1. Ancient Africa
1500 B.C. – 1500 A.D.

2. African Geography Desert Savanna Rainforest Mediterranean
Sahara dominates northern Africa
Kalahari largest desert in southern Africa
Savanna
Best areas for herd animals and growing of grains
Rainforest
Diverse life forms and natural resources, very difficult to travel through or live in
Tsetse flies
Mediterranean
Small region in northern Africa that supports abundant life

4. Tsetse Fly & African Sleeping Sickness

5. Early Sub-Saharan African Life
East Africa was the beginning of human life
“Lucy”
Nomadic herders
Masi and other groups still practice
Agriculture develops (~6,000 B.C.)
Permanent settlements develop
Animism = ?
Griots = ?
West African Iron Age
Nok Culture (Niger River Valley)
Trade city of Djenne-Djeno
Use of Iron tools

6. Push-Pull Factors Chart page 221 3 main migration factors
Environmental
Economic
Political

7. Migration of the Bantu Peoples
Trace the Bantu Migrations on your map of Africa (page 222)
Where did they go?
How did they adapt to each region?
Slash & burn
Raising cattle
Adopting new crops
Why did they migrate?
Agriculture led to more land use and great population

9. Effects of Bantu Migration
Forced interaction between different groups (BaMbuti and San)
Some mixed, some left, some fought
Brought new technologies to regions
Brought Bantu ideas about politics and social organization
Centralized language branch throughout the continent
Niger-congo languages
900+ different dialects and individual languages
Bantu is the first language of nearly 1/3 of all Africans today

10. Kingdom of Aksum South of Kush International trade center (Adulis)
Legend traces roots of Kush back to son of King solomon and Queen of Sheba
Modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea
International trade center (Adulis)
Caravans to Egypt through Meroe
Access to Mediterranean Sea & Indian Ocean through Red Sea
Exported: salt, ivory, emeralds, gold
Imported: cloth, glass, wine, iron, copper

11. Kingdom of Aksum (cont.)
Ezana (325 – 360 A.D.)
Peak of the empire
Expanded territory into Arabian Peninsula (modern day Yemen)
Conquered Kush
Cosmopolitan Heritage
Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian, and Egyptian
Converted to Christianity
Made official religion for Aksum
Decline &Isolation
Islamic invaders began to cut into the empire and take-over trade routes
Moved to the mountains of northern Ethiopia
Remained isolated for a few hundred years (632 – 750 AD)

12. The Pillars of Aksum Used no mortar Carved great stones together
Created false doors, windows, as well as tall peaks
The Pillars are often dedicated to the Christian God

13. West African Societies

15. Ghana (700 – 1076 A.D.)
Use of camels led to development of the trans-Sahara trade routes
Gold-Salt Trade
Arab and Berber traders
Gold from western Africa, salt from Sahara
Empire of Ghana developed from taxing trade routes
Ghana’s kings convert to Islam
Led to literacy (learning to read the Qur’an)
Commoners mostly did not convert
1076 – Muslim Almoravids conquered

17. Mali (1235 – 1400s)
Gold deposits east of Ghana allowed Mali empire to gain wealth and power by moving the trade routes
2 important leaders
Sundiata – 1st emperor (mansa)
Different than prior emperors
Peaceful
United Mali
Conquered Ghana
Led to period of peace and prosperity
Mansa Musa (1312 – 1332)
Muslim leader (Sundiata’s grandnephew
Expanded empire to twice the size of Ghana (100,000 man army)
Hajj to Mecca in exposed riches of Mali to Arab peninsula
New trade centers develop (Timbuktu and Gao)

20. Songhai (1400s – 1500s)
Gained control of trade routes due to gold deposits near Niger River (Gao)
2 important leaders
Sunni Ali
Muslim leader
Had a private army consisting of horse soldiers and river canoes
Conquered Timbuktu (1468) & Djenne (1473, took 7 years)
Military hero
Askia Muhammad
Established bureaucracy and provinces
Overthrew Sunni Ali’s son
Spread more orthodox Islam
Efficient and fair ruler
Conquered by Moroccans in 1591 (guns)

22. East Coast Trade Cities
Islamic Influence
New trade centers on Indian Ocean after fall of Aksum
Spread Muslim religion along trade routes
Slave/Gold trade
Swahili language group
Mix of Bantu & Arabic
City-states
Kilwa, Sofala, Mogadishu
Great Zimbabwe (1200s – 1450) – Bantu for stone enclose
Shona people’s in south-eastern Africa
Controlled trade routes of gold to the coast
City taxed traders
Disappeared suddenly
Suspected because of arrival of Portuguese
Portuguese Conquest (1488)