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

2. Africa: Geography 5,000 miles north-south, east-west North:
mountainous coastline
Sahara desert
West:
interior grasslands, tropical jungle on coast
East (on Indian ocean):
snowy mountains, upland plateaus
Central: Jungles
South: hills, plateaus, deserts

3. Development of African Agriculture
Sahara desert originally highly fertile region
Western Sudan region nomadic herders, c BCE
Domestication of cattle c BCE
Later, cultivation of sorghum, yams, increasingly diverse
Widespread desiccation of the Sahara c BCE

4. Who was Herodotus? 486BCE-425CE
Where am I from?
486BCE-425CE
The father of history-he was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically and critically, and then to arrange them into a historiographical narrative.
“The Histories”

5. The “Gift of the Nile” phrased by Herodotus
The Nile Valley, BCE
Gradual, predictable flooding
Inundation (July-October)
Sprouting
Summer
Communication:
Nubia-Egypt
Current: north
Winds: south
Sub-Saharan Africa-Mesopotamia
Increased in importance w/ desiccation of Sahara

6. Calendar 12 months, 30 days Divided into 3 seasons: Akhet-innudation
Perket-growing
Shemu-drought or harvest

7. Early Agriculture in Nile Valley
10,000 BCE migrants from Red Sea hills (northern Ethiopia)
Introduce collection of wild grains, language roots of Coptic (the language of ancient Egypt)
5000 BCE Sudanic cultivators, herders migrate to Nile river valley
Adaptation to seasonal flooding of Nile through construction of dikes, waterways
Villages dot Nile by 4000 BCE

8. Impact on Political Organization
As in Mesopotamia a need for formal organization of public affairs
Need to maintain order and organize community projects
Egypt: simple, local irrigation projects
Rural rather than heavily urban development
Trade networks develop

9. Unification of Egypt
Legendary conqueror Menes, c unifies Egyptian kingdom
Sometimes identified with Narmer-maybe the same person?
Tradition: founder of Memphis, cultural and political center of ancient Egypt
Instituted the rule of the Pharaoh (Horus)
Claimed descent from the gods-Gods living on earth
Absolute rulers, had slaves buried with them from 2600 BCE
Most powerful during Archaic Period ( BCE) and Old Kingdom ( BCE)

10. The Pyramids Symbols of the pharaoh’s authority and divine status
A testimony of the pharaohs’ ability to marshal Egypt’s resources-
Largest Khufu (Cheops) 2.3 M limestone blocks avg weight 2.5 tons
Role: burial chambers for Pharaohs
Show construction of Temple here from Ancient Egypt VH 5431

11. Relations with Nubia Competition over Nile trade
Military conflict between BCE
Drives Nubians to the south
Established Kingdom of Kush, c BCE
Trade, cultural influences continue despite military conflict

12. The New Kingdom Imperial Egypt, 1400 BCE
Few pyramids, but major monumental architectural projects
Engaged in empire-building to protect against foreign invasion
Local resistance drives Egypt out of Nubia
Kingdom of Kush revives c BCE
Invasions of Kushites, Assyrians destroy Egypt mid 6th century BCE
ALL HAIL

13. Egyptian Urban Culture
Major cities along Nile river, especially at delta
Memphis c BCE, Heliopolis c BCE
Nubian cities include Kerma, Napata, Meroë
Located at cataracts of the Nile
Well-defined social classes
Pharaohs to slaves-
Archaeological discoveries in Nubia also support class-based society
Patriarchal societies, notable exceptions: female Pharaoh Hatshepsut (r BCE)
14mins

14. Economic Specialization
Bronze metallurgy introduced late, with Hyksos invasion
Development of iron early, c. 900 BCE
Trade along Nile river
More difficult in Nubia due to cataracts
Sea trade in Mediterranean

15. Hieroglyphs “Holy Inscriptions”
Writing appeared at least by 3200 BCE
Pictographic supplemented with symbols representing sounds and ideas
Survives on monuments, buildings and sheets of papyrus
Hieroglyphs for formal writing, hieratic script for everyday affairs used from 2600 BCE – 600 CE
Adopts Greek alphabet – demotic and Coptic scripts
Meroitic writing - flexible system borrowed from hieroglyphs, represents sounds rather than ideas

16. Meroitic -Nubian

17. Hieratic glyphs and the hieroglyphs they evolved from

18. Development of Organized Religious Traditions
Principal gods Amon and Re
Religious tumult under Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) (r BCE)
Introduces sole worship of sun god Aten
One of the world’s earliest expressions of Monotheism
Death of Akhenaten, traditional priest restore the cult of Amon-Re to privileged status

19. Mummification and the Afterlife
Inspiration of the cycles of the Nile
Belief in the revival of the dead
First: ruling classes only, later expanded to include lower classes
Cult of Osiris
4 mins/ 5 mins
Lord of the underworld
Power to determine who deserved immortality
Held out hope of eternal reward for those who lived moral lives
Nubian worship of Apedemak and Sebiumeker
Show second clip from Ancient Egypt, Sphinx through mummification

20. Mummy curse

21. Bantu Migrations, 3000-1000 BCE Bantu: “people”
Migration throughout sub-Saharan regions
Population pressures
Over 500 variations of original Bantu language
90 million speakers
By 1000 BCE, occupied most of Africa south of the equator
Eduplace.com

22. Similar to Indo-European migrations…How?

23. Sanskrit, Persian, Greek and Latin languages are influences… not Egyptian!

25. Bantu Religions Evidence of early monotheism Deistic views as well
Prayers to intercessors, e.g. ancestor spirits
Great variations among populations