.    EARLY AFRICA    .

Eternal Africa

 The elephant is the largest land animal in the world

In Northeast Africa underneath Ancient Egypt was Nubia, the "other gift of the Nile,"

which sometimes warred with Egypt- here Emperor Ramses II does battle with Nubians

Most of the time they traded, and Egyptian building styles diffused south along the Nile

 This is Meroe, the main urban center of Nubian culture- three pyramids have been restored

The Kingdom of Kush, a Nubian kingdom, dominated Egypt during its 25th dynasty

Its holy site is this temple, of unknown creed, called the Western Deffufa

Regular homes had an arch-like opening holding up a dome-like construction

with a communal center and storage areas

Another kingdom of ancient times was the Land of Punt, thought to include modern

Eritrea and Yemen across the Red Sea- it traded Myrr trees like these drawn on Hatshepsut's palace

In the postclassical era, the Kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia

inherited the Biblical tradition from earlier kingdoms- this is

King Lalibela's rock-hewn church of St. George

The same church from afar- who would know?

At St. Mary's of Zion in Axum, the Ethiopian Orthodox

Church claims to keep the Ark of the Covenant

The place is here:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/ark-covenant-200712.html

Ancient stele are now a park in Axum, maintained by

the UN, and a symbol of Ethiopia's ancient heritage

East African landscape

Important people in Postclassical Africa

 Tribes over 2 m population in East Africa today

.    EARLY WESTAFRICA    .

3500-500 AD

It is said that maps lie when colonial borders are used in place of

ethnolinguistic boundaries- are there 50 countries in Africa or 500?

Tribes over 2 m population in West Africa today

Note: most African-Americans have roots in the

Yoruba, Igbo and Mandinka tribes of West Africa

African village: after the Bantu migrations, villages became

the traditional method of settled life south of the Sahara

Family and patriarchal family structures maintained themselves in Africa as well

 Kin-based societies are tribal in nature, instead of national or multinational

PHASE I: GHANA

Ghana's capital city (no longer existing) of Kumbi Saleh- 11th century

The Dogon people living as they did in the postclasscial era

 PHASE II: MALINKE (MALI)

Rise of Mali: The West African Epic of the Lion King has been sung

for hundreds of years- recently by Papa Griot (r) well known in Gambia

Mansa Musa in an European atlas- showing him with gold

Gold in Mali was in great supply- Mansa Musa showered it on people during his Hajj

Unique houses in the Mali-Ghana area

 Malinke's king Musa went on the Hajj across Africa

The Djenne Mosque in the capital of the old Mali Empire

Working on refurbishing, 're-mudding' the Djenne Mosque

Hot air balloon view of Timbuktu

Serenity in the Sahara, Mali

A welcome sight for Trans-Sahara travelers: an oasis

The Niger River is the highway of West Africa - homes on an island

Village on the banks of the Niger, note mosque at the center

Mosque along the Niger River

Phase III: Songhay

Tomb from the Songhay period (1400s) before its collapse

The fall of Songhay meant a fragmented political order

While the elite converted to Islam, locals held to animism, in which diviners

guided the faithful through rituals that varied from tribe to tribe

Ghana's chief today

A tribal chief from Sierra Leone 100 years ago, and another from Nigeria

(who lives today in Oxford, England and is a soccer fan)

Africa Geographical Map Interlude: http://www.usaraf.army.mil/MAP_INTERACTIVE/INTERACTIVE_MAP.swf

1. How many flags contain a symbol? _________

2. What are those symbols? Draw them!

3. What do the colors on African flags mean? _________

Study the official Ethnologue map of African tribes/languages:

http://www.languageandpeace.com/images/huffman/Africa_Langs.gif

.    EARLY CENTRAL AFRICA    .

3500-500 AD

Tribes over 2 m population in Central Africa today

When the Bantu migrated from West Africa, they encountered

Pygmy groups in which the average height was 4 ft. 5 in. (http://www.pygmies.org/)

Soon the Congo River, like the Niger, became highway of Central Africa

While no kingdoms appeared before the 15th century, the Kingdom of Kongo

would appear just in time to meet the Portuguese... wait a second... seriously?

.    SWAHILI COAST AFRICA    .

500-1500 AD

Tribes over 2 m population on the Swahili Coast of Africa today

For all its Indian Ocean trade, the Swahili Coast looks peaceful

Malindi was a port town on the coast where Arabs and Africans both lived

Mombasa, Kenya was the next city down the Swahili Coast

A young Barack Obama visits his Kenyan family in his

dad's village called Nang'oma Kogelo inland off the Swahili Coast

Farther down the coast, Zanzibar castle was built by the Arabs

and the area became a sultanate for a couple centuries

Arabs drive newly captured slaves to the coast

Arabia kept slavery going until the 1950s

Historically, males were castrated- triggering the Zanj Rebellion

Ali bin Muhammad started the African slave revolt in Iraq in 869 AD.

Slavery was conducted by African and Arab traders from the coast

to the Middle East- This monument to the Swahili slaves is in Zanzibar

Kilwa is the next city down the coast- Battuta admired its mosque

Rhino horn and elephant tusks were sent to Sofala

Great Zimbabwe was the inland city that established trade

with the coast under the Mtapa kings like Mwene Mtapa

The Khoikhoi (Hottentots) of the Northern Cape live in much the same way they always have

Tribes over 100k population in Southern Africa today

 Site Design: David Tamm