1. Early African Societies
Chapter 3
Early African Societies
& The Bantu Migrations

2. A View of Egypt by Satellite

4. 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

5. The Gift of the Nile 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. The Nile Valley, BCE
The Delta & The
Cataracts

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
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. The Annual Flooding of the Nile

9. 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

10. The Fertile Nile Valley

11. Nile Irrigation-the Shaduf

12. Ancient Egyptian History
Periods
Time Frame
Nile Culture Begins
4000 B. C. E.
Archaic
3100 – 2650 B. C. E.
Old Kingdom
2650 – 2134 B. C. E.
Middle Kingdom
2040 – 1640 B. C. E.
New Kingdom
1550 – 1070 B. C. E.
Late Period
750 – 332 B. C. E.
Greek Ptolemaic Era
332 – 30 B. C. E.
Roman Period
30 B. C. E. – 395 C. E.

13. Unification of Egypt
Legendary conqueror Menes, c unifies Egyptian kingdom
Sometimes identified with/as Narmer
Tradition: founder of Memphis, cultural and political center of ancient Egypt
Instituted the rule of the Pharaoh
Claimed descent from the gods
Absolute rulers, had slaves buried with them from 2600 BCE
Most powerful during Archaic Period ( BCE) and Old Kingdom ( BCE)

14. Menes: Unifier of Upper & Lower Egypt
c B. C. E. ?

15. 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 million limestone blocks w/ average weight of 2.5 tons
Role: burial chambers for Pharaohs
Show construction of Temple here from Ancient Egypt VH 5431

16. Plan of the Great Pyramid of Khufu

17. The Valley of the Kings

18. Stepped Pyramid at Saqqara

19. “Bent” Pyramid of King Sneferu

20. The Great Sphinx

21. Valley of the Kings
View of the central East Valley

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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)

25. Egyptian Social Hierarchy

26. Egyptian Nobility

27. Egyptian Priestly Class

28. Ancient Egyptian Housing
Middle Class Homes
Peasant Homes

29. Scenes of Ancient Egyptian Daily Life

30. Making Ancient Egyptian Beer

31. Making Ancient Egyptian Wine

32. An Egyptian Woman’s “Must-Haves”
Mirror
Perfume
Wigs

33. 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

34. 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

35. Hieroglyphics “Alphabet” 24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols

36. Hieroglyphic “Cartouche”

37. Champollion & the Rosetta Stone

38. Egyptian Scribe

39. Papyrus plant growing in a garden, Australia Egyptian Papyrus Drawing
Papyrus  Paper
Papyrus plant growing in a garden, Australia
Egyptian Papyrus Drawing
Hieratic Scroll Piece
Papyrus Plant

40. 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

41. Ankhenaton: First Monotheist?

42. Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)
Akhenaten was the only pharaoh to try and introduce the idea of monotheism to the polytheistic Egyptians.
Because he predated Zoroaster by approximately 700 years, he is considered the first monotheist.
The one god he believed in was the sun, represented by Aton, god of the sun disc.

43. Egyptian Gods & Goddesses: “The Sacred ‘Trinity’”
Osiris Isis Horus

44. 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
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

45. The Final Judgement
Osiris Anubis Horus

46. Preparations for the Underworld
ANUBIS weighs the dead person’s heart against a feather.
Priests protected your KA, or soul-spirit

47. Preparation for the Afterlife

48. Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep II 1210-1200 B. C. E.
Egyptian Mummies
Seti I B. C. E.
Ramses II B. C. E.
Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep II B. C. E.

49. Journey to the Underworld
The dead travel on the “Solar Barge”
A boat for the journey is provided for a dead pharaoh in his tomb

50. Egyptian Book of the Dead

51. Archaeologist, Howard Carter (1922)

52. King Tutankhamon’s Death Mask
B. C. E.

53. King Tutankhamon

54. King Tutankhamun’s Tomb

55. Treasures From Tut’s Tomb

56. The Valley of the Queens Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
B. C. E.

57. The Ankh – The “Cross” of Life

58. Queen Nefertiti

59. Abu Simbel: Monument to Ramses II
B. C. E.

61. Canopic Jars
The four sons of Horus: the jackal-headed jar represented the east, contained the stomach, the falcon-headed jar representing the west, contained the intestines, the baboon-headed jar representing the north, contained the lungs, the human-headed jar representing the south, contained the liver.

62. Ramses II
After King Tut, only Ramses II would rise to be a strong pharaoh.
Under Ramses there was a new increase in the building of temples and monuments.
It is believed that Ramses is the pharaoh that allowed Moses to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.
He had sons and daughters.

63. Bantu Migrations, 3000-1000 BCE Bantu: means “people”
Originated in what would be modern Nigeria
Migration throughout sub-Saharan regions
Population pressures
Over 500 variations of original Bantu language
90 million speakers
Similar to Indo-Europeans in that they spread language as they moved.
By 1000 BCE, occupied most of Africa south of the equator

64. Bantu Migrations, 2000 BCE-1000 CE

65. Bantu Migration

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

67. Aswan High Dam: 1968 The hydroelectric power station of Aswan Dam
Aswan High Dam (NASA satellite photo)