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. This was a form of draughts, and was played in private rather than in public. YWZkYWVmMTM2NzEyZTQ1NTBhOWQ3NWRjZGNiNDQwMTUzN2M1NjlhZjE0NzUx 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. book part Learn about the Bantu migrations,. In southern Africa the kingdom centered on Great Zimbabwe was situated on a gold trade route. From a wider communal viewpoint, wives and children were needed to build up a lineages numbers and so help it survive into the future. To judge by reports of early European travelers, many Africans had the misfortune to find themselves without kin, and unable to work. They must also have all been centers of exchange, yet many African towns, especially outside West Africa (where commercial activity was a major function in urban settlements), seem to have had no markets. Underpopulation meant that disgruntled people could always seek new land beyond the reach of royal authority. The art of ancient African was just as diverse as its cultures, languages, and political structures. Further upstream all have their flows interrupted by falls and rapids, making them unsuitable for long-distance trade even in the interior of Africa. By then, however, a countervailing force was at work on the continent, which would put a stop to any expansion in population for two hundred years. 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. Most cultures preferred abstract and stylized forms of humans, plants, and animals, but they had a range of distinct approaches and techniques. They seem mostly to have been related to the present-day San people of southern Africa. The obstacles to population growth meant that there was always plenty of land available for new settlement. However, all African cities were to some extent religious centers, as rulers were closely associated with local shrines and rituals. First are the hunter-gatherer societies. There were, however, networks of long-distance trade criss-crossing the continent from an early date. The poor The magnificent sculptures of the West African societies of Ife and Benin, for example, depict human figures in an idealized yet deeply moving way, and possess a serene majesty unsurpassed in human art. Through history, Africa has had an exceptionally hostile environment in terms of the diseases which could strike humans and their animals; and of the regions, West Africa was probably the most dangerous. 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. OGJhZDA5YWFmYzE1NjI3OGEwZTY3MmE2NDFiYjllYjg5MDM2MGFmNmNiZWRm Female slaves were employed as domestic servants or concubines. These, as elsewhere in the world, had specialist activities ensuring fertility of women and soil, for example, or providing wealth. Cleverness, bravery, charm, charisma and aggression could provide the success to bring high status and abundant wealth in many circumstances. Fewer than 30 examples have survived, all made by the lost wax process. At the opposite end of the scale, however, women probably made up the majority of slaves, and occupied a powerless and utterly dependent position in society. The herding way of life probably dated to the third millennium BCE, and preceded agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Population growth, Gods and spirits In other traditional African societies, class structure has been based on levels of control or servitude. Many captives were sold on to other peoples; there was an active slave trade in Africa. This The Call of the Wild by Jack London Middle School reading unit and novel study is exactly what you need to teach your . 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 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). The main structure of the Awilu class people were considered precious in Hammurabi's Code and they were richer than the other two majorclasses in the society. The work they did tended to be less valued than the mens: mundane work in the fields and in the house, rather than the demanding work of clearing the bush, which established a mans rights to a piece of land. ZDQ1YTJjMTY4ZmNjMzllMjdlY2MwMTUyYmJiMDBiZTQ2M2IxYjg4OGY2YTBi Cutting through these landscapes are huge rivers, outstanding amongst which are the Nile, the Niger, the Congo and the Zambezi. By utilizing this acronym, students can compartmentalize their findings and . Hunter-gatherer peoples had inhabited sub-Saharan Africa for millennia prior to herders, and later agriculturalists, starting to settle the region. The foundation myths of several states, including the kingdom of Benin, tell of populations inviting a foreigner to settle among them, to settle their disputes and provide them with leadership. Government and Economy. This meant that they usually lived in small and highly mobile bands, building temporary shelters as they move from place to place. In the Great Lakes region, for example, the Lega people developed a distinctive and lively series of exquisite miniature sculptures. We also aim at promoting tourism across the African continent. 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. Witches were widely blamed for misfortunes, especially involving the fertility of women and the survival of children. Outside the oases there are some areas of scrubland, and here nomadic pastoralists Berber peoples, most notably the Tuareg graze their herds. Africa has some giant lakes, including a number strung out down the spine of the continent, from Lake Turkana in northern Kenya to Lake Malawi in south-east Africa. In many societies, the village chief, as the senior descendant of the founding ancestor, was deemed to have a special relationship with the spirit world. Ancient Africa had many different societies, but they can be roughly categorized into four types. These matters touched on the central concern of Africans, the continuity of the community. Here are eight of Africa's greatest ancient civilizations. Oratory, debate, story-telling, poetry and conversation were all held in high esteem, and were developed into a highly sophisticated art at the royal courts of African kingdoms and chiefdoms. OGRiMDc3NTM1M2QyZDI3YzBlYjZmZjBhNWFkOWZjYzEzOGRlZDU4ZDc4NDE1 In some places, groups of skilled craftsmen had their own chiefs. We learn about their beliefs and religion and the important structures that still stand in Egypt today. -----BEGIN REPORT----- The absence of roads very labour-intensive for scattered communities to construct and maintain wheeled vehicles such as carts could not be used. Social There were six social classes in Ancient Ghana. -----END REPORT-----. Some owed their rise to the wealth gained from long-distance trade. Equality was very important in these tribes and all people were treated equally. A man needed wives and children to help him cultivate his fields or keep his cattle, to give him support in old age, and to provide him with descendants whose veneration would aide him in the afterlife. But humans also were traded: it has been estimated that from the mid-second millennium CE perhaps seven thousand captives a year were taken north across the Sahara from the south, to the slave markets of North Africa and the Middle East. makes it the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. 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 Sahara desert forms a major barrier to contacts between the cities and states of the Mediterranean region and the peoples to its south. Ghana was the first empire of ancient Africa. Younger men would set out to seduce or rape the young wives of their elders, and their elders would be determined to prevent this. Eventually, however, immigrant rulers usually learnt to co-exist with local religious practitioners. The tsetse fly infested many wooded areas, especially along waterways, killing cattle and causing sleeping sickness amongst humans. Much religious activity, however, was in the hands of religious specialists adept at making contact with the spirit world in order to influence the forces of nature. Anthropologists have noted that much of the education of the young has involved attaining an incredibly detailed knowledge of soils and plants, and their properties. This was almost universal throughout Africa, and was a painful, even traumatic ceremony by which boys entered adulthood. All these diseases were, despite higher levels of resistance in indigenous populations to foreign ones (West Africa in particular would become known as the The White Mans Grave) were all widespread killers. Like the gold miners they were also hereditary, and in fact formed a distinct ethnic group within desert society. Firstly there was the King who ruled over everyone and was thought to have divine powers. In times of external danger such societies could come together to resist attack; however, they were peculiarly vulnerable to slave raiding from predatory states. 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. Other states were built around sacred shrines and their custodians, who enjoyed a concentration of religious authority which they were able to convert into political power. NjFkYmJjYjc2MmM4OGJiZTM3ZDU4YWMzMGI2Y2IwMmY2MGE1ZDJhM2Y3OGQ1 Here, regional trade networks grew up based on such geographically specialized products as fish and salt. 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. NGMzYjY2N2JjMDIxN2EyZWI0ZmM1ODc0MjY4OTQzYmM1YmJkMTViN2U5NjAw In the 14th and 15th centuries this tradition was transferred to brass. 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. Around this would be clustered the huts of other households, with four or five members each. African religious practices were equally common, involving ritual experts, mediums, dances, often with masks and often involving trances, witches, and charms. 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 . All Africans believed in spiritual beings. In these states, violence and exploitation led to societies ruled by classes of military aristocrats or nobles. 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. Further south a huge, well-nigh impenetrable swamp, the Sud, acts as a further major barrier. Weaving with the loom seems to have come late to sub-Saharan Africa, introduced by Muslim traders into West Africa towards the end of the first millennium AD; and probably separately to eastern and southern Africa, also by Muslim merchants via the Swahili ports. African kingdoms suffered severely from the divisive effects of violent competition between royal princes. Slavery MWI3NWQ1OWEzZmIwYTEzNDljYTRjZTRiNTE5OTBiMjQ1YTI5NDk3ODM0ZDY5 Sub-Saharan Africa was therefore never able to develop an original civilization with the material culture on the scale of, say, an ancient Mesopotamia or Egypt. Herders grew crops as a secondary activity where conditions were suitable, and cultivators also kept animals (outside the forests), fished and hunted hunters were respected, even feared, by other members of the community as they ventured into the hostile wilderness in pursuit of game. A hard environment NzA0NTc2MTNjMDFjMzQ0ODY3ODRmNjZhMzc0ZGFjNDExMDIzN2VhMGNhNGE4 Under Muslim influence the game of dara became popular. Hypothesis 2: Social structures cause inequity and injustice against the meaningful participating in economic decision-making and benefiting from opportunities in a society. Many of the market traders were local women, but above them was a class of comparatively wealthy merchants. 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. These factors have acted as constraints on population growth right up to modern times, and historically sub-Saharan Africa has remained an under-populated region. There are also some large mountain ranges, such as the Ruwenzori mountains in Uganda (the Mountains of the Moon). A common idea was that the founders of a particular community, on first settling the area, had made a pact with the spirits of the land in order to ensure good harvests. In folktales, the rewards for perseverance, intelligence and courage were wives, children, status, wealth, and security in other words, to become a Big Man. Cotton and woolen textiles were probably introduced at the same time, and by the 16th century cotton had become a form of currency amongst some peoples in southern Africa (for example the Shona). MzVjNDBhYTk5MTk1YTUxYzM0ODRjOTE3MGZiNmNiNjg5MWQ5NGYxNDBiNDdm Suspects were often the victims of mob violence. David Beach believes that the city . 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. Later, they faced competition from Hausa traders, who created an even more far flung network. 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. Imperialism Africa was among the last regions of the globe to be subject to imperial rule. One other consequence of African underpopulation was the prevalence of the polygamy (see below). The exchange of salt for gold or grain was the foundation of the trans-Saharan trade, which had such a major impact on West African civilization. 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). Here, captives of both sexes were settled in royal estates and set to work there, effectively as serfs. 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. Art, literature and culture Environment and population, Village society He was surrounded by his extended family his wives and children, his brothers and their families, more distant relatives, and unrelated families who had been separated from their own clans for various reasons and who looked to him for protection. Many African societies therefore experienced considerable social mobility. Everyone on the community would take part, but the central roles were reserved for the mediums with their trance-dancing. Building the dense concentrations of population necessary for the emergence of major civilizations was not an option in most locations. Gradually, the hunter-gatherers were squeezed off the best lands by the incoming pastoralists and cultivators, who were able to live in larger groups. The ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was named after its capital city, Axum. Most of the savannah is more suited to grazing herds of sheep, goat and cattle than growing crops. In these circumstances the population might grow to a point where the availability of good land grew short. Although the majority of Africans were farmers, at least from the late 1st millennium onwards, large tracts of land were inhabited by nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists. Village clusters would be located in areas suitable for intensive crop production river valleys, floodplains, lakesides and other well-watered places. From the 17th century, European contact have brought new crops from America, such as maize, cassava and sweet potatoes, and these were beginning to provide additional nutrition and a significant boost to numbers all over Africa. 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. For cultivators in particular, any religious beliefs were underpinned by a deeply-held idea about the world in which they found themselves. OTBhNmZkZTE4ZDBjMTQzMTljMWY4NDIyMjYxZmIwY2JkZjc4OTk4ZGE1OWMx There were also different social. Age sets were the mark of militarized, mobile societies which lived by cattle-keeping, but also by cattle-raiding and territory-taking. Slavery was widespread in traditional African societies. Some of these caravans could be huge, numbering hundreds of animals. 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. The rain forests are very dense. 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 . The ancientness of the continents rocks, whose minerals have leeched out over the aeons, mean that the soil is generally of a poor quality, posing challenges for farmers. It has captivated visitors since it was built as a royal burial chamber some 4,500 years ago. At one time, 16 species were named based on differences found between skeletal fossils. The land, much of which is hills and plateaux, is covered with grasslands, with some sub-tropical forests on the coast. In more densely populated societies a number of such lineages might be clustered together to form a large village or small town. Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions. States emerged in the forest regions to the south from the end of the first millennium, while in the equatorial forests and grasslands of central, east and southern Africa the state-building process did not start until the early- to mid-second millennium. NzlkMGVmMDZkZjMzN2QyN2NjYTRkMGVkOTczNzJjZGYxZTAxZDM3MjAwYWJj NjI3NjM4ODlkZDhlYWEyNmY2NmFiMDk1NjJjYjUwZTQxNmQwMmM4M2E4Mzkz A larger group of non-farmers was made up of craftsmen. Together with drought, famine, epidemic, violence, and an unforgiving food-producing environment, it is easy to see how African populations struggled to grow. In fact, cults involving rain shrines and weather gods might command the loyalty of people over a wide area, a form of worship practiced side-by-side with that concerning the spirits of the land. It was by no means uncommon for a brave young man to capture a young wife and run off with her. Such states could also organize the colonization of outlying areas in a more systematic fashion, perhaps under the leadership of a prince of the royal family. Yams are a very productive crop, providing a large number of calories per acre harmed. In forest regions, away from lakes and rivers, human porterage was the only means of transport as the presence of tsetse fly meant that animals could not be used; this was by definition very labour intensive and meant that agricultural produce could travel only short distances. 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. This came from exactly the same mix of European contact and American agriculture as the new crops; it was the Atlantic Slave Trade. A further one thousand a year may have been taken each year through the Swahili ports and up the east coast of Africa, destined for the Middle East and South Asia. There was intense competition for women, and great inequality in access to them. They represent the spectrum of human conditions, from kings and courtiers to the diseased and the executed. Nevertheless there were some features which were widespread amongst African religions. In many regions low or fickle rainfall greatly magnifies this problem. Come drought, famine or epidemic, however, clusters would contract again. MWMwNGY0OTc1ZDgwNmQ5YzJkMWE3YWIxNDIwMGUwYWNjY2ZhYThkNTc4OWE4 They had done this by the start if the first millennium BCE. However, populations of pygmies also inhabited large tracts of tropical forest which covered much of equatorial and western Africa. Long experience of these diseases contributed to a remarkably deep medical knowledge amongst Africa peoples. Therefore, it was important to keep them happy. There was constant tension between the generations, which could spill over into real violence.