CLASSICAL PERIPHERIES: EMERGING AREAS ON THE BORDERS OF CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS

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CLASSICAL PERIPHERIES EMERGING AREAS ON THE
BORDERS OF CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS
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THE CLASSIC WORLD
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PRE-HISTORIC AFRICA

• Regions in Africa
• Sub-Saharan Africa vs. Northern Africa (inc. Nile
  Valley)
• The Sahara is the greatest physical and cultural
  barrier
• North settled early by Berbers, Hamites
  (Caucasian groups)
• Sub-Saharan Africa has larger regions with many
  micro regions
• West Africa Forest, Sahel called Sudan, Central
  Africa, East Africa, South Africa
• Each region defined by physical geography and
  vegetation many micro cultures
• North and East Africa saw first African
  civilizations
• The Nile River Pharaonic Egypt Kush-Meroe
  (often called Nubia)
• The Ethiopian Highlands Axum (Aksum) or Ethiopia
• North Africa Carthaginian Empire, Roman and
  Greek civilizations
• The Sudan
• Sudanic region was sahel or plains stretching
  across Africa south of Sahara
• 9000 B.C.E. domestication of cattle cultivation
  of sorghum, cotton
• Became home to most Sub-Saharan civilizations
• Small states based on tribes, clans developed
• Religion polytheism, shamanism, placation of
  spirits, divination
• Climatic Change
• Prior to 5000 CE Sahara one large inland sea
  surrounded by plains

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REGIONS IN AFRICA
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AFRICAN CLIMATE ZONES
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ANCIENT MAP OF AFRICA
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THE NOK CULTURE

• Discovered 1928 in Northern Nigeria
• Was it a civilization or advanced culture?
• Flourished 900 BCE to 200 CE on Niger-Benue River
• Clearly first Sub-Saharan civilization/culture
• Precursor of Bantu, West African forest peoples
• Knowledge is based on archeology
• Iron makers and sculptors
• Animals and humans made from fired clay
• Figures of animals, peoples including leaders
• Seem to have been pastoralists, farmers
• Could smelt iron
• Have found iron tools, weapons probably also
  used wood
• Seemed to have skipped copper, bronze ages
• Indigenous or borrowed from North Africa, Nile
  River?

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GHANA 1ST SUB-SAHARAN CIVILIZATION

• Camels
• Camels came to Egypt from Arabia, 7th century
  B.C.E.
• Romans introduced them to North Africa, patrolled
  desert
• After 500 C.E. camels replaced horses, donkeys as
  transport animals
• Camels' arrival quickened pace of communication
  across the Sahara
• Islamic merchants crossed the desert to trade in
  West Africa
• Established relations with sub-Saharan West
  Africa by 8th century
• The kingdom of Ghana
• Kings maintained a large army of two hundred
  thousand warriors
• A principal state of west Africa, not related to
  modern state of Ghana
• Became the most important commercial site in west
  Africa
• Controlled gold mines, exchanged it with nomads
  for salt
• Provided gold, ivory, and slaves
• Wanted horses, cloth, manufactured goods
• Koumbi-Saleh
• Capital city
• Thriving commercial center

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THE BANTU

• The Bantu peoples
• Originated in the region around modern
  Nigeria/Cameroon
• Influenced by Nok iron making, herding,
  agriculture
• Population pressure drove migrations, 2000 BCE
  700 BCE
• Two major movements to south and to east and
  then south
• Languages split into about 500 distinct but
  related tongues
• Bantu agriculture and herding
• Early Bantu relied on agriculture slash-burn,
  shifting
• Pastoralists, semi-nomadic due to agriculture,
  cattle
• Iron metallurgy
• Iron appeared during the 7th and 6th centuries
  B.C.E.
• Iron made agriculture more productive
• Expanded divisions of labor, specialization in
  Bantu societies
• Population Pressures
• Iron technologies produced population upsurge
• Large populations forced migration of Bantu

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THE BANTU MIGRATION

• The Bantu Migration
• Population pressure led to migration, c. 2000
  B.C.E.
• Movement to South, along Southeast and Southwest
  coasts
• Languages differentiated into about 500 distinct
  but related tongues
• Occupied most of sub-Saharan (except West) Africa
  by 1000 C.E.
• Split into groups as they migrated Eastern,
  Central, Southern
• Bantu spread iron, herding technologies as they
  moved
• Bananas
• Between 300/500 C.E., Malay seafarers reached
  Africa
• Settled in Madagascar, visited East African coast
• Brought with them pigs, taro, and banana
  cultivation
• Bananas became well-established in Africa by 500
  C.E.
• Bantu learned to cultivate bananas from Malagasy
• Bananas caused second population spurt,
  migration surge
• Reached South Africa in 16th century CE
• Population growth
• 3.5 million people by 400 B.C.E.
• 11 million by the beginning of the millennium
• 17 million by 800 C.E.

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MAP OF THE BANTU MIGRATIONS
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BANTU LANGUAGES
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BANTU POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS

• Stateless societies
• Early Bantu societies did not depend on elaborate
  bureaucracy
• Societies governed through family and kinship
  groups
• Village council, consisted of male family heads
• Chief of a village was from the most prominent
  family heads
• A group of villages constituted a district
• Villages chiefs negotiated intervillage affairs
• Chiefdoms
• Population growth strained resources, increased
  conflict
• Some communities began to organize military
  forces, 1000 C.E.
• Powerful chiefs overrode kinship networks and
  imposed authority
• Some chiefs conquered their neighbors
• Kingdom of Kongo
• Villages formed small states along the Congo
  River, 1000 C.E.
• Small states formed several larger
  principalities, 1200 C.E.
• One of the principalities conquered neighbors,
  built kingdom of Kongo
• Maintained a centralized government with a royal
  currency system
• Provided effective organization until the
  mid-17th century

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SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

• Diversity of African societies in Sub-Saharan
  Africa
• Complex societies developed into kingdoms,
  empires, and city-states
• Coexisted with small states and stateless
  societies
• Lineages consisted of all members descended from
  a common ancestor
• Kinship groups of stateless societies
• Extended families and clans as social and
  economic organizations
• Communities claimed rights to land, no private
  property
• Village council allocated land to clan members
• Sex and gender relations
• Men undertook heavy labor, herding,
• Women were responsible for child rearing,
  domestic chores, farming
• Men monopolized public authority but women could
  be leaders
• Women enjoyed high honor as the source of life
• Many societies were matrilineal aristocratic
  women influenced public affairs
• Women merchants commonly traded at markets
• Sometimes women organized all-female military
  units
• Islam did little to curtail women's opportunities
  in sub-Saharan Africa
• Age grades
• Publicly recognized "age grades" or "age sets"

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EARLY AFRICAN RELIGION

• Creator god
• Recognized by almost all African peoples
• Created the earth and humankind, source of world
  order
• Lesser gods and spirits
• Often associated with natural features, forces in
  world
• Participated actively in the workings of the
  world
• Believed in ancestors' souls influencing material
  world
• Diviners
• Mediated between humanity and supernatural beings
• Called shamans and inappropriately witch
  doctors
• Interpreted the cause of the people's misfortune
• Used medicine or rituals to eliminate problems
• African religion was not theological, but
  practical
• Religion to placate the gods, ask for assistance,
  cures, fertility
• Public celebrations inc. dancing, singing formed
  community
• Genders honored different deities, had separate
  ceremonies

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EARLY EAST AFRICAN HISTORY

• Early visitors to east Africa
• Egyptians visited, traded with area
• Famous expedition of Hatshepshut to Punt
• Indian, Persian visited after 500 B.C.E.
• Greeks, Romans called area Azania
• Malays established colonies on Madagascar
• Kingdom of Axum (Aksum)
• Sabeans of Yemen created Axum
• Arose in highlands of Ethiopia
• Trading state across Bab el Mandeb straits
• Tribute empire on land trade gold, frankincense,
  myrrh, food, ivory
• Built stone structures, issued own coins
• Eventually became Monophysite Christian
• King Ezana converted and court followed in early
  4th century
• Developed Geez language, writing in association
  with Christianity
• Maintained strong contacts with Egypt
• Traded with Romans, Byzantines, Persians,
  Indians, Arabs
• By 2nd century Bantus populated much of East
  Africa
• By 7th century Arab merchants begin to visit

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ECONOMIC REGIONS OF AFRICA
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NOMADIC SOCIETY AND ECONOMY

• Nomadic peoples
• Pastoral nomads
• Clans from common ancestors, with related
  languages
• Central Asia's steppes
• Good for grazing, little rain, few rivers
• Nomads and their animals few settlements
• Nomads drove their herds in migratory cycles
• Lived mostly on animal products
• Produced millet, pottery, leather goods, iron
• Nomads and settled peoples
• A love, hate relationship of war and trade
• Trade, exchange Nomads maintained caravan routes
• Exchanged horses for finished goods including
  silk
• Fluidity of classes, gender in nomadic society
• Two social classes nobles and commoners
• Patriarchal society but women accorded many
  rights, privileges
• Religions
• Mostly shamanistic
• Diviners influence forces of nature, interpret it

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THE NOMADS WORLD
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BORDERS OF CHINA

• Relative Location
• Korea, Vietnam borders of China
• Japan located off coast of East Asia
• Physical Characteristics
• Korea, Vietnam
• Mountainous, cut by river valleys
• Population located on plains
• Japan
• Volcanic islands, very mountainous
• Deep valleys with plains
• Demography
• Peoples related to Chinese
• Populace generally heavy on plains
• Rice was principal crop
• Cities exist but rarer than China
• Cities centers of Chinese culture
• Countryside resistant to Sinification

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THE CELTS

• Celts
• History
• Arose in Alps, Central Europe 1200 BCE
• Settled in France, Spain, Britain, Ireland
• Migrated into Italy, Balkans, Greece, Turkey
  around 1000 BCE
• Pauls Letter to the Galatians Celt tribe of
  Turkey
• Strong tradition of warfare, raids
• Civilization at Ancient Bronze Age similar to
  Mycenae Greece
• Some cities but generally fortified hill sites
• Grew wheat and barley and kept sheep, cattle and
  some pigs
• Developed crafts, strong artistic tradition
  pottery
• Controlled salt deposits as source of trade
• Strong trade with Mediterranean, Greeks,
  Etruscans
• Developed Iron technologies around 1000 BCE
• Structures and hierarchies
• Organized into clans, tribes ruled by kings and
  druids
• Polytheistic, deified nature priests druids
• Strong tradition of bards, story tellers,
  ballads, heroes, saints
• Rome and the Celts

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CELTIC WORLD
CELTS BECAME Treveri Helveti Parisi Veneti Regni
Iceni Caledones Celtiberi AND LATER Irish Welsh
Scots Britons Cornish Manx
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THE GERMANS

• Early Bronze Age History
• Original Homeland Sweden
• Migrated into Germany, Denmark
• Sometimes allies, slaves of Celts
• later established independence of Celts
• Settled 2/3 of Europe
• Eastern Europe, Central Europe, steppes of
  Ukraine
• Pushed up to Rhine, Danube border
• Germans and Romans
• With defeat of Celts, Germans became threat to
  Rome
• Germans were stronger than Celts, defied Romans
• In 1st century, defeated Romans, remained
  independent
• Romans erected elaborate defense systems against
  Germans
• Late 3rd century Germans become Roman
  mercenaries
• Late 4th century Germans allowed to settle in
  Roman empire
• Society
• Agrarian society small villages, fortified
  areas some trade
• Strong tribes, loyalty to warlords raiding very
  important
• Two classes nobility and commoners both owned
  land

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THE GERMAN WORLD
Teutons Became Goths Visigoths Ostrogoths Vandals
Franks Burgundians Suevi Alans Angles Saxons Jutes
Lombards Norsemen Germans Austrian Dutch Flemish
English Swiss Swedes Danes Norwegians Icelanders
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THE EARLY SLAVIC MIGRATIONS
Slavs were Originally Part of the
German World. The tribes were allied. When
the Germans Moved West, Slavs Were ruled First
by Huns and Later Independent. They filled Hun
and German vacuum.
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THE POLYNESIANS OCEANIC NOMADS

• Malayo-Polynesians
• Originated in New Guinea
• Developed shifting agriculture, portable
  agriculture
• Farm one area intensively, move on
• Raised banana, taro, sweet potato, fish, pigs,
  chickens
• Sailing Technology
• Double hulled canoes central platform with sail
• Use stars, winds, wave patterns, air/sea
  patterns, islands, atolls, birds
• Migrated across island chains in boats
• By 1500 BCE settled Madagascar by 300 CE Easter
  Island
• By 500 CE settled Polynesia, Micronesia, Hawaii
• By 1000 CE settled New Zealand totally
  different climate
• Social Structures
• Migration needed to avoid overpopulation
• Depleted resources, shortages, environmental
  degradation, conflict
• Eastern Island was example of this problem
• Hamlet and villages
• Hamlets on volcanic islands, up to 5 houses
  often one family
• Villages on larger islands, up to 30 houses
  often an important chief, king

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POLYNESIAN WORLD
KEY 1. Polynesia 2. Hawaii 3. New Zealand 4.
Easter Island 5. Samoa 6. Fiji 7. Tahiti