Chapter ThreeEarly African Societies & The Bantu

Migrations

Geography of Africa• Continent is 3X the size of the USA• North – fairly mountainous

coastline• Sahara Desert – takes up most of

northern ½ of Africa• West – Interior Grasslands,

tropical jungle along coast• East (Indian Ocean) – mountains,

plateaus, highlands• Central – jungle/rainforest• South – hills/plateaus/deserts

Development of Agriculture in Africa• Sahara desert originally a highly

fertile region (c. 10,000 BCE) –Western Sudan – savanna

• Domestication of cattle – 9000 BCE• Cultivation – c. 7500 BCE – est.

permanent villages• By 5000 BCE small monarchies

have begun to evolve in the Sudan • desertification/desiccation begins

around 5000 BCE• Drier, hotter climates drive people

towards rivers

The most perfect process is as follows: as much as possible of the brain is removed via the nostrils with an iron hook, and what cannot be reached with the hook is washed out with drugs; next, the flank is opened with a flint knife and the whole contents of the abdomen removed; the cavity is then thoroughly cleaned and washed out, firstly with palm wine and again with an infusion of ground spices. After that, it is filled with pure myrrh, cassia, and every other aromatic sub stance, excepting frankincense, and sewn up again, after which the body is placed in natron [see below], covered entirely over, for seventy days - never longer. When this period is over, the body is washed and then wrapped from head to foot in linen cut into strips and smeared on the underside with gum, which is commonly used by the Egyptians instead of glue. In this condition the body is given back to the family, who have a wooden case made, shaped like a human figure, into which it is put. When, for reasons of expense, the second quality is called for, the treatment is different: no incision is made and the intes tines are not removed, but oil of cedar is injected with a syringe into the body through the anus which is afterwards stopped up to prevent the liquid from escaping. The body is then cured in natron for the prescribed number of days, on the last of which the oil is drained off. The effect of it is so powerful that as it leaves the body it brings with it the viscera in a liquid state, and as the flesh has been dissolved by the natron, nothing of the body is left but the skin and bones. After this treatment, it is returned to the family without further attention. The third method, used for embalming the bodies of the poor, is simply to wash out the intestines, and keep the body for seventy days in natron

The Gifts of the Nile (p. 62) • Egypt

– From first cataract to Med. Sea – Annual flooding, broad floodplains

allowed for a large population to flourish w/ fairly simple irrigation projects

• Nubia – also known as Kush– south of Egypt along Nile– Smaller floodplains– Smaller population than Egypt – More complex irrigation systems

Nile Valley Agriculture• 10,000 BCE immigration from

Ethiopia• 5,000 BCE Sudanese herders • Population pressure requires

increasingly complex and intense irrigation

• Villages crop up along Nile by 4000 BCE

• Greater populations required more sophisticated government

• Few external threats to Egypt or Nubia, due to geography

Egyptian History• Early Nubian domination (3400 –

3200 BCE)• 3100 BCE large Egyptian kingdom

forms from Aswan to delta (lower Egypt)

• Archaic Period– 3100 – 2660 BCE• Old Kingdom – 2660-2160 BCE

– Pyramid building

• Middle Kingdom – 2160-1640 BCE– Hykso invasion

• New Kingdom – 1550 -1075 BCE

The Pyramids•Early architecture from Old Kingdom•Tallest buildings in the world until the 19th century •2 meter blocks, some 60 T each•Role – burial chambers for Pharaohs

Relations between Egypt and Nubia• Competition over Nile trade• Often led to military conflict• Precious metals and gems in

Nubia • Political and commercial alliances

as needed

Turmoil & Empire• Increasing regionalism chipped

away at power of state• Revolts and cost of pyramids end

Old Kingdom• Middle Kingdom – more turbulent

period, irregular flooding• Ended by Hykso invasion• Driving out of Hyksos ushers in

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom – p. 68• Agriculture flourish• Large population• Elaborate government• Few pyramids, but elaborate

temples, palaces, temples, statues• Expansion of Egypt• Lost control of Nubia by 1100 BCE• Eventually Nubia conquers Egypt

Egyptian Urban Culture• Slower to develop than

Mesopotamia– Memphis c. 3100 BCE, Heliopolis C.

2900 BCE

• Nubian cities – Kerma, Meroe– Located at cataracts along the Nile– Dominated trade routes

• Well-defined social classes – pharaohs down to slaves– Pharaoh – absolute monarch – Depended on government officials and

professional armies rather than on nobles

– Fairly fluid social scale

Patriarchal Society• Men dominated politics, economy,

and household• Occasional exceptions of female

rulers• Women had more influence along

Nile than in Mesopotamia– Royal women often served as regents– Nubian women often ruled as

monarchs– Women served as priestesses– Educated to serve in government– “Heiress Theory”???????

Economic Specialization• Bronze metallurgy - Hykso

invasion• Iron – c. 900 BCE• Trade along Nile

– More difficult for Nubia due to cataracts

– Egypt also traded along Med. Sea – Nile flows north which favored Egypt– Nubians needed to trade more

overland– Traded w/Mesopotamia

Hieroglyphic Writing• Possible Mesopotamian influence• “Sacred Writings”• Several simplified versions

developed• Rosetta Stone – disc. in 1799 (read

p. 76)• Nubians used own spoken

language but Egyptian hieroglyphics

Egyptian Religion• Principal god(s) – Amon Ra• Mummification – really only for the

wealthy • Much happier view of

life/death/afterlife• Cult of Osiris

– Assoc. w/the Nile – renewal/rebirth – Judge of the dead – high moral

standards

Nubian Religion • Apedemak – war god• Own pantheon of gods, few

records remain• Adopted Egyptian gods, esp.

Osiris

Bantu Migrations • Large family of languages • Gulf of Guinea coast• Traded with “forest people” • Bantu migrations start @ 3000

BCE• Slow migrations throughout sub-

Saharan Africa• Migration/”ooze” aided by river

travel & agricultural surpluses