1. EARLY AFRICA & THE BANTU MIGRATION
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2. “Human history in Africa is immensely long
“Human history in Africa is immensely long. In fact, both archaeological research and genetic studies strongly support the theory that the evolution of the modern human species (Homo sapiens sapiens) occurred in Africa.”
Professor James Giblin,
The University of Iowa
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3. Africa in the Classical and Early Post-Classical Era
Africa, during the classical era, was home to about 11% of the world’s population
Africa lacked wild sheep, goats, chickens, horses and camels, but its proximity to Eurasia meant that these animals, once domesticated, became widely available to African peoples
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4. Africa in the Classical and Early Post-Classical Era
Writing was confined to the northern and northeastern parts of the continent during the classical era
Classical-era civilizations in Africa were fewer in number and generally smaller than those of Eurasia
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5. Africa in the Classical and Early Post-Classical Era
Large numbers of Africans lived in communities that did not feature cities and states. These are called “Stateless Societies” Stateless societies have minimal or no government involvement rather kinship relationships influence interactions.
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7. Geographical Diversity of Africa
Large deserts (Sahara and Kalahari), larger savannas or grasslands, tropical rain forest in the continent’s center, highlands and mountains in eastern Africa and small regions of Mediterranean climate in the northern and southern extremes
Enormous size of continent
These geographic factors ensured variation and difference among Africa’s many peoples
However, continent bisected by equator and therefore overall more tropical than other land masses
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9. Geographical Diversity of Africa
Proximity to Eurasia – allowed parts of Africa to interact with Eurasian civilizations
-North Africa was incorporated into the Roman Empire and used to produce wheat and olives
-Christianity spread widely, giving rise to one of the early Church’s most important theologians, Saint Augustine ( CE)
-Christian faith found an even more permanent foothold in the lands known today as Ethiopia
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10. Geographical Diversity of Africa
Arabia was another point of contact with the larger world for African peoples
-the arrival of the domesticated camel, probably from Arabia, generated a nomadic pastoral way of life among some of the Berber peoples
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11. Camels Camels came to Egypt from Arabia, 7th century B.C.E.
Romans introduced them to North Africa, patrolled desert
After 500 C.E. camels replaced horses, donkeys as transport animals
Camels' arrival quickened pace of communication across the Sahara
Islamic merchants crossed the desert to trade in West Africa
Established relations with sub-Saharan West Africa by 8th century
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12. Camels made possible trans-Saharan trade, which linked interior West Africa to the world of Mediterranean civilization. Over many centuries, the East African coast was a port of call of merchants and subsequently became an integral part of Indian Ocean trading networks.

13. The Bantu
In Africa south of the equator, the most significant development of the classical era involved the accelerating movement of the Bantu-speaking peoples into the subcontinent
Had begun many centuries earlier from a homeland region in what is now southeastern Nigeria and the Cameroons
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14. The Bantu
The movement of peoples generated some 400 distinct but closely related languages, known collectively as Bantu
By the first century CE, agricultural peoples speaking Bantu languages occupied the forest regions of equatorial Africa
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15. The Bantu
The spread of Bantu peoples was a slow movement that brought Africa south of the equator a measure of cultural and linguistic commonality, marking it as a distinct region
-kinship structures
-ancestral or nature spirits
-belief in witches
-diviners, skilled in penetrating the world of the supernatural
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16. The Bantu Farming largely replaced foraging
-Agriculture generated a more productive economy
-Farmers brought with them both parasitic and infectious diseases to which foragers had little immunity
-Iron was another advantage the Bantu migrants had
Bantu migrants also brought a common set of cultural and social practices
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17. EARLY AFRICAN RELIGION
Creator god
Recognized by almost all African peoples
Created the earth and humankind, source of world order
Lesser gods and spirits
Often associated with natural features, forces in world
Participated actively in the workings of the world
Believed in ancestors' souls influencing material world
Diviners
Mediated between humanity and supernatural beings
Called shamans and inappropriately “witch doctors”
Interpreted the cause of the people's misfortune
Used medicine or rituals to eliminate problems
African religion was not theological, but practical
Religion to placate the gods, ask for assistance, cures, fertility
Public celebrations inc. dancing, singing formed community
Genders honored different deities, had separate ceremonies

18. CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA
The Christian kingdoms of Nubia and Axum
1st Christian kingdom, 4th century C.E.,
Nubians of Kush also became Christian
Both adopted Monophysite form of Christianity
Ethiopian and Nubian Christianity
Had little contact with Christians of other lands
Shared basic Christian theology/rituals, developed own features
Isolated, attacked by Islam

19. Strayer Questions
How did the history of Meroë and Axum reflect interaction with neighboring civilizations?
How does the experience of the Niger Valley challenge conventional notions of "civilization"?
In what ways did the arrival of Bantu-speaking peoples stimulate cross-cultural interaction?
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