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This categorization was not hard and fast. It offers a general survey of the geographical environments they inhabited; their settlements, social structures and economies; and their religions and cultures. The ancient structure is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Some groups of Iron Age farmers from West Africa, moving into the Great Lakes region at the end of the first millennium BCE and then moving down towards central and southern Africa, adopted a cattle-keeping way of life. OTg3ZTYwNWY1OWRjMGZiYzY3ZjQ0MGEzYTgyOTVhZDY3M2YwZDIyMzFjMzJk One other consequence of African underpopulation was the prevalence of the polygamy (see below). 7th-13th century). Throughout Africa the basic unit of society was the lineage-group, or clan. As the years went by they (or in some societies their entire age set) would move up the rungs to senior warrior, and then when they were thirty or so, to elder-hood. Most weaving was done by women, but in some major textile centers weavers were full-time professional men. He therefore possessed both religious and secular authority within his community. 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. Most cultures preferred abstract and stylized forms of humans, plants, and animals, but they had a range of distinct approaches and techniques. NzA0NTc2MTNjMDFjMzQ0ODY3ODRmNjZhMzc0ZGFjNDExMDIzN2VhMGNhNGE4 The surrounding bush remained untamed, wild, a source of harm, the abode of dangerous animals and evil spirits. Such pragmatism made for an open attitude to ideas and practices from outside: if something worked it was acceptable, wherever it came from. However, state-building was not a straightforward process in African conditions. YzZiNWViMjQ5Iiwic2lnbmF0dXJlIjoiNTc2NWJhZDg5MGU4Y2RkZTIxYTFi NjFkYmJjYjc2MmM4OGJiZTM3ZDU4YWMzMGI2Y2IwMmY2MGE1ZDJhM2Y3OGQ1 The beginning of the Atlantic slave trade in the late 1400s disrupted African societal structure as Europeans infiltrated the West African coastline, drawing people from the center of the continent to be sold into slavery. 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. The main city, Adulis, at the time was a very important port. Many of the market traders were local women, but above them was a class of comparatively wealthy merchants. African cultivators have generally taken great pride in their skills. The Sahara desert forms a major barrier to contacts between the cities and states of the Mediterranean region and the peoples to its south. Even here, however, there was commonly a belief that a higher or ultimate power lay behind the pantheon of gods who interacted with humans. ODRhYzAzZTNiOTc2MTJiMGNkYmQ3ZjdiYThjMzE5M2I5MTIzMzMwODE5OWJm All this has left African societies comparatively isolated from the great developments affecting other regions of the Eastern Hemisphere, and indeed from each other. 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. Egyptians believed that the gods controlled the universe. This was a strategy to counter a shortage of population, embarking on war and raids with the deliberate intention of taking captives to build up a concentration of unfree farmers under direct royal control. In times of external danger such societies could come together to resist attack; however, they were peculiarly vulnerable to slave raiding from predatory states. Most crafts supplied local markets, even when using high levels of skill. They also applied a wide range of ointments, and practiced bone setting, surgery and skilled midwifery. The herding way of life probably dated to the third millennium BCE, and preceded agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. For cultivators in particular, any religious beliefs were underpinned by a deeply-held idea about the world in which they found themselves. Some stateless peoples even looked to the rulers of neighboring states to provide arbitration in their disputes village communities bordering the powerful kingdom of Benin were examples of this. Also the leaders were chosen if they were the strongest to beat everyone who opposed them or the smartest as in the most strategic (Adams, 2016). Village clusters would be located in areas suitable for intensive crop production river valleys, floodplains, lakesides and other well-watered places. NDJiMmE4NmUzM2JjYWVjMzMwOGIyMzIwMTJjODRhNTY1YjBiYWE5ZTA5NTIx Nevertheless there were some features which were widespread amongst African religions. MjM4NWRlOGNlZmQ4MDIzY2IzMTRjYWZhNjM1N2RmNjNjZDdlMjU4N2NlNGNl Social structure is often treated together with the concept of social change, which deals with the forces that change the social structure and the organization of society. Some of these village clusters would experience the next step of evolving into small chiefdoms; and groups of chiefdoms might eventually be united (usually by force) into a single kingdom. As in other parts of the world, textile crafts were widespread. Together with drought, famine, epidemic, violence, and an unforgiving food-producing environment, it is easy to see how African populations struggled to grow. However the more organized societies such kingdoms had groups of full-time professional craftsmen. Indigenous religions never died out, however, and the two belief-systems lived side by side in uneasy co-existence for a long time (indeed, they still do in parts of West Africa). This makes them unsuitable for long-distance trade and contact. If a kinship group fell below a viable size it ceased to be able to protect itself properly and became extremely vulnerable to being absorbed, often brutally, by more fertile rivals. 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 en masse. HUM 2213 Midterm Paper essay. 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. Explain the social structure, unique aspects, and decline of Great Zimbabwe . Younger men would set out to seduce or rape the young wives of their elders, and their elders would be determined to prevent this. Facts about Ancient Africa 2: the important civilization 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. One group of industrial workers should be mentioned in this context, although they were not strictly speaking craftsmen in the normal use of the term. What are Mali traditions? OGFiY2MzM2UxNTEyOTJjNWUxYWE1ZmEyODEwNDc0MzU5OTRkZmNhNThmOTM0 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. 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. Ancient Grains Market Global Research Report 2023 is a comprehensive business study on the current state of industry which analyses innovative strategies for business growth and describes . YmNlZWRhOWNhNTAxYjRmYjc3ZWNhZDYyMGMyNGVhMjMyYjYyODYzMmMxZTQ1 Their repertoire involved rituals, spells, dances and trances, as well as more practical applications such as herbs and ointments. Younger men would set out to seduce or rape the young wives of their elders, and their elders would be determined to prevent this. This article looks at the societies and cultures of sub-Saharan Africa in pre-modern history. As in all pre-modern societies, infants and their mothers, the very groups upon whom the successful growth of population most depended, were most at risk. 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. Here, captives of both sexes were settled in royal estates and set to work there, effectively as serfs. They would form a group of inter-related clans, or lineages, tracing their descent back to a single ancestor. One way in which the older generation could impose its control on the younger was through initiation. Social Structure and Political Authority The Kushites lived in tribes also known as chiefdoms. The larger oases house trading towns and farming communities. Big Men had four, five or more wives. The 25th Dynasty's reunification of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, and Kush, created the largest Egyptian empire since the New Kingdom. The unequal access to women made for severe tensions between males of different generations the young men felt frustration, envy and anger with the older men for monopolizing the female sex. The most productive salt mines were located deep in the Sahara desert, and the miners lived isolated lives working in appalling conditions. Rulers displayed their power by the number of retainers they had, and the sophistication of their court, where urbanity, eloquence, and quickness of wit were cultivated. Of the outlying settlements, only the more successful ones would survive. Much craft work in Africa, as in all pre-modern societies, was done on a part-time basis by farmers, particularly women. However, state-building was not a straightforward process in African conditions. Later, they faced competition from Hausa traders, who created an even more far flung network. Over the millennia they have become highly adapted to life in an ecosystem which is fiercely hostile to other peoples. Copper was also an important trade commodity, with trade routes running outwards from the copper belt in modern Zambia. African ritual experts learnt thousands of verses of religious and wisdom poetry, and expounded the appropriate one to guide kings and ministers as they resolved disputes; Rememberers treasured the traditions and histories of the kingdoms; and traders astonished early European travelers with their powers of recall. Egyptian culture has six thousand years of recorded history. From its territories, great civilizations have risen to glory. 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. Metalwork held a special place in African culture. In the grasslands, the hot, dry climate makes for a short growing season. In : General history of Africa, V: Africa from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, 5, p. 895-905 Language : English Also available in : Also available in : Franais Also available in : Portugus Year of publication : 1992 Licence type : CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. It is an environment in which they feel at home and which provides them with all the necessities of life; however, they can live here in only small numbers, in scattered family bands which are constantly on the move. In the Great Lakes region, for example, the Lega people developed a distinctive and lively series of exquisite miniature sculptures. Despite the obstacles to population growth, there was an extremely slow rise in numbers throughout historical times. As we have seen, the only major trading towns in these regions were on the Swahili coast of the Indian Ocean. Government and Economy. The tsetse fly infested many wooded areas, especially along waterways, killing cattle and causing sleeping sickness amongst humans. 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. NzlkMGVmMDZkZjMzN2QyN2NjYTRkMGVkOTczNzJjZGYxZTAxZDM3MjAwYWJj 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. Moreover, away from areas especially favored with plentiful rainfall or rivers, the grasslands which cover much of Africa do not make ideal land for crop growing, and are prone to droughts and famines. Not a few chiefly dynasties traced their ancestry back to such a figure. Therefore, it was important to keep them happy. 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. These West African trade systems were facilitated by an international currency based on cowrie shells, whose distinctive appearance, durability, and limited supply made them very suitable for such a role. In the West African state of Bornu, for example, some royal women controlled extensive territories and were active in the government of the realm. The sculptural tradition in West Africa goes back to the terracotta figures of the Nok culture of the early first millennia BCE and CE, and began to reach a peak in the 13th and14th centuries in Ife, in Yorubaland (in modern day Nigeria). This in turn placed a constraint of technological innovation. 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. Stateless peoples In southern Africa the kingdom centered on Great Zimbabwe was situated on a gold trade route. All climate zones in sub-Saharan Africa were characterized by a highly uneven settlement pattern. Age sets were the mark of militarized, mobile societies which lived by cattle-keeping, but also by cattle-raiding and territory-taking. These were societies that had no. However springs or small lakes allow oases of vegetation to flourish at scattered spots, sometimes hundreds of miles apart. The great majority of this area is far too dry for agriculture whether crop cultivation or animal grazing of any kind. 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. Other cultural systems that were intended to create distinct classes of people and uphold a rigid hierarchy of power and control include the feudal system, slavery, Jim Crow laws, and apartheid. 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. This was almost universal throughout Africa, and was a painful, even traumatic ceremony by which boys entered adulthood. Here, the early settlers often used fire to clear the bush, and over large swathes of East and Central Africa in particular, thick forest was reduced to, first, open woodland, and then, in some places, to treeless steppe, more suited to cattle herding than crop production. Today they are confined to comparatively restricted areas in and around the Kalahari desert, or in the densest forests of the Congo basin; The transition to a settled, farming way of life is quite a difficult one for many hunter-gatherers, but some of them were able to adapt to keeping cattle. They also had a reputation for being independent-minded. In times of famine, the people took to foraging, braving the wilderness to do so. M2M4NGNlYzZmM2IzNmFlYTA3OGFjMDcwMWRiZjdmY2UyMzM5ZDg5OTcwNjA1 Suspects were often the victims of mob violence. Like the gold miners they were also hereditary, and in fact formed a distinct ethnic group within desert society. It was structured around a big man who was usually (by myth, at any rate) the man most directly descended from the founding ancestor. OTIxY2QzNGMwMmQ0OGI0YWIzNDFhOThjNGU4ZTVhM2IzYjQyOTkzYjMwZmNk They sought to bring shrines and cults under their authority through a mixture of threat and patronage. Perhaps the highland areas which have had most impact on the history of Africa have been the Ethiopian Highlands, which have sheltered Africas only historic Christian state; and the highlands of southern Africa, which have played a key role in that regions history. Together, these might kill one third to one half of an affected population, nullifying the hard come by demographic gains of a generation. There were also different social. In the social pyramid of ancient Egypt . Growth of the Axum Kingdom. Their impact on West African society, where trade networks were strongest, and along the East African coast, with its maritime links to the Middle East, was enormous. First, the African languages were solidly rooted: three languages (Zulu, Xhosa, and Sotho) are spoken by over two million people each, and the first two are mutually understandable. There is little known about the early history of Axum, however, from Greek and Roman sources, we know that the Axum Kingdom was a rapid growing kingdom in the first century CE. The wealthier the man, the more women he could marry. They then had no option but to throw themselves on the mercy of others by begging, a very common fate in traditional African society. Social mobility The abundant insect life of the tropics makes for a very high prevalence of serious diseases, for both humans and their animals; this greatly constrains the rates at which populations can grow. 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. 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. The greater number of people such a community embraced, the better it meant greater security for all, and more labour for the back-breaking work of keeping the bush at bay and clearing more land. They could make the Nile overflow, cause famine, or even bring death. The forests are very difficult to cut down, and it was only with the coming of iron implements, in the later first millennium BCE and the early first millennium CE, that people could properly start clearing areas of forest for agriculture. A hard environment The earliest kingdoms we know of in West Africa, such as Ghana and Mali, were located at strategic points in the trans-Saharan trade network. Ancient Africa had many different societies, but they can be roughly categorized into four types. 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 long-distance trade networks were in the hands of comparatively large and sophisticated commercial organizations. The General History of Africa ( Ki-Zerbo, et al. 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. The Awilu was the top most class in the social hierarchy of ancient Babylonia. A hidden corridor nine meters (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and this could lead to further findings, Egyptian . - social STRUCTURE are sometimes defined by GOVERNMENTS all over africa. One group in African society, which made up probably a tiny proportion of the whole but which had an influence out of all proportion to its size, were the traders. Farming populations have therefore sought out well-watered locations such as river banks, lakesides and moist depressions. Witches were widely blamed for misfortunes, especially involving the fertility of women and the survival of children. This caused individuals to be very sensitive to attacks on their personal honor, real or imagined. Originally, there were two Egyptian kingdoms. To the south of the western savannah is the region of rainforest which encompasses the southern areas of West Africa and most of the Congo Basin. Indeed, they even went on strike when a neighboring ruler attempted to convert them to Islam. In some places, groups of skilled craftsmen had their own chiefs. The surrounding bush remained untamed, wild, a source of harm, the abode of dangerous animals and evil spirits. In general, work was divided equally among all people (other than slaves). This is most marked in eastern, central and southern Africa during the second millennium CE, at the start of which population levels were at a very low level. One common social structure among ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa is segmentary lineage organisation. This crosses the content from its west coast to the east coast. Gender and age differentials Many African societies were highly competitive in the pursuit of status and wealth. 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. When Europeans arrived in the region, in the 1500s, they found only a small population of hunter-gatherers there. It is possible that in such cases systems of exchange were focussed on the palace, which acted as centers of redistribution. YmNjNjY4NWM4MWUxYzhlYjFmYzIwMmNiMTBmZTA0OWZlNGQ4ZmI5MzNlNmMz 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). jed asto hovoren bsnici terasove dosky campus Urobit dobre pamta preloi. The advancements made in the ancient world continue to influence our societies today. 2010-2011 provides a reassessment of the history of South Africa in the wake of that country's transition to majority rule. Not only so, but the general health of the population was regularly weakened by famine. In the rest of Africa towns were few and far between. Equality was very important in these tribes and all people were treated equally. 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. In case of divorce she often lost all rights to her children, a cruel policy used to impose more rigorous female chastity than was demanded elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. At the top were the gods, such as Ra, Osiris, and Isis. 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. Otherwise, large urban settlements were rare: Great Zimbabwe, Mbaza Kongo, and a handful of other towns were exceptional. 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. The first king was king Tenkamenin, and the second king of the Ghana Empire was Kaya Maghan. In many cases, however, craft production was devoted to local, regional or long-distance trade. Next were the farmers. When one society was conquered by another, it was the mediums and priests, as well as others in the community with high religious status such as iron workers and herbalists, who often put up the stoutest resistance to alien rule. This is due to a number of factors. In other traditional African societies, class structure has been based on levels of control or servitude. Whereas the people round about were Berbers, they were of black descent, either descended from captives brought there from further south or the last remnants of Negroid peoples who had lived in the region when it had a wetter climate. In the west the southern border of the savannah is formed by the equatorial rain forests of West Africa and the Congo Basin, but to the east it continues down into East Africa, skirting round the Congo rain forests and blending into the subtropical savannah grasslands of central and southern Africa. Learn about the Bantu migrations,. ZWFhZmI1NmY5ZjVhZjJjNjYxYTFjNzUxMjgzZTE4MGZhOWIyODQyZWE4ZGIz While a caravan was on the move, its hundreds of animal drivers and traders had to submit to an almost military discipline under the caravan-master. 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 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. Many African societies therefore experienced considerable social mobility. It was not until the coming of iron technology that large-scale settlement of the West African and Equatorial regions, and of eastern, central and southern Africa, was able to begin. Dance was the most important African cultural form, central to communal festivals, religious ceremonies and masquerades. However, it was also played in the more refined atmosphere of some royal courts, both in West Africa and East Africa, where the game formed part of a succession ritual. Africa, where humans first evolved, today remains a place of remarkable diversity. As a result, production was often labour-intensive, in a part of the world where labour was already scarce. 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. This would exacerbate the already existing social fault-lines which afflicted all such societies. Many captives were sold on to other peoples; there was an active slave trade in Africa. Building the dense concentrations of population necessary for the emergence of major civilizations was not an option in most locations. It was not well suited to the milder, temperate climate of South Africa. 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. Craft workers were often dedicated to meeting the needs of the ruler and the elite, their workshops located within the royal compound. MzVjNDBhYTk5MTk1YTUxYzM0ODRjOTE3MGZiNmNiNjg5MWQ5NGYxNDBiNDdm They assimilated into society by reaffirming . On the whole, though, anthropologist have emphasized the rational, experimental nature of African medicine. So too did the more widespread infestation of tsetse fly, which set a limit of animal transport. Cleverness, bravery, charm, charisma and aggression could provide the success to bring high status and abundant wealth in many circumstances. This maximizes opportunities for violent clashes with other groups, and their societies tend to be more militaristic. The trans-Saharan trade was carried in caravans made up of sometimes hundreds of camels. 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. This bred a society in which extra-marital sex was common and accepted, and young men adopted an attitude of machismo and insolence towards their elders. YzM1ZDJjMjdkYTczYjc3ODRiNDdmYThlOTY1N2E1MjViMmVlZDdiZjgxYWYz Oral traditions and Muslim and European records suggest that large-scale famines occurred every 70 years or so, and were often accompanied by epidemic disease. In these, men did the more highly valued work of herding, protecting or raiding cattle, while women did the household chores and cultivated crops a lowly occupation in such societies. African societies never really ceased to be colonizing societies, and this profoundly influenced all aspects of African culture. To judge by reports of early European travelers, many Africans had the misfortune to find themselves without kin, and unable to work. The mysteriousness of such knowledge might be reinforced in societies where secret associations had a monopoly of spiritual activity. OTE0MDljOTVhZWU3M2Q2ZmQ2ZGFhNWZmOTE2N2FmZWM0MGJhM2I5YzYxZjZm 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. The Islamic Revolution was a disaster for Persia in general, I've spent some time in Iran touring the historical sites, Mt Bisitun, Persepolis, Pasargedae, etc, it's a beautiful country with a cultured and ancient people, they've suffered a lot under the Ayatollahs since the Shah was driven out, despite negative Western stereotypes I found . In due course he would probably be accepted back into his community through paying a fine to, or offering to work for, his wifes father. Fewer than 30 examples have survived, all made by the lost wax process. The poor Yet there is still debate about how many species of elephant bird there actually were. 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. This process only reached its completion in South Africa by the end of the 1st millennium CE.