The contemporary political history of Africa is marked by imperialism, the expulsion of foreign powers and settler elites, and the post-independence travails of its roughly fifty states. ODRhYzAzZTNiOTc2MTJiMGNkYmQ3ZjdiYThjMzE5M2I5MTIzMzMwODE5OWJm 5 Ancient African social structures that thrived before colonisers Metalwork held a special place in African culture. Perhaps the highland areas which have had most impact on the history of Africa have been the Ethiopian Highlands, which have sheltered Africas only historic Christian state; and the highlands of southern Africa, which have played a key role in that regions history. The larger oases house trading towns and farming communities. The Political History of Africa: The Pre-Colonial Era - African Some of these clearings became large enough, over generations, to include many villages and so become the basis for chiefdoms, or even kingdoms. A popular form of leisure was a board game called mankala. Craft workers were often dedicated to meeting the needs of the ruler and the elite, their workshops located within the royal compound. It has captivated visitors since it was built as a royal burial chamber some 4,500 years ago. Equality was very important in these tribes and all people were treated equally. In the West African state of Bornu, for example, some royal women controlled extensive territories and were active in the government of the realm. Those humans whose livelihood depended on adventuring into the bush hunters above all but also herbalists and iron workers, who needed wood for their furnaces were regarded with awe, for they must be protected by strong magic to survive such trips. That said, African oral culture was exceptionally rich, with an enormous store of myths, stories, poems and aphorisms. MmYyNjc5MzNiN2Y1ZWY3NWJhMmMyZTBhZGE4YzI0OTI2MjAwZTRmODkwN2M1 This was that there was a fundamental distinction between the cultivated and the wild, between civilization and savagery. The surrounding bush remained untamed, wild, a source of harm, the abode of dangerous animals and evil spirits. Throughout Africa, bearing and bringing up children was probably the most vital task after brute survival. It is inhabited by the San hunter-gatherer people who have adapted their lifestyle to this forbidding environment over 20,000 years. There was constant tension between the generations, which could spill over into real violence. The geography of Sub-Saharan Africa poses severe challenges to the rise and spread of pre-modern civilization. Those suspected of witchcraft were commonly relatives or neighbors who would benefit from a persons misfortune; and especially women whose age, childlessness, deformity or demeanor suggested bitterness. Learn about the Bantu migrations,. Sometimes the growth of these village clusters went unchecked by major famine or disease for a long time. Later, they faced competition from Hausa traders, who created an even more far flung network. Ancient West Africa was characterized by rich culture, agriculture, and trade, composed of stateless societies without organized hierarchy or government. To the Western mind, at least, this aspect of religion was indistinguishable from magic, and was in the hands of mediums, priests, diviners and healers. In the grasslands, the hot, dry climate makes for a short growing season. 7th-13th century). The more high-status and long-distance traders, however, were men. This process started to happen at different times according to region. In these circumstances the population might grow to a point where the availability of good land grew short. Once a cluster had acquired some form of statehood, its people were able to act in a much more co-ordinated fashion. The Europeans then made use of existing (African) political structures, which proved themselves not primitive at all, to run the colonies. In times of famine, the people took to foraging, braving the wilderness to do so. Compounding these difficulties, sub-Saharan Africa has been largely cut-off from the great centers of civilization elsewhere in Eurasia. NjI3NjM4ODlkZDhlYWEyNmY2NmFiMDk1NjJjYjUwZTQxNmQwMmM4M2E4Mzkz As a result, production was often labour-intensive, in a part of the world where labour was already scarce. Circumstances might have been against African societies in the effort to create advanced material cultures, but this did not stop some of them from producing some of the most highly regarded works of art known to man. With the growing emphasis on cattle herding, infant survival must have profited from increased milk supplies, especially when cattle-keeping enabled their owners to colonize the malaria-free highlands which cover much of eastern and souther Africa. Many of them rose and fell throughout the African history. African societies never really ceased to be colonizing societies, and this profoundly influenced all aspects of African culture. OTIxY2QzNGMwMmQ0OGI0YWIzNDFhOThjNGU4ZTVhM2IzYjQyOTkzYjMwZmNk In fact, cults involving rain shrines and weather gods might command the loyalty of people over a wide area, a form of worship practiced side-by-side with that concerning the spirits of the land. Oral traditions and Muslim and European records suggest that large-scale famines occurred every 70 years or so, and were often accompanied by epidemic disease. Egyptians believed that the gods controlled the universe. As we have seen, different African peoples specialized in different modes of food production hunter-gathering (and fishing), nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism, and cultivation of crops. (59) $14.99. They have used a wide range of techniques, building up the productivity of the land through manuring, terracing, and digging channels to lead water from stream to field, sometimes across wooden aqueducts. A patchy record. Many studies have been mostly about political centralisation. This crosses the content from its west coast to the east coast. The unequal access to women made for severe tensions between males of different generations the young men felt frustration, envy and anger with the older men for monopolizing the female sex. Zip. Click here to be redirected to our dedicated TimeMaps help section. As the years went by they (or in some societies their entire age set) would move up the rungs to senior warrior, and then when they were thirty or so, to elder-hood. The usual form of marriage was through bride-wealth a groom exchanged a portion for his wealth to a brides family in order to marry her. Indeed, they even went on strike when a neighboring ruler attempted to convert them to Islam. If the demands of royal authority became too onerous, in the form of heavy taxes, say, or the demands made for public projects or service in the royal army, people could (and did) simply up and leave en masse. In large societies with dense populations, which showed marked differences in wealth and were controlled by strong political power, human sacrifice was widely practiced. Under Muslim influence the game of dara became popular. In matrilineal societies, in which which descent was traced through mothers, womens status could be particularly favored. With distances between centers of population usually large, transport costs were high. They could make the Nile overflow, cause famine, or even bring death. Some cultivators worshipped a supreme god, particularly when seeking rain. 4.7. In some places, groups of skilled craftsmen had their own chiefs. One other consequence of African underpopulation was the prevalence of the polygamy (see below). Some of these lived permanently in one town, but others spent much of their time wandering from town to town, market to market, with their wares. Underpopulation meant that disgruntled people could always seek new land beyond the reach of royal authority. Much dance was narrative in purpose, telling and retelling myths and stories. They sought to bring shrines and cults under their authority through a mixture of threat and patronage. Egyptian Social Structure [ushistory.org] The Mali empire, for example, had secretaries to conduct foreign correspondence, but its internal administration only employed word of mouth. OGJhZDA5YWFmYzE1NjI3OGEwZTY3MmE2NDFiYjllYjg5MDM2MGFmNmNiZWRm Genomic study of indigenous Africans paints c | EurekAlert! As warriors they would cultivate a military ethos and be sent out to military outposts to guard the groups cattle and territory. Learning support for teachers and students. Malaria was probably the biggest killer, especially of infants. Those humans whose livelihood depended on adventuring into the bush hunters above all but also herbalists and iron workers, who needed wood for their furnaces were regarded with awe, for they must be protected by strong magic to survive such trips.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-4','ezslot_13',198,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-4','ezslot_14',198,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-4-0_1'); .leader-4-multi-198{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:15px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:15px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}. To judge by reports of early European travelers, many Africans had the misfortune to find themselves without kin, and unable to work. The foundation myths of several states, including the kingdom of Benin, tell of populations inviting a foreigner to settle among them, to settle their disputes and provide them with leadership. Social Structure in Ancient Egypt - World History Encyclopedia Each passage features one paragraph of informational text and 4 multiple-choice questions. ZGEzYzEwNGE3M2M4NDVjZWFiNDg4OTE5MzljZGNmY2UyN2ViOTc1YTZmMTRk In eastern and southern Africa, the folded landscape laid down by tectonic activity millions of years ago means that highland farming areas are interspersed with dry lowlands, suitable only for herding cattle. Social Structure - Ancient Africa - Kingdom of Axum - Weebly YmNjNjY4NWM4MWUxYzhlYjFmYzIwMmNiMTBmZTA0OWZlNGQ4ZmI5MzNlNmMz Africa, where humans first evolved, today remains a place of remarkable diversity. Cotton and woolen textiles were probably introduced at the same time, and by the 16th century cotton had become a form of currency amongst some peoples in southern Africa (for example the Shona). Long experience of these diseases contributed to a remarkably deep medical knowledge amongst Africa peoples. Underpopulation, and the difficulties that this created for taxation and control, meant that the kind of bureaucracies which invented literacy in Sumer or Egypt could not emerge in the African context. Such organizations had strong parallels with modern corporations, with agents stationed in towns scattered over the area where they operated. However, there have been many In Ghana Mali, and later in Songhai, kings ruled, but there were no queens, as odd as it was. In the west the southern border of the savannah is formed by the equatorial rain forests of West Africa and the Congo Basin, but to the east it continues down into East Africa, skirting round the Congo rain forests and blending into the subtropical savannah grasslands of central and southern Africa. Some towns specialized in a particular industry, such as leather-making, bead-making or metal-work, for which they were renowned over a large area. Iron was also an important regional trade commodity, as major smelting areas were only to be found in locations where abundant wood for the furnaces was available. Hamilton, et al. They believed in both good and bad spirits. The difficulties of transport noted above acted to restrict trade, and thus to the emergence of centers of specialist production. Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions. This in turn placed a constraint of technological innovation. Ancient Egypt was among the earliest civilizations.For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, for a time Christianity, and later, Arab and Islamic culture. Of the outlying settlements, only the more successful ones would survive. Other common maladies were hookworm anaemia, yaws, leprosy, smallpox and endemic syphilis (though not the more lethal venereal kind, which was only introduced into sub-Saharan Africa in the 16th century, after Europeans arrived). Some stateless peoples even looked to the rulers of neighboring states to provide arbitration in their disputes village communities bordering the powerful kingdom of Benin were examples of this. In that case, though not always, the excluded group has the propensity to oppose the incumbent extractive governance system. From a wider communal viewpoint, wives and children were needed to build up a lineages numbers and so help it survive into the future. One group of industrial workers should be mentioned in this context, although they were not strictly speaking craftsmen in the normal use of the term. The 25th Dynasty's reunification of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, and Kush, created the largest Egyptian empire since the New Kingdom. However, all African cities were to some extent religious centers, as rulers were closely associated with local shrines and rituals. It began around 3400 BCE. It was they who provided the support and security needed to get by. Keywords population phratries gene citizenship metics slavery Type Chapter Information Not only so, but the general health of the population was regularly weakened by famine. This was usually played communally, and noisily, in the open air, with plenty of noise. Ghana | historical West African empire | Britannica Here, the early settlers often used fire to clear the bush, and over large swathes of East and Central Africa in particular, thick forest was reduced to, first, open woodland, and then, in some places, to treeless steppe, more suited to cattle herding than crop production. OTZhNjdjMmQ4MzVlNTAyODMzY2ZjOTFlOWE3NjJkOGI5NjVmODQ2NGRhN2Y2 One other consequence of African underpopulation was the prevalence of the polygamy (see below). Some of these village clusters would experience the next step of evolving into small chiefdoms; and groups of chiefdoms might eventually be united (usually by force) into a single kingdom. To survive in these harsh conditions a person needed his kin around him. It was here our earliest ancestors evolved. The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. Some communities, especially those in rain forests, had a sacred barrier to keep the wilderness at bay. This is most marked in eastern, central and southern Africa during the second millennium CE, at the start of which population levels were at a very low level. In these, men did the more highly valued work of herding, protecting or raiding cattle, while women did the household chores and cultivated crops a lowly occupation in such societies. Some of these caravans could be huge, numbering hundreds of animals. Originally, there were two Egyptian kingdoms. This would normally be a cluster of households. All African towns, with but one or two exceptions such as Jenne in West Africa, were capitals of kingdoms. Module Ten, Activity Two - Exploring Africa As suggested by the above reference to status titles, however, stateless societies were by no means always egalitarian ones. Holistvo Ndej Preovsk kraj otvracia doba, kontakty. Ancient Africa boasts of the practice of democracy years before Lincoln and well-established governments that were able to expand and last for many centuries. The original settlers became the founding ancestors of the new community, and because it was they who had struck the original pact with the spirits of the land, it was they alone who could communicated with them, even (or especially) after death. Together, these might kill one third to one half of an affected population, nullifying the hard come by demographic gains of a generation. Next were the farmers. Eventually, however, immigrant rulers usually learnt to co-exist with local religious practitioners. The Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Traditional African Family - Mwizenge S. Tembo - Bridgewater He therefore possessed both religious and secular authority within his community. The abundant insect life of the tropics makes for a very high prevalence of serious diseases, for both humans and their animals; this greatly constrains the rates at which populations can grow. These occupied the grasslands around (and sometimes within) the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, and the more arid grasslands which covered so much of the continent. The surviving examples re terracotta, though there may well have been a much more substantial tradition of wood carving which lay behind these. These West African trade systems were facilitated by an international currency based on cowrie shells, whose distinctive appearance, durability, and limited supply made them very suitable for such a role. Gender and age differentials As in other parts of the world, textile crafts were widespread. This process only reached its completion in South Africa by the end of the 1st millennium CE. Not a few chiefly dynasties traced their ancestry back to such a figure. Egyptian society was structured like a pyramid. For cultivators in particular, any religious beliefs were underpinned by a deeply-held idea about the world in which they found themselves. The Political Structures of West African Colonies - Nicholas Barry NTNjZjkxMjQ0YmE1NWYxYzRjOTRkMTFjNWZkYWE5MjRjMWE1NjA0Mzk5Yzhh Pastoralist and farming communities have therefore lived in close proximity, which has been a major factor in state formation in these regions. Diving into that variation, a new analysis of 180 indigenous Africans from a dozen ethnically, culturally . Except in favorable locations, especially where fishing, or gathering aquatic resources, could supplement diets, hunting and foraging groups needed a large area of land on which to sustain themselves. The environment of sub-Saharan Africa is one of the hardest environments for human populations to thrive in. The Sahara desert forms a major barrier to contacts between the cities and states of the Mediterranean region and the peoples to its south. Their repertoire involved rituals, spells, dances and trances, as well as more practical applications such as herbs and ointments. The histories and cultures of Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia and North Africa are covered elsewhere. Ancient African Traditional Religions Before Christianity and Islamic From the 17th century onwards, indigenous African crops were supplemented by crops introduced from America, especially maize, cassava, beans and sweet potatoes. Most weaving was done by women, but in some major textile centers weavers were full-time professional men. There were also different social. MjM4NWRlOGNlZmQ4MDIzY2IzMTRjYWZhNjM1N2RmNjNjZDdlMjU4N2NlNGNl For cultivators in particular, any religious beliefs were underpinned by a deeply-held idea about the world in which they found themselves. Egypt reveals 9-metre long chamber inside Great Pyramid It offers a general survey of the geographical environments they inhabited; their settlements, social structures and economies; and their religions and cultures. MzE2MGQ0NGZjMTczYTA2YjU3ZDY1YWQ3YTRiOTdlZmE5NTQyMTg0NDgwZTYz In many of the great kingdoms of Africa, administration was carried on entirely orally. Firstly there was the King who ruled over everyone and was thought to have divine powers. Unlike in other parts of the world, temples and other religious buildings did not dominate townscapes the exception here being the large mosques of Muslim cities. Your access to this site was blocked by Wordfence, a security provider, who protects sites from malicious activity. Africa was not just the birthplace of humanity but also the cradle of early civilisations that made an immense contribution to the world and are still marvelled at today. Whereas the people round about were Berbers, they were of black descent, either descended from captives brought there from further south or the last remnants of Negroid peoples who had lived in the region when it had a wetter climate. 1981-1988) is a collection of historical studies by a diverse group of historians. Africa [ushistory.org] The limited nature of urbanization greatly restricted transport, trade and industry. Pastoralist and farming communities have therefore lived in close proximity, which has been a major factor in state formation in these regions.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-2','ezslot_11',177,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-2-0'); Pastoralist communities are more dispersed, and much more mobile, than agricultural ones, as they follow their flocks and herds around in the search for good grazing. It was structured around a big man who was usually (by myth, at any rate) the man most directly descended from the founding ancestor. Many captives were sold on to other peoples; there was an active slave trade in Africa. Many of largest population concentrations in Africa remained entirely stateless, their constituent communities jealously guarding their independence. These terms are used to describe societies that did not have a well-defined and complex or centralized systems of government, such as political systems of Ghana, Oyo or Zimbabwe that you studied in Module Seven A The ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was named after its capital city, Axum. Just south of the narrow band of temperate climate in North Africa is the largest desert in the world, the Sahara. Even in West Africa, and certainly for Africa as a whole, salt was probably the most traded commodity, being an essential part of peoples diet, especially for those in regions where meat was hard to come by. It was only with the spread of the Fulani herdsmen across West Africa in the 2nd millennium that pastoralists would begin to live in areas between agricultural clusters, a development which would have a major impact on the history of this region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hunter-gatherer peoples had inhabited sub-Saharan Africa for millennia prior to herders, and later agriculturalists, starting to settle the region. Village clusters would be located in areas suitable for intensive crop production river valleys, floodplains, lakesides and other well-watered places. If another man, through skilled farming, plenty of children and a charismatic personality, attracted a following, he could lead his people out into some vacant land and establish his own group. When one society was conquered by another, it was the mediums and priests, as well as others in the community with high religious status such as iron workers and herbalists, who often put up the stoutest resistance to alien rule. Government and Economy - Ancient Africa - Google Fewer than 30 examples have survived, all made by the lost wax process. Tenkamenin was in management of the traded gold along the Sahara Desert into West Africa. If they were too old, ill or handicapped to work effectively; or if through misfortune they had no children; or if they had no kinsmen to aid them clear land and tame fields, they were very vulnerable. Small, isolated areas of dense population were surrounded by large tracts of sparsely peopled wilderness. The ancient structure is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. The donkeys also were domesticated independently in the Ethiopian and Somalian region, but the majority of the domesticated animals came there from the regions around . There were many African societies which have been classified by political historians as stateless or de-centralized. The trading classes were predominantly, perhaps exclusively, Muslim. Their inhabitants regulated their affairs by means of commonly-accepted custom, relying on shamans or priests at area shrines for mediation, hierarchies of titled individuals of varying ranks who had moral authority within their communities, and/or in some cases on secret societies. Only the driest and coolest regions escaped this disease. This came from exactly the same mix of European contact and American agriculture as the new crops; it was the Atlantic Slave Trade. Such was their reputation for effective healing that the early Europeans resorted to witch doctors, including Christian missionaries. The tsetse fly infested many wooded areas, especially along waterways, killing cattle and causing sleeping sickness amongst humans. To the south of the western savannah is the region of rainforest which encompasses the southern areas of West Africa and most of the Congo Basin. All climate zones in sub-Saharan Africa were characterized by a highly uneven settlement pattern. Just as there is great cultural diversity so there is diversity in belief systems. Each village consisted of a lineage group, or clan, tracing its origin to a founding ancestor. Ancient Grains Market Global Research Report 2023 is a comprehensive business study on the current state of industry which analyses innovative strategies for business growth and describes . The 25th dynasty was a line of pharaohs who originated in the Kingdom of Kush that reigned in part or all of Ancient Egypt for nearly a century, from 744 to 656 BC. ZWFhZmI1NmY5ZjVhZjJjNjYxYTFjNzUxMjgzZTE4MGZhOWIyODQyZWE4ZGIz A common idea was that the founders of a particular community, on first settling the area, had made a pact with the spirits of the land in order to ensure good harvests. These were the miners. The savannah regions of West Africa specialized in millet and fonio, and further south, where rainfall was sufficient, sorghum. PDF The Undiluted African Community: Values, The Family, Orphanage and spracovanie papra podvanie vanika fiat doblo maxi 2015 prebva tunel Alpy. These were societies that had no. MzJiMzEwNzkwMzQ0MDVhMWZmOTU0NzM1MzMzMmE1ZDE4MGY5ZjkyNzY5ZDA2 African Politics - Political Science - iResearchNet Religious and medical knowledge was interwoven, and was mysterious to the community at large (except in so far as the healing properties of many plants were commonly appreciated). YzZiNWViMjQ5Iiwic2lnbmF0dXJlIjoiNTc2NWJhZDg5MGU4Y2RkZTIxYTFi Indigenous religions never died out, however, and the two belief-systems lived side by side in uneasy co-existence for a long time (indeed, they still do in parts of West Africa). Towns and cities The larger the state the more resources it could commit to defense and expansion. We learn about their beliefs and religion and the important structures that still stand in Egypt today. However, population pressures often forced farmers out onto drier land. Surrounding this would be rings of less and less dense settlement and fields, eventually merging into the surrounding bush. In most patrilineal societies womens status tended to be less favorable. It offers a general survey of the geographical environments they inhabited; their settlements, social structures and economies; and their religions and cultures. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, this often took the form of inter-generational tensions between elder males with multiple wives and younger males with no wives. Given the nomadic nature of these societies the spiritual power in question could not be tied to a particular area might, indeed, be a universal spirit who controlled all the land. Canoes came in all sizes on the great rivers, and were probably the cheapest form of transport; but, of sub-Saharan rivers, only the Niger and Congo were navigable for any distance along their length. Facts about Ancient Africa 2: the important civilization In cattle-herding societies, and some crop-growing societies which were in close proximity to them, the young men were grouped into an age set of junior warriors. A hidden corridor nine meters (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and this could lead to further findings, Egyptian . As in all pre-modern societies, infants and their mothers, the very groups upon whom the successful growth of population most depended, were most at risk. The advancements made in the ancient world continue to influence our societies today. The staple crops varied throughout sub-Saharan Africa. While a caravan was on the move, its hundreds of animal drivers and traders had to submit to an almost military discipline under the caravan-master. Having said that, no one can look at a Benin bronze figure and argue that skills of the very highest level were lacking in African craftsmanship; and fine crafts were to be found up and down the continent.

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