Medieval Africa

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Medieval Africa

• Addressing the California
• Seventh-Grade Standards
• Laura J. Mitchell
• History Department, UCI
• mitchell_at_uci.edu

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From Human Origins to Complex Societies

• Domestication of livestock
• /- 10,000 ybp
• Domestication of agriculture (crops)
• /- 8,000 ybp
• Iron working technologies
• /- 4,500 ybp
• Increasing population concentration

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Major Social/Linguistic Groups

• Khoisan
• (Bushmen !Kung)
• Niger-Congo
• (Bantu)
• Nilo-Saharan
• (Masaai)
• Afro-Asiatic
• (Ethiopian, Berber)

Afro-Asiatic
Afro-Asiatic
Niger-Congo
Nilo-Saharan
Khoisan
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Khoisan Tradition

• Gathering and hunting economies
• Small, nomadic groups
• Small, round houses
• No hereditary leadership
• Music dance single rhythmic beat
• Stringed instruments emphasize dance footwork
• Rock art
• Trance dancing
• Non-theistic beliefs

!Kung, /Xam, Nama
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Afro-Asiatic Tradition

• Earliest wild grain collectors
• Clan-based communities
• Clan diety worship
• Rectangular houses flat or sloping roof
• Music single melody rhythm
• Stringed instruments no drums
• Dance swaying body various footwork

Ethiopian, Berber
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Nilo-Saharan Tradition

• Fishing in addition to hunting gathering
• Stone blades and spears
• Non-theistic beliefs

Masaai
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Niger-Congo Tradition

• Fishing technology yam cultivation
• Hook and line baskets
• Clan based matrilineal
• Hereditary clan chief
• Compact village rectangular houses
• Skilled crafts weaving, pottery, wood carving
• Music and dance
• Percussion, polyrhythmic
• Polytheistic religion

Bantu Mande, Swahili, Zulu
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Bantu Migration

• Bantu language family
• Niger-Congo tradition
• Hypothesis of population movement based on
  linguistics

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Examples of Early State Formation

• Pharaonic Egypt
• Nubia
• Aksum
• Djenne-Jeno

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Pharaonic Egypt
Nubia
Djenne-Jeno
Aksum
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Nubia

• Kush 730 BC conquered Egypt
• Napata 600 BC retreat from Egypt
• Assyrian armies conquered Egypt
• Meroe 300 BC to /- 100 AD
• Technology migration _at_ collapse?

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Aksum 200 BC-800 AD

• Written language Geez
• Stone construction
• stelae
• Centralized power
• Hierarchical society
• Plants tef, ensete, coffee
• Trade port of Adulis

Afro-Asiatic Tradition
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Djenne-Jeno200 BC - 1400 AD

• Ancient City
• Complex society
• Trade Agriculture
• Pre-Islamic

Niger-Congo Tradition
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Djenne-Jeno200 BC - 1400 AD

• 1600 years of occupation
• Indigenous growth of trade
• Social complexity
• Economic specialization
• Not coercive/centralized
• Mande speakers

Niger-Congo Tradition
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Elements of Civilizations(Based on European
Assumptions)

• Plough
• Grain surplus/storage
• Literacy
• Complexification v. Centralization
• Economic specialization

African examples challenge these assumptions in
significant ways!
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Environmental Factors

• Water
• River floods
• Source of wood/fuel
• Especially for iron smelting
• Tropical locations
• Disease implications

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Rise of Cities

• Social stratification
• What kind? What classes?
• Trade
• What goods? What trading partners?
• Ideology
• religion
• Art Architecture
• Cities v. Citadels