Africa 8000 BCE – 600 CE

1. Unit 1 Section 1 Africa 8000 BCE – 600 CE

2. Agricultural Revolution • The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca. 8000 and 2000 BCE also known as the Neolithic Revolution • Bantu • Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages • Foragers • People who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects • Hieroglyphics • System of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. • Used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt • Literacy was limited to small group of scribes and administrators because of the time to learn and master the system Key Terms

3. Neolithic • The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolutions. It follows the Paleolithic period • Papyrus • A reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. From it was produced a course, paper-like writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other peoples in the ancient Mediterranean & Middle East • Pastoralists • People in agricultural communities in arid regions which depended heavily upon herds of domesticated animals • Pharaoh • The central figure in the ancient Egyptian state. Believed to be an earthly manifestation of the gods, he used his absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt. • Trans-Saharan trade • Trading network linking North Africa with sub-Saharan Africa across the Sahara Key Terms continued

4. Until approx. 8000BCE all humans lived in a similar manner: • Small nomadic communities determined by marriage and kinship that relied on hunting and gathering to sustain them • All members of the group needed to participate with men hunting and women gathered fruits and plants The Earliest Human Societies

5. Approximately 10,000 years ago • Also referred to as the Neolithic Revolution • Over many generations groups of people settle and developed techniques for plant and animal domestication • The change meant less people were needed for food production • This led to specialization of labor and freed members of the community to make important technological and political advances • Examples would be the development of metallurgy in bronze and iron for use in tools and weapons • This also changed gender roles as women were expected to bear & raise children and society progressed into a patriarchal system • Men were in positions of public prominence and power and women had by and large limited rights and power (there are exceptions but this was for the majority) Agricultural Revolutions

6. By 3000 BCE major civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and along the Nile Later civilizations emerged in the Indus River Valley, China, Mesoamerica and South America River valleys provided means of transportation as well as rich soil in the flood basins Though farming in early civilizations brought about more food and greater stability – early civilizations suffered from disease brought on by living among animals and without adequate sewage facilities Civilizations emerge

7. Civilizations that did not emerge in river valleys were more arid and not well suited for agriculture • Pastoralism developed in these areas • Small societies that were dependent on herds of animals that moved their livestock among grazing lands and watering places • Sometimes pastoralist & agricultural communities came into contact and conflict over land use Civilizations emerge (continued)

8. Religion in Neolithic communities were continued pagan beliefs of forager communities. • Changes developed from the forager’s worship of geographic features and significant animals whereas agriculturalists worshiped Mother Earth and gods of the elements such as fire, wind and rain. Civilizations emerge (continued)

9. Major civilizations first developed in Egypt • Developed a complex social order and economy • Attained scientific and artistic heights • Flexed military muscle • Egypt’s geography and centralized political system made it all possible • Early farming villages appeared in Egypt around 5500 BCE and began domesticating plants and animals • Between 5000 and 3000BCE as the Egyptian climate became drier the population migrated to the fertile land long the Nile River Egypt 3100-1070 BCE

10. Flowed south to north and provided: • Agricultural support and irrigation • Basis of religion • Transportation • The flooding of the Nile was more predictable than that of the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia – however – flood levels did have an effect on political stability • Large floods jeopardized residential areas and thus lives • Small floods reduced the amount of fertile land and food levels which often led to regime change The Nile river

11. Migration and increased food production caused the population along the Nile to increase • Around 3100 BCE the smaller communities along the Nile were unified into a single state led by a pharaoh. • Dynasties were established within families and reflected which region along the Nile was most powerful. • Egyptian history can also be broken into 3 kingdoms separated by periods of disunity and decline • Old Kingdom was centered in Memphis • Middle & New Kingdoms were based on the south, in Thebes Unification of Egypt

12. Politically Egypt was centered on the pharaoh who was viewed as an earthly god. • Source of all laws and responsible for maintaining order and prosperity • Also controlled long-distance trade which prevented the emergence of a merchant class • Though seen as all powerful, the pharaoh was supported by a massive bureaucracy • Kept records (development of hieroglyphics and use of papyrus) • Collected taxes • Many pharaoh’s incorporated a merit-based system for awarding promotions or land grants • Power was apparent by the monumental architecture such as the pyramids at Giza Pharaoh

13. Social Hierarchy

14. Male –dominated society but women enjoyed many legal and economic rights that were denied by other ancient civilizations • Examples: women could own and inherit property, they were able to divorce and retain their dowry if the marriage failed • There were also a few queens and queen mothers who held positions of political power • Growth of knowledge: • Advanced mathematics for the construction of major monuments with simple tools • Chemistry developed as an outgrowth of Egyptian belief in the afterlife to perfect mummification • Astronomy led to an advanced calendar to help in crop harvesting, as well as efficient transportation along the Nile Life in Egypt

15. During the Old Kingdom Egypt was largely self-sufficient and self-interested. • Physical isolation prevented mass migration or invasion and the limited contact with outsiders was in the context of trade • During the Middle Kingdom Egypt’s economic interests led it to invade Nubia to gain control of gold fields • Nubia is located south of Egypt and connected sub-Saharan Africa with North Africa and thus Nubian leaders acted as middle men in the Trans Sub-Saharan trade network, which Egypt sought to destroy with invasion • During the New Kingdom expansionism continued • Egyptian control of Nubia and further south the kingdom of Kush would last over 500 years and result in cultural dominance by Egypt in these regions • Children from elite Nubian families were taken to Egypt as hostages to ensure cooperation among new subjects Foreign Relations

16. In the last millennium BCE powerful leaders emerged in Nubia and later further south in Meroe. Control shifted to the Nubian kings and surprisingly Egyptian culture, burial customs, and architecture were revitalized Nubian rule ended with the invasion of the Assyrians in 660 BCE Assyrian rule was broken in the 4th Century BCE when power shifted still farther south to Meroe which replaced Egyptian customs with sub-Saharan ones The End of Egyptian’s golden age

17. Prior to the Trans-Saharan trade and the rise of the Indian Ocean trade network, sub-Saharan Africa was isolated • Because of scarcity of water, low population density, and the massive size of the Sahara Desert - sub-Saharan Africa was a complex mix of cultures having their own languages and political and social characteristics • Common group characteristics: • All were monarchies • Clear social structures that grouped people according to age, kinship, gender and occupation Sub-Saharan Africa

18. Nok Sculpture • - What mood would you describe the sculpture evoking? • - What might be the status of the person represented in this sculpture? • - What possible purpose might this sculpture serve?

19. Limited trade until the domestication of the Camel which expanded it significantly Salt from the Southern region of the desert was traded for palm oil and forest products from the forest zone near the equator When the Roman Empire dominated North Africa, products from that region were incorporated into the Mediterranean until Rome’s decline in the 3rd Century CE Trade

20. The Bantu people provided unity in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1st millennium CE when they slowly migrated from the equatorial region to southern Africa. • As they migrated, they spread the Bantu family of languages (over 300 languages of Southern Africa belong to the Bantu family – can be traced to the Niger-Congo region) • The Bantu also spread the use of iron. • Iron tools improved farming techniques and efficiency • Greater food supply sparked economic development and population growth • Bantu migration increased the vitality of sub-Saharan Africa and played a key role in the Indian Ocean’s large and prosperous trade network Bantu

21. Bantu Migration

22. Compare and contrast life in foraging societies with life in agricultural societies after the Agricultural Revolutions. • (Be sure to pay attention to why??) Free – Response Question