Africa
**Geographically Africa, below the Sahara Desert is isolated. This self-supporting isolation is called self-containment.
Five Major Regions:
1. Northern and Southern Coasts- support dense
populations
2. Deserts- 1/3 of land, two largest- Sahara and
Kalahari
3. Grasslands- semiarid, used for grazing,
overgrazing causes desertification
4. Savannahs- 2/3 of land, tall grasslands with a rainy
and dry season are hard to farm
5. Rain Forest- 1/5 of land, wooded, dense, Zaire
River
**The most deadly creature in all of Africa is the tsetse fly. It
attacks livestock.
**Trade and travel were virtually impossible so traditions of
family, kinship and community thrived.
KUSH:
Dominated from 2000-1000 BCE and was the first major
kingdom
Nok people had art and developed when Greek and
Persians were growing
Kushites adopted a Kushite dynasty (Egypt) that was
short-lived
Kushites lost power in Egypt and moved to Meroe
Golden Age in Meroe- palaces, trade, iron tools, pottery,
buried dead in pyramids as impressive as
Egypt
From 250BCE to 150 CE there were four centuries of
greatness
Meroe began to decline and the Rise of Axum began
We cannot decipher their writing system and know little
about them historically
AXUM:
350 CE King Ezana conquered Kush
By 300 CE they were serious traders
King Ezana converted to Christianity
Remained isolated and repelled Islam even though they
were just across the Red Sea from Mecca!
In 1520, a Portuguese explorer, Alvarez, found Christians
here and beautiful churches carved out of stone
Coastal Cities: 1100 CE - 1500 CE
Malindi; Mombasa; Zanzibar; traded with outsiders
Spoke Bantu
Arab Muslims fled to escape political enemies and
intermarried
Swahili was created as a new language of the Coastal
people and is still used today as a common
language!
Islam became a major religion in the coastal areas
They were farmers, fishers, traders and had large towns
Dhows were triangular trading ships that were large and
sturdy
Arabs were middlemen between Africa, Asia and India
Great Zimbabwe:
Traded gold and ivory through Swahili
Location protected from Muslims
"Stone Structures", "Dwelling of the Chief",
Power peak in the 1400s until 1500s
Portuguese ravaged in the 1500s for slave trade
Western Africa:
Gold and Salt were precious materials for trade
Gold was from between the Niger and Senegal Rivers
Gold lasted until about 1350
Salt from the Sahara was so abundant and was used in
homes
Kings learned to tax trade heavily and royal guards kept
peace
Kingdoms of Western Africa:
GHANA:
700 CE
Empire that taxed heavily on gold and salt
Their strength depended solely on the strength of their
king at the time
1076 CE- Muslim Berbers overran Ghana
MALI:
Sundiata gained control of the gold and salt trade by
1235 CE from Sumanguru and died in 1255.
Muslims took over after his death and the greatest leader
was Mansa Musa
He had a 100,000 man army, 10,000 cavalry that offered
great protection
Ibn Battuta was a traveler who was impressed at
traveling across Mali with NO CRIME! A great
feat in those days!
SONGHAI:
Replaced Mandingo rulers of Mali
Sunni Ali was a ruthless conqueror
Askia Muhammad was an excellent administrator
Timbuktu flourished under his rule as an international city
and a great center of Islam
He was well-educated
In 1591, Moroccan sultan destroyed and conquered
Songhai
Culture:
Distinctive and Traditional are two good descriptors of
African culture
Family Ties:
Religious, political and social unit, lineages were
used and provided strong loyalty and religious
duties
Women:
Planted and harvested crops, traders, could head
some states (matrilineal),Mali
Religion:
Monotheistic and polytheistic blends
High God- too distant (Spirits/Gods)
Diviner- communicator between the living and the
dead
Islam was strong in some areas but many West
Africans were not forced to convert under their
Islamic leaders!
Arts Flourished:
Sculpture: Yoruba- bronze, lifelike (1100 CE - 1600 CE)
Music and Dance: Polyrhythmic, Masks and Dance,
drums, passed heritage this way
Oral History: Not much writing, Griots were
record-keepers that handed down history and
laws by word of mouth
The Americas
Geography:
North America
3rd largest continent
Rocky Mountains from Alaska to Mexico
Mississippi River very navigable
South America
Sunny Caribbean to stormy Southern Tierra del
Fuego
700 miles from Antarctica at Southern tip
Andes Mountains run the entire continent and are
2nd in height to the Himalayas
The Amazon River contains more water than the next
six largest rivers combined!
**First migrations thought to be from Asia and adapted to each environment encountered!
Agriculture:
Corn, potatoes, squash, etc. provided stable food
supply
Led to permanent villages
Cultures in North America:
ANASAZI
"Ancient Ones" who lived in American Southwest
Lived in pueblos, villages
Pueblo Bonito that had a high social organization
and inventiveness
Made an 800 Room building with kivas
Drought of the 13th century forced them to abandon
villages and they vanished
HOPEWELL
Southern Ohio area
Used trails and rivers for trading
Skilled craftsmen
Burial Mounds, Mounds Native Americans
Unknown why they disappeared around the 1300s
MISSISSIPPIANS
600 CE to around the 1300s
Great agriculturists around the Mississippi River
Cahokia, Ohio and Miss. River Valley, largest center
of culture
Canoe traders that traded flint and fur
100 foot mound with wooden temple on top for ruler
who was buried inside with his treasures
By 1500 only ruins remained
South American Civilizations:
CHAVIN
1st civilization around Peru
3000 BCE 100 CE
Fishermen
MOCHE
100 CE 700 CE
Irrigated land (desert) and made good farmland out
of it
Warrior priests ruled and must have been wealthy
because of the tombs we found
Metal-workers and had detailed drawings on pottery
that provided history
Fierce army but peaceful dwellers also
We do not know why they declined
INCA
1100 CE 1600 CE (roughly)
In 1438, Pachacuti was the ruler, "He who transforms
the world"
By late 1400s, their empire stretched 2500 miles
along the Western Coast
Their rulers were absolute after the Sun God
They had stone highways connecting their empire
Writing system known as quipu, knotted ropes
Terraces held erosion and they grew corn and
potatoes for a healthy and stable diet
Cuzco, their capital, had stone streets, palaces,
marketplaces, and the Temple of the Sun
Their was a highway in the mountains from Cuzco to
Quito
The Incas considered Cuzco the center of the world!
OLMEC
1200 BCE 100 BCE
Rainforests near Mexico's Gulf Coast
Slash and burn agriculturists
Worshipped the jaguar spirit
Pyramids with 13 stone heads found
Flourished then collapsed but influenced later
cultures
MAYA
300 CE- 900 CE was their peak
80 cities
Aristocracy ruled with warlords
Tikal was their capital, had 5 towers
Polytheistic but Sun was most important god
Astronomers with 2 very accurate calendars
Used #0 as a placeholder and had exact calculation
of days
Glyphs were writing system
Excellent historians
Widespread warfare may have caused
abandonment and decline
TEOTIHUACAN
Thriving city in the Valley of Mexico
Interacted with Mayans
Used obsidian, black mirrored glass, for weapons
Peak was 500 CE with a population of over
200,000
Abruptly declined in 750 CE
AZTECS
Fierce and poor group that migrated into the Valley
of Mexico
Tenochtitlan was their great city
After 200 years of war they finally took control of the
area and ruled over others as the Incas did in
the South
Aztec kings took tribute and had 11 million subjects
Marketplace was the busiest spot
Loved Jewelry and used it to show social class
status
King was the religious and political leader
Human sacrifices needed to keep the sun "alive"
Unaware of the rest of the world until the Spanish
(Cortes) arrive in the 1500s
Thought questions:
1. Why did these empires suddenly disappear?
2. What, if any, were these empires weaknesses?