1. Civilizations of Africa
Chapter 11

2. Africa and the Bantu
Section 1

3. Africa’s Physical Geography
People kept searching for better land for farming
Migration – mass movement of people
Not even physical barriers can stop a great migration, or movement of people
The largest desert in Africa and the world is the Sahara

4. Much of the area north and south of Africa’s rain forest is savanna
Tropical rain forest are on either side of the equator – think of the mirror on the movie
Much of the area north and south of Africa’s rain forest is savanna
Savanna – areas of gently rolling land covered by grasses

5. The Bantu Bantu is a language – the people were known as the Bantu
When they migrated they spread their language and culture
They lived in a clan – a group of families who traced their roots to the same ancestor
The Bantu-speaking people migrated because they were looking for better farmland and better grazing

6. The Bantu (con’t) – remember about the title!
The migrations of the Bantu people lasted more than 1,000 years to and in Africa
The only reason we know about the Bantu is from oral history –accounts of the past that people pass down by word of mouth
Traditional African story tellers help historians study the Bantu migrations

7. Kingdoms of West Africa
Section 2
Kingdoms of West Africa

8. Kingdoms of the Savanna
Ghana was the first West African kingdom based on the gold and salt trade
People would usually trade salt to get gold
West African trade was based on gold and salt
Very important products
Mali was centered in the Upper Niger Valley
In about 1230, under the leadership of Sundiata, Mali took control of the salt and gold trade
Sundiata made Mali the most powerful kingdom in West Africa

9. Kingdoms of the Savanna (con’t)
Mansa Musa became ruler of Mali, North Africa has brought the new religion, Islam
Remember the trip to the holy city of Mecca?
This trip that they took created new ties between Mali and the Muslim people of North Africa and Southwest Asia
Muslim scholars in the empire of Mali taught students religion, mathematics, medicine, and law – Mansa Musa wanted Mali to be the center of learning

10. Kingdoms of the Forest
Benin and Ile-Ife were two of the most important kingdoms of the West African forests
Ile-Ife
A center of culture and trade
Not much is known about area
Thick woods and damp area has washed much of the possible artifacts away

11. Kingdoms of the Forest (con’t)
Benin rules an Empire
Workers mined copper, iron, and gold
Leader – obas
Sold slaves to African traders
Benin reached its greatest strength and size
Ruled trade along the rivers

12. East Africa’s Great Trading Centers
Section 3
East Africa’s Great Trading Centers

13. Ancient Ethiopia
The port cities of East Africa traded with China, India, and Southwest Asia
Kilwa was a Muslim city that thrived because of trade with these foreign lands
Aksum is located in present-day Ethiopia
300s A.D. the official religion of Aksum was Christianity
The Muslim traders drove the rulers of Aksum from the coast of Africa for Red Sea trade routes

14. Rich Centers of Trade Each port was a city-state
A city that is also a separate, independent state
Kilwa was a city state
Kilwa traded with Africans and Arabs – this lead to a new culture and language
Swahili is a Bantu language with Arabic words, spoken along the West African coast

15. Great Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe provided must of the gold that was brought to the Swahili city states
Most people in this area were poor famers
The only rich were those who traded the gold
They build great stone walled structures
By 1500 the city had fallen
Trade routes moved
Today the stone ruins still stand!