Learning support for teachers and students. It began around 3400 BCE. Once a cluster had acquired some form of statehood, its people were able to act in a much more co-ordinated fashion. In Africa, trade and industry were constrained by underpopulation. This was greatly feared, as it could spring up in communities and tear them apart. The untamed forests have remained home to hunter-gatherer peoples, notably the pygmies. 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. Religious and medical knowledge was interwoven, and was mysterious to the community at large (except in so far as the healing properties of many plants were commonly appreciated). The majority of townsmen, like villagers, were cultivators. These more local groups formed the enduring units of African societies, centers of local power which provided the building blocks of larger polities, and outlasted them. Zip. Many chiefdoms and kingdoms in all parts of sub-Saharan Africa have been formed by pastoral clans dominating agricultural populations. This crosses the content from its west coast to the east coast. A popular form of leisure was a board game called mankala. In the savannah and forest regions of West Africa, an international group of traders grew up named the Dyula, who achieved an impressive scale of organization to handle commercial activities over a very wide area. These encompass the worship of gods, ancestors and spirits, and are based on an understanding that the spiritual infuses every aspect of daily life. These occupied the grasslands around (and sometimes within) the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, and the more arid grasslands which covered so much of the continent. 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 Cutting through these landscapes are huge rivers, outstanding amongst which are the Nile, the Niger, the Congo and the Zambezi. South of the forest the grasslands resume, having skirted around the Congo Basin; but further south, on the western coast of south-central Africa, lies the Kalahari desert, smaller than the Sahara but perhaps even more arid. If the demands of royal authority became too onerous, in the form of heavy taxes, say, or the demands made for public projects or service in the royal army, people could (and did) simply up and leave. Stateless peoples The earlier populations were either absorbed into the incoming populations, or pressed, either further and further south or further and further into the rain forests. Younger men would set out to seduce or rape the young wives of their elders, and their elders would be determined to prevent this. More often, they might be tested by a poison ordeal and if found guilty, put to death, often with great cruelty. M2M4NGNlYzZmM2IzNmFlYTA3OGFjMDcwMWRiZjdmY2UyMzM5ZDg5OTcwNjA1 Women who could not bear children were held in contempt, and by the same token male potency was esteemed. In river floodplains communities have constructed mounds raised above the flood level from which to take advantage of the rich silt deposited by the river waters. In many regions low or fickle rainfall greatly magnifies this problem. These matters touched on the central concern of Africans, the continuity of the community. There was intense competition for women, and great inequality in access to them. To the south of the Sahara desert is the Savannah zone. Such organizations had strong parallels with modern corporations, with agents stationed in towns scattered over the area where they operated. The limited nature of urbanization greatly restricted transport, trade and industry. NTlmYTU5OWZlYjIyNzk0NmRkZjAxMGZiMTRhMzBkYWViYTY4ZmNjYjlmNDMz 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. The difficulties of transport noted above acted to restrict trade, and thus to the emergence of centers of specialist production. NzA0NTc2MTNjMDFjMzQ0ODY3ODRmNjZhMzc0ZGFjNDExMDIzN2VhMGNhNGE4 Some communities, especially those in rain forests, had a sacred barrier to keep the wilderness at bay. The obstacles to population growth meant that there was always plenty of land available for new settlement. As warriors they would cultivate a military ethos and be sent out to military outposts to guard the groups cattle and territory. 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. However, every tribe needs some sort of hierarchy. Facts about Ancient Africa 2: the important civilization In a few, more sophisticated kingdoms, such as Songhai, power was more centralized, with the state divided into provinces ruled by governors appointed by the king. Where there is a spring, a lake or a river, however, cultivation is possible, and in some areas, for example in the inner delta of the River Niger (see below), or on the shores of Lake Chad in West Africa, or the Great Lakes of central Africa, intensive cultivation has allowed concentrations of dense population to grow up. It offers a general survey of the geographical environments they inhabited; their settlements, social structures and economies; and their religions and cultures. Yet there is still debate about how many species of elephant bird there actually were. By utilizing this acronym, students can compartmentalize their findings and . Conversely, most men could afford only one wife, if that. 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. This process started to happen at different times according to region. -----BEGIN REPORT----- YmNlZWRhOWNhNTAxYjRmYjc3ZWNhZDYyMGMyNGVhMjMyYjYyODYzMmMxZTQ1 So too could warfare or misrule. In West Africa, the slow multiplication of population concentrations laid the basis for further expansion. The resulting dissent, fueled by, The larger the state the more resources it could commit to defense and expansion. Together with freedom it is an important element of the economy, culture and social structure of a country. These requirements imposed a considerable constraint on the ability of Big Men to accumulate material wealth; and in many cases his status was precarious. But this use of the term is inaccurate; Bantu peoples make up only about a third of Africa . 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. 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. African kingdoms suffered severely from the divisive effects of violent competition between royal princes.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'timemaps_com-leader-3','ezslot_12',183,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-timemaps_com-leader-3-0'); When a state fell, its population sometimes dispersed away from its core area, perhaps due to attack from and/or immigration by a new group of people, or through desiccation of the environment. Several high mountains rise up from the East African plains, most famously Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Ironically, this attractive landscape posed a barrier to the spread of traditional farming southward, as sub-Saharan agriculture had adapted itself to tropical conditions. African societies were often fluid from one generation to another, however. 2022 TimeMaps Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Famine was another source of slaves, causing people to sell themselves, or their children, into slavery in order to survive. One other consequence of African underpopulation was the prevalence of the polygamy (see below). Village clusters would be located in areas suitable for intensive crop production river valleys, floodplains, lakesides and other well-watered places. In river floodplains. Ancient Mali Social Hierarchy The Mali Empire was an ancient empire in West Africa between c.1230 to c.1600. 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. However, there have been many As in other parts of the world, textile crafts were widespread. This was a form of draughts, and was played in private rather than in public. This in turn placed a constraint of technological innovation. 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. The surrounding bush remained untamed, wild, a source of harm, the abode of dangerous animals and evil spirits. 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. 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;}. They had done this by the start if the first millennium BCE. The development of the Egyptian civilization is traced from the beginning of the settlement at the Nile river through to the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt under one Pharaoh. In the forests of West Africa and the Congo Basin, yams and plantains were the staple crop. In some societies which were sparsely scattered across the land, such a group might form its own hamlet or small village. Together with drought, famine, epidemic, violence, and an unforgiving food-producing environment, it is easy to see how African populations struggled to grow. Africa has an exceptionally hostile disease environment, West Africa most of all; malaria, leprosy, tsetse fly and smallpox are only a few of the killer diseases of the continent, attacking not only humans but, in the last case, their animals as well. Camels were employed in the long-distance trans-Saharan trade, and donkeys were the normal mode of transport in the West African savannah. 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 most spectacular practitioners of this were kings and chiefs, which gave rulers swarms of sons to contest the succession or fragment the state. Witches were widely blamed for misfortunes, especially involving the fertility of women and the survival of children. As suggested by the above reference to status titles, however, stateless societies were by no means always egalitarian ones. The usual form of marriage was through bride-wealth a groom exchanged a portion for his wealth to a brides family in order to marry her.
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