Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations Chapter 3 Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations

1 Civilizations Civilization- Advanced/complex human society -Defining Characteristics: Large population, written language, unique art styles, division of labor, and social classes Egypt, Nubia and Kush developed: -Rule by pharaoh (Egypt), trading along the Nile River, hieroglyphics, iron production, and well-defined social classes

2 Where did it developed? -Early civilizations developed in Northern Africa along the Nile River. -The Sahara desert was too dry to grow crops, so it was essential to be near the river where agriculture would be more successful.

3 State State- An area with an organized political community under one government -Pharaohs ruled Egypt (Old Kingdom and New Kingdom) Supporters: Upper class citizens

4 Expansion and Conquering 3100 BCE: Egypt (Old Kingdom) and Nubia were the two societies in Northern Africa -Egypt conquered Lower Nubia Circa 1450 BCE: Egypt (New Kingdom) dominated eastern Mediterranean and North Africa -Tuthmosis III personally led the army to Palestine and Syria -Egypt was able to expand its borders with large population

5 Role of Pastoral Civilizations -made expeditions to Nubia in search of political alliances and relationships in caravans of three hundred donkeys -Hyksos- horse riding nomads: used horses for military forces -introduced horses to Egypt (used horse drawn chariots) -used bronze weapons;bronze tipped arrows & relied on wooden weaponry -Assyrian armies had iron weapons from the north (invaders)

6 Culture -main cultural achievement: Nile River -preserved bodies for funerary rituals: buried people with special belongings they would want for afterlife -entombed royal servants when burying kings -believed in crops dying, and resurrecting into another season -rain=good and evil -pharaohs= gods, who owned and ruled the land -Horus:sky god Amon: sun god

7 Architectural Forms -Old Kingdom constructed pyramids as royal tombs from 2600 to 2500 BCE -stand in Giza -served as testimonies to pharaoh’s ability of resources -writing systems=Egypt and Nubia which was religious reflection and preserving of government records

7 Architectural Forms -agriculture was the main water source for these people -built dams and irrigation networks between other agricultural villages along the Nile - The New Kingdom: Pharaohs built numerous temples, palaces, and monumental statues=power and authority

8 Development of Art -artistic representations showed pharaohs as towering subjects over humans -artists contributed to building of pyramids

9 Writing - Early writing used pictographic, Later used hieroglyphs, from a Mesopotamian influence -Hieratic = cursive way of hieroglyphs; Hieroglyphs means “holy inscriptions”= formal -Ended when turned to the Greek alphabet -Meroitic language borrowed hieroglyphs

10 Relations between culture and literature -Egyptian officials filled monuments with hieroglyphics of their deeds in Nubia -Also in Early writing egyptians filled monuments with pictographic -A scribe wrote “The Satire of the Trades” talking about the miseries associated with 18 professions

11 Religion -Polytheism - Principal gods = Amon-Re are gods of the sun but had a monotheistic challenge with Aten which was a God of an early monotheism belief -Osiris= killed by his brother Seth and buried by his wife Isis; because of that other Gods revived him as the God of the underworld -For Nubian = Apedemak, a lion god of war and Sebiumeker who was known as a creator god and divine guardian for his followers

12 Trade Routes and Outside People -Traded south to the cities of “Aswan” meaning trade and “Elephantine” getting from the elephants they traded - Also traded with Mesopotamians -Traded through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with an eastern land called Punt -Punt = (maybe) modern Somalia and Ethiopia

13 Social/gender identities Pharaoh<-Scribes<-Peasants<-Slaves -Pharaoh = absolute ruler -Mesopotamian had noble classes; Egypt didn't have much space for that -Instead they had military leaders, tax collectors, and bureaucracy administrators -Women from royal family guided the son to king

Period 5 Paul Solis Alexis Jackson Audrey Kohler