for 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
Hieroglyphics “Alphabet” 24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols
Papyrus plant growing in a garden, Australia Egyptian Papyrus Drawing Papyrus Paper Hieratic Scroll Piece Papyrus Plant
Development of Organized Religious Traditions • Principal gods Amon and Re • Religious tumult under Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) (r. 1364-1347 BCE) • 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
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) • Akhenaten was the only pharaoh to try and introduce the idea of monotheism to the polytheistic Egyptians. • Because he predated Zoroaster by approximately 700 years, he is considered the first monotheist. • The one god he believed in was the sun, represented by Aton, god of the sun disc.
Egyptian Gods & Goddesses:“The Sacred ‘Trinity’” Osiris Isis Horus
Mummification and the Afterlife • Inspiration of the cycles of the Nile • Belief in the revival of the dead • First: ruling classes only, later expanded to include lower classes • Cult of Osiris • 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
The Final Judgement Anubis Horus Osiris
Preparations for the Underworld ANUBIS weighs the dead person’s heart against a feather. Priests protected your KA, or soul-spirit
Egyptian Mummies Ramses II1279-1212 B. C. E. Seti I1291-1278 B. C. E. Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep II1210-1200 B. C. E.
Journey to the Underworld The dead travel on the “Solar Bark.” A boat for the journey is provided for a dead pharaoh in his tomb.