Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations Chapter 3

Early Agricultural Society in Africa c. 10,000 BCE: N. Africa was grassy steppe, with lakes and rivers Domesticated cattle, farming, permanent settlements, small scale states (Sudanic culture) c. 5,000 BCE: became hotter and drier (Sahara Desert) People moved south, east

Egypt and Nubia: “Gifts of the Nile” Nile River Valley – fertile floodplain High productivity -> big pop. -> irrigation Needed organization -> small kingdoms 3100 BCE: unified by Menes = centralized state with pharaoh (early = gods, later = sons of Amon)

Old Kingdom and Nubia Pharaohs built pyramids for burial Close connections with Nubia (trade, wars) Est’d Kingdom of Kush (less powerful, but wealthy) Egypt declined as areas ignored pharaoh

Middle Kingdoms Pharaohs stabilized Egypt Hyksos invaded (horse-riding nomads with bronze weapons and chariots) Egyptians copied their technology and pushed them out => New Kingdom

New Kingdom Army, bureaucracy, population supported surplus – built temples, palaces Tuthmosis III expanded into E. Med., Nubia, N. Afr. Decline -> loss of new land and invasions by Kushite and Assyrian armies

Formation of Complex Societies and Sophisticated Cultural Traditions Not many big cities Wealth -> social distinctions and hierarchies Pharaoh, prof. mil. forces and bureaucracy, commoners, slaves Patriarchal (but women could be regents, priestesses, and scribes)

Economic Specialization and Trade Metallurgy: bronze (from Hyksos), iron (indep.) Transportation: sailing ships, wheeled carts Trade Networks: Long-distance – for natural resources and Regional – for ivory, ebony, etc.

Early Writing in the Nile Valley By 3200 BCE, pictographs (from Mesopot??) Added symbols -> hieroglyphics, plus simpler version (Hieratic) buildings and papyrus Nubia: used hieroglyphics, later developed own

The Development of Organized Religious Tradition Amon-Re, but polytheistic Akhenaten tried to make religion monotheistic (Aten) Life after death -> mummification, grave goods, retainers (cult of Osiris)

Bantu Migrations West Africa: Sudanic agriculture Clan-based villages with chiefs Interacted with hunter/gatherers Migrations began c. 3000 BCE: south and east, prob. due to pop. pressure Absorbed peoples, some settled, language differentiated Increased c. 1000 BCE with iron tools and weapons

Early Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa Distinctive societies and cultural traditions Chiefs, age grades, gender roles Monotheistic – impersonal divine force, source of good and evil, plus ancestor and territorial spirits