Compounding these difficulties, sub-Saharan Africa has been largely cut-off from the great centers of civilization elsewhere in Eurasia. The advancements made in the ancient world continue to influence our societies today. Canoes came in all sizes on the great rivers, and were probably the cheapest form of transport; but, of sub-Saharan rivers, only the Niger and Congo were navigable for any distance along their length. This article looks at the societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa in pre-modern history. In the social pyramid of ancient Egypt . State formation This was Islam, which gradually spread throughout the region over a number of centuries. Even in West Africa, and certainly for Africa as a whole, salt was probably the most traded commodity, being an essential part of peoples diet, especially for those in regions where meat was hard to come by. African societies were often fluid from one generation to another, however. The majority of townsmen, like villagers, were cultivators. The main city, Adulis, at the time was a very important port. It has been noted that herding peoples had a stronger tendency to believe in a high god, whilst cultivators were more likely to worship many gods. They did obeisance to their overlord, forwarded tribute to his court and providing men for his army. NzlkMGVmMDZkZjMzN2QyN2NjYTRkMGVkOTczNzJjZGYxZTAxZDM3MjAwYWJj The effects of disease were compounded by diets amongst crop-growing peoples low in animal protein and vitamins, in milk for infants, and, for many places, restricted access to clean fresh water. Much craft work in Africa, as in all pre-modern societies, was done on a part-time basis by farmers, particularly women. The staple crops varied throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Defence could become more organized, and they could build up their numbers by large raids on neighboring peoples and bring in captives as new (if somewhat disadvantaged) new settlers. However springs or small lakes allow oases of vegetation to flourish at scattered spots, sometimes hundreds of miles apart. Come drought, famine or epidemic, however, clusters would contract again. There are also some large mountain ranges, such as the Ruwenzori mountains in Uganda (the Mountains of the Moon). Beside having been balkanized into several countries and branched among myriads of ethnic groups each speaking its own language and having its own cultural heritage, West Africa caste system constitutes yet another layer of its social structure. An extraordinarily detailed understanding of plants and their properties, already noted in above in connection to their skills as cultivators, gave African healers an unmatched mastery of herbal remedies. Facts about Ancient Africa 1: the great civilization Africa is the home to some great civilizations. This close concentration of dwellings formed the core of the villages. 4.7. The absence of roads very labour-intensive for scattered communities to construct and maintain wheeled vehicles such as carts could not be used. It was by no means uncommon for a brave young man to capture a young wife and run off with her. In contrast to all this, anthropologists found that the pygmies who inhabited the deep forests, and who relied for their survival on its produce, regarded the forests as innately good, and the lands surrounding it as fearful. Funding and operating them required large amounts of capital and large-scale, disciplined organization. Over the millennia they have become highly adapted to life in an ecosystem which is fiercely hostile to other peoples. As a result of these factors, throughout Africas premodern history, locations where densely-populated farming societies could emerged, and in which urban civilizations could be built, have been fewer and more scattered than most other regions of the world. In matrilineal societies, in which which descent was traced through mothers, womens status could be particularly favored. Africa Africa's Great Rift Valley is the largest landform on Earth, and the only one visible from the moon. The specifics of the caste systems in Africa vary among . MjU3ZDQ3NDE0ZGRiM2NlMTZjMmE3NTQ0ODIxMzVlMzExZDc3ZTk0NDYyNGQ4 All African towns, with but one or two exceptions such as Jenne in West Africa, were capitals of kingdoms. Indeed, in some areas, particularly where grassland and forest met, all three modes were practiced locally, resulting in a particularly fruitful exchange of produce. They are in a style of idealized naturalism, most representing kings at the height of their powers. Some owed their rise to the wealth gained from long-distance trade. Many towns were centers of craft production. At one time, 16 species were named based on differences found between skeletal fossils. Those humans whose livelihood depended on adventuring into the bush hunters above all but also herbalists and iron workers, who needed wood for their furnaces were regarded with awe, for they must be protected by strong magic to survive such trips.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-4','ezslot_13',198,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-4','ezslot_14',198,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-4-0_1'); .leader-4-multi-198{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:15px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:15px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}. This meant that, for a man to marry he must have some wealth, and since this took time to build up most men were in their thirties when they married. Indeed, at times such trading organizations were able to take over large areas and establish small states. Diving into that variation, a new analysis of 180 indigenous Africans from a dozen ethnically, culturally . Much dance was narrative in purpose, telling and retelling myths and stories. Mostly the colonizers centralized power in the hands of the chiefs of the native administration so that these chiefs could better accomplish the tasks given them, like the collection of taxes. Around the year 3000 BC, agriculture arose independently in Ethiopia with crops like coffee, teff, finger millet, sorghum, barley, and ensete. In these states, violence and exploitation led to societies ruled by classes of military aristocrats or nobles. They have used a wide range of techniques, building up the productivity of the land through manuring, terracing, and digging channels to lead water from stream to field, sometimes across wooden aqueducts. The great majority of this area is far too dry for agriculture whether crop cultivation or animal grazing of any kind. Each passage features one paragraph of informational text and 4 multiple-choice questions. The ancient structure is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, therefore, metalworkers were held in awe. Indeed, they even went on strike when a neighboring ruler attempted to convert them to Islam. Many studies have been mostly about political centralisation. In many regions low or fickle rainfall greatly magnifies this problem. They have few open spaces and are not suitable for herding animals and in any case, in Africa the forests are infested with tsetse fly, which spread a disease deadly to cattle. African kingdoms suffered severely from the divisive effects of violent competition between royal princes. The sparser population of eastern, central and southern Africa, compared with western Africa, reduced the scale and impact of commercial activity. At a much higher level, some kingdoms gave high status to female members of the royal family. This wilderness was the abode of wild animals, fatal diseases, violent fugitives, evil spirits and other shadowy dangers which posed a constant threat to settled life. Explain the social structure, unique aspects, and decline of Great Zimbabwe . Spinning and weaving technologies remained comparatively primitive, and therefore labour intensive, but craftsmen and women produced cloth of high quality and often of great beauty. Other common maladies were hookworm anaemia, yaws, leprosy, smallpox and endemic syphilis (though not the more lethal venereal kind, which was only introduced into sub-Saharan Africa in the 16th century, after Europeans arrived). The geography of Sub-Saharan Africa poses severe challenges to the rise and spread of pre-modern civilization. HUM 2213 Midterm Paper essay. Connected with this, feats of memory were a key part of African religious, political and commercial life. In everyday matters, the members of many stateless societies relied upon the threat of violent retaliation to maintain order. The resulting dissent, fueled by machismo, ambition, or desire for land, might lead to the exodus of a group of young men to a new location. On the boundaries between the desert and savannah is a marginal band called the Sahel, which consists almost entirely of dry scrub. This limited the number of children they might have in their child-bearing years, which would have been much more diminished, on average, by the incidence of infant mortality, childhood diseases and the dangers of childbirth. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, this often took the form of inter-generational tensions between elder males with multiple wives and younger males with no wives. In that case, though not always, the excluded group has the propensity to oppose the incumbent extractive governance system. A popular form of leisure was a board game called mankala. The most prized qualities were seen as the preserve of males, such as aggression and courage. The Mali empire, for example, had secretaries to conduct foreign correspondence, but its internal administration only employed word of mouth. Your access to this site was blocked by Wordfence, a security provider, who protects sites from malicious activity. The political history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans andat least 200,000 years agoanatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. The art of ancient African was just as diverse as its cultures, languages, and political structures. Its flora consists of a mix of scrub, grassland and woodland. Slavery was widespread in traditional African societies. The Rhodes-Livingstone Papers. The environment of sub-Saharan Africa is one of the hardest environments for human populations to thrive in. OGJhZDA5YWFmYzE1NjI3OGEwZTY3MmE2NDFiYjllYjg5MDM2MGFmNmNiZWRm These probably belonged mostly to hereditary groups, often closely associated with the monarchy they were sometimes high-status slaves who lived within the palace precinct; in other towns they were members of guild-like organizations under their own chiefs. Farming populations have therefore sought out well-watered locations such as river banks, lakesides and moist depressions. One of the biggest threats to harmony within society was witchcraft. The trans-Saharan trade was carried in caravans made up of sometimes hundreds of camels. However the more organized societies such kingdoms had groups of full-time professional craftsmen. In general, work was divided equally among all people (other than slaves). Agricultural populations were driven by a need to humanize the landscape, to drive back the forest, where danger lurked, and to make the land productive. - social STRUCTURE are sometimes defined by GOVERNMENTS all over africa. He was therefore required to host lavish feasts at which many could eat and drink at his expense; and to provide costly gifts to his allies and supporters. Egyptian culture has six thousand years of recorded history. Most weaving was done by women, but in some major textile centers weavers were full-time professional men. In fact, cults involving rain shrines and weather gods might command the loyalty of people over a wide area, a form of worship practiced side-by-side with that concerning the spirits of the land. In times of famine, the people took to foraging, braving the wilderness to do so. It has captivated visitors since it was built as a royal burial chamber some 4,500 years ago. In eastern and southern Africa, the folded landscape laid down by tectonic activity millions of years ago means that highland farming areas are interspersed with dry lowlands, suitable only for herding cattle. YzZiNWViMjQ5Iiwic2lnbmF0dXJlIjoiNTc2NWJhZDg5MGU4Y2RkZTIxYTFi Those humans whose livelihood depended on adventuring into the bush hunters above all but also herbalists and iron workers, who needed wood for their furnaces were regarded with awe, for they must be protected by strong magic to survive such trips. Starting perhaps as just one settlement, they would expand outwards into the bush over time as they cleared new land and established new settlements. YjU5YTA2MjA2ZTZjNTRkNmQ0OTBmNzIzM2EzZTIyZWFlMDBlMGViZTQzMDMw Art, literature and culture African religious practices were equally common, involving ritual experts, mediums, dances, often with masks and often involving trances, witches, and charms. Oratory, debate, story-telling, poetry and conversation were all held in high esteem, and were developed into a highly sophisticated art at the royal courts of African kingdoms and chiefdoms. Long-distance trade rested chiefly on high value goods produced only in confined areas. Underpopulation meant that disgruntled people could always seek new land beyond the reach of royal authority. When Europeans arrived in the region, in the 1500s, they found only a small population of hunter-gatherers there. In West Africa, a new religious influence began to make itself felt in the later first millennium. The rain forests are very dense. Work in rafia and other fibers was common from an early date, and in the Great Lakes region bark cloth was common, as was the use of animal skins for clothes. YWIzMzRhYjk5MGRlMDRiYzhlZmIyMjQ5ZjgwODE5MTIxZjAwNjdhODZiM2Y4 At an individual and family level, dealing with the challenge to build up numbers manifested itself in the supreme importance attached to the production of children. The wealthier the man, the more women he could marry. They also had a reputation for being independent-minded. African cultivators have generally taken great pride in their skills. In cattle-herding societies, and some crop-growing societies which were in close proximity to them, the young men were grouped into an age set of junior warriors. All these diseases were, despite higher levels of resistance in indigenous populations to foreign ones (West Africa in particular would become known as the The White Mans Grave) were all widespread killers. Olikenyi (2001) explains that, African hospitality which he contends is a vital aspect of existence in Africa in general, is one of the few facets of ancient African culture that is still intact and strongly This was almost universal throughout Africa, and was a painful, even traumatic ceremony by which boys entered adulthood. But it was ancestors with whom these people directly interacted, and approaching them with sacrifices of cattle. Big Men had four, five or more wives. Taking captives was a major objective in war, with most of the individuals thus enslaved being women or children. FIAT DOBLO (2015-) VANIKA DO KUFRA. NWIyZWQ1YTA3MjZkYTQzOWRjMzhmYTJkYjAyNzViOGRjNjIxMGM0YTRjNGJl The term Bantu is sometimes used to describe all Africans and African culture in general. Throughout Africa, bearing and bringing up children was probably the most vital task after brute survival. The contemporary political history of Africa is marked by imperialism, the expulsion of foreign powers and settler elites, and the post-independence travails of its roughly fifty states. It was not well suited to the milder, temperate climate of South Africa. NjI4MDI2ZmM3ZTBmNTYxODBhNzFhOWVhY2RlY2YxZDc2ODQwYjlkMTdhZjE3 With the evolving of African settlements into bigger towns and cities, the Caste system slowly began to take shape and become a distinctive social structure. Nevertheless there were some features which were widespread amongst African religions. Men captured in war or raids were often sacrificed to the gods, and the wives, retainers and servants of dead rulers were frequently buried with him. They would form a group of inter-related clans, or lineages, tracing their descent back to a single ancestor. It was structured around a big man who was usually (by myth, at any rate) the man most directly descended from the founding ancestor. By the time they reached modern South Africa the dominant peoples were all pastoralists. Agriculture spread to the northern grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa by the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE at the latest, and soon covered all of the West African savannah. For cultivators in particular, any religious beliefs were underpinned by a deeply-held idea about the world in which they found themselves. This process only reached its completion in South Africa by the end of the 1st millennium CE. This crosses the content from its west coast to the east coast. Male children could be trained up to become administrators in the royal service, and in some states filled the most responsible positions at court: their lowly social status was thought to act as a check to their ambitions and a guarantee of their loyalty (though a chief slave may have usurped the Mali throne in 1357). Africa was not just the birthplace of humanity but also the cradle of early civilisations that made an immense contribution to the world and are still marvelled at today. The continent of Africa covers several broad climatic zones. The gold miners of West Africa formed a hereditary, and in some ways privileged, group of workers. Secondly there was the nobles, people who fought in the King's army and provided it with weapons. Just as there is great cultural diversity so there is diversity in belief systems. It is inhabited by the San hunter-gatherer people who have adapted their lifestyle to this forbidding environment over 20,000 years. In the grasslands, the hot, dry climate makes for a short growing season. The caste system in India is not the only cultural institution designed to create divisions between social classes. The poor The ancientness of the continents rocks, whose minerals have leeched out over the aeons, mean that the soil is generally of a poor quality, posing challenges for farmers. Here, regional trade networks grew up based on such geographically specialized products as fish and salt. Not only so, but the general health of the population was regularly weakened by famine. The 25th dynasty was a line of pharaohs who originated in the Kingdom of Kush that reigned in part or all of Ancient Egypt for nearly a century, from 744 to 656 BC. However, there have been many Further upstream all have their flows interrupted by falls and rapids, making them unsuitable for long-distance trade even in the interior of Africa. OTE0MDljOTVhZWU3M2Q2ZmQ2ZGFhNWZmOTE2N2FmZWM0MGJhM2I5YzYxZjZm Cutting through these landscapes are huge rivers, outstanding amongst which are the Nile, the Niger, the Congo and the Zambezi. They then had no option but to throw themselves on the mercy of others by begging, a very common fate in traditional African society. The obstacles to population growth meant that there was always plenty of land available for new settlement. However, population pressures often forced farmers out onto drier land. As suggested by the above reference to status titles, however, stateless societies were by no means always egalitarian ones. Options include print, Easel Activities, Google Forms (passages), and Google Slides (Venn diagrams). In large settlements religion and healing was in the hands of professionals, whose interests naturally lay in keeping such matters out of the reach of the general populace. Together with freedom it is an important element of the economy, culture and social structure of a country. Eventually, however, immigrant rulers usually learnt to co-exist with local religious practitioners. As a result, production was often labour-intensive, in a part of the world where labour was already scarce. OTZhNjdjMmQ4MzVlNTAyODMzY2ZjOTFlOWE3NjJkOGI5NjVmODQ2NGRhN2Y2 ZGEzYzEwNGE3M2M4NDVjZWFiNDg4OTE5MzljZGNmY2UyN2ViOTc1YTZmMTRk Ancient Civilizations are typically taught focusing on the key areas of: Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economy and Social Structure using the acronym G.R.A.P.E.S. African cultivators have generally taken great pride in their skills. They had done this by the start if the first millennium BCE. European travelers to Africa were surprised to find, even in the interior of the continent, inoculation being practiced. Some cultures preferred more naturalistic depictions of human faces and other organic forms. In many of the great kingdoms of Africa, administration was carried on entirely orally. It offers a general survey of the geographical environments they inhabited; their settlements, social structures and economies; and their religions and cultures. Rice was grown on particularly well-watered areas such as along the banks of the River Niger. Social mobility In North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, there is a narrow zone of temperate, Mediterranean climate. From the 17th century, European contact have brought new crops from America, such as maize, cassava and sweet potatoes, and these were beginning to provide additional nutrition and a significant boost to numbers all over Africa. They also applied a wide range of ointments, and practiced bone setting, surgery and skilled midwifery. Interesting Facts about Traditional Religions of Ancient Africa The people of the Mali Empire believed in a magical force called "nyama." The religious beliefs of Africans impacted all aspects of their everyday lives including their food, work, and family life. -----END REPORT-----. But humans also were traded: it has been estimated that from the mid-second millennium CE perhaps seven thousand captives a year were taken north across the Sahara from the south, to the slave markets of North Africa and the Middle East. Famine was another source of slaves, causing people to sell themselves, or their children, into slavery in order to survive. If they were too old, ill or handicapped to work effectively; or if through misfortune they had no children; or if they had no kinsmen to aid them clear land and tame fields, they were very vulnerable. The magnificent sculptures of the West African societies of Ife and Benin, for example, depict human figures in an idealized yet deeply moving way, and possess a serene majesty unsurpassed in human art. 1. Indigenous African belief systems have the oldest roots of any of the continent's religions. The foundation myths of several states, including the kingdom of Benin, tell of populations inviting a foreigner to settle among them, to settle their disputes and provide them with leadership. In many places herders and cultivators, or cultivators and hunter-gatherers, lived in close proximity with each other, exchanging products on a regular basis. The same eye for beauty and spirit, along with a zest for color and pattern, was revealed in countless textile works from all over the continent. Social Structure - Ancient Africa - Kingdom of Axum Social Structure There was not very much information on this particular topic, but this is what I did find. When one of the regular famines struck, these individuals were the first to die. In many agricultural societies, however, the most important spiritual beings were the spirits of the land and, closely associated with these, ancestral spirits. Establishing a new settlement was not just about clearing forest or scrub and creating fields for crops; it was about taming the land, seeking the permission of the spiritual forces which controlled a patch to settled on it, and making a contract with them to bless them with protection and fertility. A medieval (c. 1220-1450) kingdom located in modern-day Zimbabwe. Ghana was the first empire of ancient Africa. Conditions in much of sub-Saharan Africa make wresting a secure subsistence from the land a major challenge. Pastoralist and farming communities have therefore lived in close proximity, which has been a major factor in state formation in these regions.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-2','ezslot_11',177,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-2-0'); Pastoralist communities are more dispersed, and much more mobile, than agricultural ones, as they follow their flocks and herds around in the search for good grazing. Caste systems in Africa are a form of social stratification found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the Sahel, West Africa, and North Africa. Africas other rivers are all interrupted by falls and rapids along their courses. The sculptural tradition spread to other Yoruba cities in the form of wood carvings, where they continued to reveal an artistry and appreciation of human worth that marks them out as truly great works. A patchy record. This makes them unsuitable for long-distance trade and contact. Suspects were often the victims of mob violence. The ancient structure is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. A hard environment Some communities, especially those in rain forests, had a sacred barrier to keep the wilderness at bay. These have proved vital staging posts on the trade routes which cross the desert, allowing weary travelers to rest, and to water and feed their animals and themselves. This The Call of the Wild by Jack London Middle School reading unit and novel study is exactly what you need to teach your . eyJtZXNzYWdlIjoiYTQ3YTllNzM5MzNhY2U5MTg3MDQzZTY2YzI0NGNiOTQx First are the hunter-gatherer societies. In West Africa, the climatic zones aligned in a series of east-to-west belts Sahara desert, desert-grassland margin (the Sahel), savannah grassland and tropical forest. To survive in these harsh conditions a person needed his kin around him. They were willing to put down tools and stop work when they felt their independence was being threatened. Underpopulation, and the difficulties that this created for taxation and control, meant that the kind of bureaucracies which invented literacy in Sumer or Egypt could not emerge in the African context. We also aim at promoting tourism across the African continent. Given the nomadic nature of these societies the spiritual power in question could not be tied to a particular area might, indeed, be a universal spirit who controlled all the land. Towns and cities The Bantu, a large group of related peoples, originated along what is now the border between NIGERIA and CAMEROON and spread throughout central and southern Africa. This would normally be a cluster of households. Many African societies were highly competitive in the pursuit of status and wealth. Except in favorable locations, especially where fishing, or gathering aquatic resources, could supplement diets, hunting and foraging groups needed a large area of land on which to sustain themselves. Study compare and contrast nonfiction text structure with 6 short passages, questions, and graphic organizers about similar animals. This came from exactly the same mix of European contact and American agriculture as the new crops; it was the Atlantic Slave Trade. On the other hand, everyone, regardless of sex or age, was required to work in the fields in times of peak activity such as harvest, and in some societies men prided themselves in their diligence as farmers. Teaching literature and nonfiction through The Call of the Wild by Jack London will be engaging, thought-provoking, and thorough with this Socratic Seminar and literary nonfiction devices novel study. African societies never really ceased to be colonizing societies, and this profoundly influenced all aspects of African culture. The most spectacular practitioners of this were kings and chiefs, which gave rulers swarms of sons to contest the succession or fragment the state. Ancient Mali Social Hierarchy The Mali Empire was an ancient empire in West Africa between c.1230 to c.1600. Still others were created by nomadic pastoral groups imposing control over a population of farmers, such as the Fulani kingdoms in West Africa.