Chapter 8 African Civilizations

List details about Africa

1. 2nd largest continent 2. 4,600 miles east to west 3. 5,000 miles north to south 4. 11.7 million sq miles - occupies 1/5th earth's land surface 5. Narrow coastlines - few harbors, ports, inlets

Name the 2 largest deserts

1. Sahara - north (only a small part is desert, mostly flat, graywasteland of scattered rocks and gravel. Southern edge of Sahara is called the Sahel 2.Kalahari - south

Facts about Kingdom of Aksum

1. Sometimes called Horn of Africa 2. Traders from across the Red Sea established trading settlements - seeking ivory to trade in Persia and farther east in the Indian Ocean Trade 3. bought skills, textiles and spices from eastern trade routes. 4. trading settlements became colonies of farmers and traders 5. Trade with Mediterranean countries flowed into seaports

What are the three categories of migration?

1. environmental 2. economic 3. political

Name the common elements in African culture

1. family unit 2. religion (belief system) animism: a religion in which spirits play an important role in regulating daily life. Animist believe that spirits are present in animals, plants and other natural forces and also take the form of the souls of their ancestors. 3. keeping a history: no written language - storytellers shared orally the history and literature of a culture. Griots (storytellers) - kept history alive passing stories from parents to children

Djenne - Djeno - list some facts

1. located on a tributary of the Niger River in West Africa 2. scientists discovered hundreds of thousands of artifacts 3. at its height, had some 50,000 residents (lived in huts plastered with mud) 4. fished in Niger River, herded cattle and raised rice on the river's fertile floodplains. 5. Famous for being the oldest known city in Africa

When did agriculture begin in Africa?

6000 BC (between 8000 and 6000 BC, the Sahara received increased rainfall and it turned into a savanna. By 6000 BC the Sahara began to dry up again. To survive many early farmers moved east into the Nile Valley and south into West Africa.

Animism

A religion in which spirits are involved in regulating daily life

How did Aksum's location and interactions with other regions affect its development?

Aksum's location and expansion made it a hub for caravan routes to Egypt and Meroe. Access to sea trade on the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean helped Aksum become an international trading power.

Djenne-Djeno

Ancient city located on a tribituary of the Niger River in West Africa

Bantu -speaking people

Early Africans who spread culture and language. Originally lived in the savanna south of the Sahara.

What lasting legacies did the Aksum kingdom leave?

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, stone architecture and terrace farming

Savannas

Extensive grassy plains that support agriculture in Africa

What conditions led to Aksum's becoming Christian?

Ezana succeeded to the throne as an infant after the death of his father. When he finally became the ruler he converted to Christianity and established it as the official religion - he wanted to rule people with righeousness and justice and did not want to oppress people.

How did agriculture change the ways Africans lived?

Growing their own food enabled them to build permanent shelters in one location. Settlements expanded because reliable food supplies led to longer, healthier lives and an increased birth rate. The increased food supply allowed members to practice activities such as working metal, making pottery and crafting jewelry.

What, besides, raw materials and finished goods did merchants exchange in Aksum?

Ideas such as a new religion (Christianity)

What was the major reason the City of Adulis attracted foreigners?

It was the center of trade

How did the Muslim conquest of Africa affect the Kindgom of Askum?

Kingdom declined under invaders who practiced the religion called Islam (founded by Muhammad) Between 632 and 750 Isalamic invaders conquered vast territories in the Mediterranean world and spread their religion. The invaders seized foothold on the African coast and cut Askum off from the major ports as a result the kingdom declined as an international trading power.

Aksum

Kingdom that arose and conquered Kush. Located south of Kush on a rugged plateau on the Red Sea in what are now the countries of Eritera and Ethiopia

What was African's earliest known culture and what was their major technological achievement

Nok Culture (lived in what is now Nigera from 500 BC to AD 200). They were the first West African people to smelt iron. The iron was fashioned into tools for farming and weapons for hunting.

Ezana

Ruler who occupied the Kingdom of Aksum between AD 325 and 360

What covers over 40% of the African continent

Savannas (grassy plains - include mountainous highlands and swamps tropical stretches. Savannas do support abundant agricultural production. Top soil is thin and strips away the minerals.

Adulis

Seaport - near present day Massawa

Who found King of Aksum?

Son of King of Solomon and Queen of Sheba

Griots

Story tellers, kept Africa's history alive through oral retellings

what is the most common spoken language in Africa and what does it mean?

Swahili - the coast

What is one result of the migrations of Bantu speaking peoples?

Territorial wars broke out and other cultures were taken over

What led to the specialization and permanent villages in Africa?

The development of agriculture

How was the Aksumites architecture unique?

They did not put mortar on the stones, they carved stones to fit closely together.

What is the reason believed to have prompted the Bantu migrations?

They needed more land for a growing population

What insect is found in the rain forest and what has its presence prevented in Africa?

Tsete fly - prevented Africans from using cattle, donkeys and horses to farm near the rain forest. Also prevented invaders, especially Europeans, from colonizing.

What was unusual about the West African Iron Age?

West Africa did not go through a Copper or Bronze Age

Nok

West Africa's earliest known culture

The Greek guidebook, Periplus of Erthyanean Sea, described the first king of Aksum to be

Zoskales

What is archaeologists main source of information about early West African culture?

artifacts such as pottery, charcoal, and slag (a waste produce of iron smelting).

Why did the kingdom of Askum decline?

because it got invaded by islamic invaders which caused its political,power, spirtual identity and environment to weaken

How do experts trace the patterns of movement of people?

by studying the spreading of language - if two languages have similar words for a particular object or idea, it is likely that the people who spoke those languages probably had close contact at one time.

Push - pull factors

factors that either push people out of an area or pull them into an area. For example: Environmental: push (climate changes, drought) pull (abundant land, new resources). Economic: push (unemployment) pull (employment) Political: push (religious/political war) pull (political and religious freedom)

The Romans and Aksums were linked in what two ways?

gold and commitment to Christianity

What are the four general vegetation types found in Africa?

grasslands, forest, desert, savanna

How does migration shape the modern world?

it is the reason for many cultural similarities and the reason we speak the same language in many countries - immigration is based on economic patterns, people want to move tomplaces with a good economy

How did Aksum's location help make it a trade city?

it was close to many boadies of water such as the red sea, the mediterranean sea, the indian ocean and the nile river

What evidence shows that Djenne-Djeno was a major trading city in West Africa?

it was located on a river, many materialstic artifacts were discovered there

How did they produce iron?

mining the iron ore - the iron was bound up with other minerals in rocks. The trick was separating the iron from the unwanted minerals (that was the function of the furnace). This is the process known as smelting.

How can the effects of one migration become a cause of another migration?

one migration might cause push factors such as unemployment which leads the other people to migrate

Migration

permanent move from one country or a region to another

What was the farming technique used by the bantu speakers?

slash and burn - a patch of forest is cut down and burned. the ashes are mixed into the soil creating a fertile garden area. However the land loses its fertility quickly and is abandoned for another plot in another location.

What were the main directions of the migration of Bantu speaking peoples?

south or southeast

Which effects of the Bantu speaking migrations do you think had the most long term impact?

spread of the use of iron, spread of ideas and languages, creation of new culture

What is desertification?

steady process of drying of the soil

Terraces

steplike ridges constructed on mountain slopes

Which of Aksum's achievements has continued into modern times?

stone pillars, written language, minting coins

What conflict contributed to the fall of Aksum?

the conflict between the Christian Aksumites and Islamic invaders

What impact did Ezana's decision to become a Christian have on the kingdom of Aksum?

the kingdom began tomthrive and rise to its height

Sahara

the largest desert in Africa [and the world]

What does the word Bantu mean?

the people

How might the population of Africa be different today if the Bantu speaking migrations had not taken place?

the population would not be as high as todays population

What was the Aksumites religion?

they believed in one god and called their god Mahrem and believed their king was directly descended from him. They were also animists (worshiped the spirits of nature and honored their dead ancestors)

Into which regions of Africa did the Bantu speaking migration move?

they moved east and then south coming to occupy the central highlands of africa

How did the Bantu migration change the history of Africa?

they spread their skills in farming iron working and domesticating animals

What were the Bantu people?

they were farmers and nomadic herders who developed and passed along the skill of ironworking.

Why did Aksum's leaders move their capital?

tomget out ofmthe way if islamic invaders

Sahel

vast semiarid region of North Africa, south of the Sahara, that forms a transitional zone between the desert and the region known as Sudan