1. Africa

2. Geography ◦North coast mountainous ◦South of mountains Sahara ◦Sub-Saharan Africa contains numerous regions  Hump- grasslands in interior and tropical forests along the coast  Horn- Snow capped Mountains, plateaus, and lakes, grassland ◦Central Africa- Congo basin  Jungles ◦South Africa  Hills, plateaus, deserts

3. Kush/ Nubia Near the junction of White and Blue Niles Contact between Kush and Egypt  Egyptian merchants  later ruled by Egypt ◦ disintegration of New Kingdom leads to independence Kushite culture borrowed from Egypt  Religious beliefs, hieroglyphics, pyramids for kings internment Economy- agriculture and animal husbandry  trade state ◦ Strategically located near Moroe River ◦ Provided goods from central and east Africa

4. Axum, Son of Saba Migrated a cross R ed S ea Owed wealth to location  On trade routes between India, and the Med ◦ 4 th cen. CE invades Kush and conquered Religion- claimed decent from King Solomon  4 th cen CE converted to Christianity ◦ Called Coptic

5. Sahara and its environs Climate originally cooler than today ◦3,000 BCE desertification ◦Migrated east to Nile and south into grasslands Began exchanging goods across Sahara  Berber people ◦ Pastoral people of N Africa ◦ May have spread ironworking south of the desert

6. Nok Northern Nigeria  active iron working societies  Terra-cotta and metal figurines  1 st millennium BCE camels stimulate trans Saharan trade  fleets of the desert

7. Garamantes Libyan desert  Constructed complex irrigation systems Traded w/ Rome across Sahara  Declined as a result of fall of Rome and drying of desert

8. East Africa Along shores of Indian ocean ◦Mixture of peoples  Spoke Bantu Dialects ◦ Language family moved from Niger River Valley East ◦subsistence farming  Minimal population, ample land  Small self sufficient political and economic villages Rhapta- port city  Trade along Indian ocean and down east coast of Africa ◦ Facilitated by monsoon winds ◦ Banana, yams

9. African Society 5 of the major lang. families More recent systems of writing Urban life  Towns began as fortified walled villages  Teeming markets  Symbiotic relationship with merchant class ◦ Prevalence of peace in region

10. Village Life Vast majority of inhabitants Nuclear family and lineage groups  Combined into large kinship communities ◦ Building blocks of society ◦ Authority of leading members substantial Village consist of single lineage group  Head of village “big man”  Believed to possess supernatural powers

11. Role of Women Subordinate to men Polygony not uncommon  Worked in field while men tended cattle or hunted  Specialized in commercial areas Lineage matrilineal  Women companionship with men other than husband common

12. Slavery Practiced in Africa since Ancient times  New Kingdom ◦ Slaving expeditions brought back from upper Nile  Berber tribes regularly raided ag communities south of Sahara  North Africa- as much as 75% of pop. Enslaved May win freedom Living conditions practically indistinguishable from individuals in household

13. African culture Painting and Sculpture ◦Earliest- rock paintings ◦Wood carvings and sculpture ◦Terra cotta and metal figurines Music ◦Served religious function ◦Heavy rhythmic beats  Varied from society to society  Wide variety of instruments Architecture  Pyramids  stelea ◦ Marked tombs of kings ◦ Some as high as 100’  Western Africa used dried mud