Ancient African History
CassieRomero
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157 slides
Aug 06, 2023
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Slide Content
1
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Patten University Prison University Programme - Associate of Arts Degree
San Quentin, California, USA
Classes: Fridays and Sundays 18:30 - 20:45. 18 January 2005 – 24 April 2005
Instructors: Sven Ouzman, Lee Panich , David Cohen, Anthropology, UC Berkeley.
Course contact: Jody Lewen, Nicole Lindahl, Patten University
Class size: 21 (originally 28) Class units: AA units: 3
The Taung Child Africa The Sphinx, Egypt
Image sources: www.jqjacobs.net/anthro/paleo/images/taung.jpg
http://www.murrayhudson.com/antique_maps/continent_maps/07670m.jpg
http://pythacli.chez.tiscali.fr/images/sphinx.jpg
Course-in-a-nutshell: Situate Africa centrally in the flow of world history and show
how the past shapes the present, and how the present shapes the past.
Objectives
1. Learn about Africa past and present.
2. Learn good critical skills (arguing, presenting, representing, reading, writing).
3. Learn what was happening at other places at the same times.
Grading policy
Original grading policy
1 Map quiz 5% of final grade 5%
5 tests and 5 writing assignments each 5% of final grade 50%
Class participation 20%
Final project & presentation 25% of final grade 25%
100%
90%-100% = A+ 80%-90% = A
75%-80% = B+ 70%-75% = B
65%-70% = C+ 65%-70% = C
55%-60% = D+ 50%-55% = D
Below 50% = Fail
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Patten University Prison University Programme - Associate of Arts Degree
San Quentin, California, USA
Classes: Fridays and Sundays 18:30 - 20:45. 18 January 2005 – 24 April 2005
Instructors: Sven Ouzman, Lee Panich , David Cohen, Anthropology, UC Berkeley.
Course contact: Jody Lewen, Nicole Lindahl, Patten University
Class size: 21 (originally 28) Class units: AA units: 3
The Taung Child Africa The Sphinx, Egypt
Image sources: www.jqjacobs.net/anthro/paleo/images/taung.jpg
http://www.murrayhudson.com/antique_maps/continent_maps/07670m.jpg
http://pythacli.chez.tiscali.fr/images/sphinx.jpg
Course-in-a-nutshell: Situate Africa centrally in the flow of world history and show
how the past shapes the present, and how the present shapes the past.
Objectives
1. Learn about Africa past and present.
2. Learn good critical skills (arguing, presenting, representing, reading, writing).
3. Learn what was happening at other places at the same times.
Grading policy
Original grading policy
1 Map quiz 5% of final grade 5%
5 tests and 5 writing assignments each 5% of final grade 50%
Class participation 20%
Final project & presentation 25% of final grade 25%
100%
90%-100% = A+ 80%-90% = A
75%-80% = B+ 70%-75% = B
65%-70% = C+ 65%-70% = C
55%-60% = D+ 50%-55% = D
Below 50% = Fail
2
Patten Universitys grading policy (received March 2005)
Letter Grade Numerical Score Grade Points Achievement Level
A
A-
93-100
90-92
4.0
3.7
Superior
B+
B
B-
87-89
83-86
80-82
3.3
3.0
2.7
Above Average
C+
C
C-
77-79
73-76
70-72
2.3
2.0
1.7
Average
D+
D
D-
F
67-69
63-66
60-62
0-59
1.3
1.0
0.7
0.0
Below
Average
CR
NC
70-100
0-70
N/A
N/A
Passing
Not Passing
There will be opportunities to achieve bonus grades.
Primary course text
1. Iliffe, John. 1995. Africans: the history of a continent. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Supplemental course texts (photocopies of readings will be supplied in class):
1. Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An image of Africa. Research in African Literatures
9(1):2-15.
2. Bohannan, Paul and Philip D. Curtin. 1995. Africa and Africans. Fourth Edition.
Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. (pages 17-45; 49-61; 139-149; 152-164;
179-190;217-238).
3. Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In: Peter
R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
4. Connah, Graham. 2004. Forgotten Africa: an introduction to its archaeology.
London: Routledge. (pages 1-19; 27-38; 69-75; 82-117; 125-130; 157-168; 169-
175.).
5. Cook, K.1993. Black bones, white science: The battle over New York's African
Burial Ground. Village Voice May 4, 23–27.
6. Curiel, Jonathan 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous American
blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa. San
Francisco Chronicle August 15
th
Patten Universitys grading policy (received March 2005)
Letter Grade Numerical Score Grade Points Achievement Level
A
A-
93-100
90-92
4.0
3.7
Superior
B+
B
B-
87-89
83-86
80-82
3.3
3.0
2.7
Above Average
C+
C
C-
77-79
73-76
70-72
2.3
2.0
1.7
Average
D+
D
D-
F
67-69
63-66
60-62
0-59
1.3
1.0
0.7
0.0
Below
Average
CR
NC
70-100
0-70
N/A
N/A
Passing
Not Passing
There will be opportunities to achieve bonus grades.
Primary course text
1. Iliffe, John. 1995. Africans: the history of a continent. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Supplemental course texts (photocopies of readings will be supplied in class):
1. Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An image of Africa. Research in African Literatures
9(1):2-15.
2. Bohannan, Paul and Philip D. Curtin. 1995. Africa and Africans. Fourth Edition.
Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. (pages 17-45; 49-61; 139-149; 152-164;
179-190;217-238).
3. Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In: Peter
R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
4. Connah, Graham. 2004. Forgotten Africa: an introduction to its archaeology.
London: Routledge. (pages 1-19; 27-38; 69-75; 82-117; 125-130; 157-168; 169-
175.).
5. Cook, K.1993. Black bones, white science: The battle over New York's African
Burial Ground. Village Voice May 4, 23–27.
6. Curiel, Jonathan 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous American
blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa. San
Francisco Chronicle August 15
th
3
7. Curtin, Philip. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and action 1780-1850.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press (pages 3-57).
8. Curtin, Philip, D. 1974 [1964]. Precolonial African history. Washington, D.C.:
American Historical Association Pamphlets 501: 3-66.
9. Franklin, Maria. 2001. The archaeological dimensions of soul food: interpreting
race, culture, and Afro-Virginian identity. In: Orser, Charles E (ed.). Race and the
archaeology of identity: 88-107). Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press.
10. Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. 1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies in black: art of
the Harlem renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
(Introduction)
11. Herskovitz, Melville J. 1958. The myth of the Negro past. Boston, MA: Beacon
Press. (Chapter 1).
12. Kusimba, Chapurukha M. 1996. Archaeology in African museums. African
Archaeological Review 13:165-170.
13. Lowenthal, David. 1985. The past is a foreign country. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (Introduction).
14. McKee, Larry. 1998. Some thoughts on the past, present, and future of the
Archaeology of the African Diaspora. African-American Archaeology: Newsletter
of the African-American Network 21.
15. Mudimbe, Victor. 1994. The idea of Africa. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University
Press. (Introduction).
16. Ouzman, Sven. 2002. Render unto Africans what is rightly ours. The Sunday
Independent, July 14:9.
17. Phillipson, David, W. 1993. African Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (pages 1-11; 12-59; 117-157).
18. Shillington, Kevin. 1995. History of Africa. New York: St Martin’s Press. (pages 1-
13; 14-35; 169-175; 170-180; 289-331).
19. Weik, T. 1997. The archaeology of Maroon societies in the Americas: resistance,
cultural continuity, and transformation in the African diaspora. Historical
Archaeology 31(2):81-92.
Video resources
1. Africa. Series by Basil Davidson. 1984. RM Studios, London. Video/C 2490
Filmed on location all over Africa, showing life as it is today, plus archive film and
dramatized reconstructions.
* Different But Equal (Part 1). Describes how some of the greatest civilizations had their
origins in Africa and discusses artistic, technical and scientific achievements.
7. Curtin, Philip. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and action 1780-1850.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press (pages 3-57).
8. Curtin, Philip, D. 1974 [1964]. Precolonial African history. Washington, D.C.:
American Historical Association Pamphlets 501: 3-66.
9. Franklin, Maria. 2001. The archaeological dimensions of soul food: interpreting
race, culture, and Afro-Virginian identity. In: Orser, Charles E (ed.). Race and the
archaeology of identity: 88-107). Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press.
10. Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. 1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies in black: art of
the Harlem renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
(Introduction)
11. Herskovitz, Melville J. 1958. The myth of the Negro past. Boston, MA: Beacon
Press. (Chapter 1).
12. Kusimba, Chapurukha M. 1996. Archaeology in African museums. African
Archaeological Review 13:165-170.
13. Lowenthal, David. 1985. The past is a foreign country. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (Introduction).
14. McKee, Larry. 1998. Some thoughts on the past, present, and future of the
Archaeology of the African Diaspora. African-American Archaeology: Newsletter
of the African-American Network 21.
15. Mudimbe, Victor. 1994. The idea of Africa. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University
Press. (Introduction).
16. Ouzman, Sven. 2002. Render unto Africans what is rightly ours. The Sunday
Independent, July 14:9.
17. Phillipson, David, W. 1993. African Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (pages 1-11; 12-59; 117-157).
18. Shillington, Kevin. 1995. History of Africa. New York: St Martin’s Press. (pages 1-
13; 14-35; 169-175; 170-180; 289-331).
19. Weik, T. 1997. The archaeology of Maroon societies in the Americas: resistance,
cultural continuity, and transformation in the African diaspora. Historical
Archaeology 31(2):81-92.
Video resources
1. Africa. Series by Basil Davidson. 1984. RM Studios, London. Video/C 2490
Filmed on location all over Africa, showing life as it is today, plus archive film and
dramatized reconstructions.
* Different But Equal (Part 1). Describes how some of the greatest civilizations had their
origins in Africa and discusses artistic, technical and scientific achievements.
4
* Mastering a Continent (Part 2). Looks at two important developments in early African
society, the growth of cattle keeping and agriculture. Focuses on the activities of three
communities, the Pokot in Northern Kenya, Sukor in Nigeria and the Dogon of Mali.
* Caravans of Gold (Part 3). Traces the trade routes, which stretched from Africa to Asia
and southern Europe long before the arrival of the white man in Africa.
* The Bible and the Gun (Part 5). Looks at the impact on African society of three different
groups; slave traders, missionaries and colonialists.
[Clips from this video series will be used in Lessons 1,6,7,8 & 9 to provide a general
introduction and supply visual material of Africa’s past such as the pyramids, Great
Zimbabwe, environments, people, animals and so forth]
2. Africa Screams Directed by Charles Barton. 1949. Universal Studios.
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello. Starving cannibals, ferocious lions and awesome apes
terrorize Abbott and Costello in this African adventure. 79 min. DVD 1299
[A short 10 minute clip from this film will be shown in Lesson 10 to see how Africa was
portrayed in the 1920s-1950s; drawing on stereotypes of Africa as a place of `nature’
rather than `culture’]
3. Coincidence in Paradise. Directed by Matthias von Gunten. 1999. First Run/Icarus
Films.
From fossil rich desert gorges to laboratories and primeval rain forests this film presents
in the field some of the most influential scholars working today investigating the million
year mystery of human origins, seeking the latest discoveries. 88 mins. VIDEO/C 6984.
[A series of short 5 minute clips will be used in Lesson 5 to show the class what the
human fossil material looks like and to give them a range of views on human evolution
and creationism through interviews with experts in the field]
4. Congorilla (Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson's Congorilla: Adventures Among the Big
apes and Little People of Central Africa). Directed by Martin and Osa Johnson. 1932.
Universal Studios. 67 min. Video/C MM306
The fourth trip of naturalists and explorers Martin and Osa Johnson to Africa as they
encounter inhabitants of the Serengeti Plains, Kenya and the Congo.
[A 5-10 minute clip from this film will be shown in Lesson 10 to provide visual material for
Central Africa, often cast as the `Heart of Darkness’]
5. Fang an epic journey. Directed by Susan Vogel. 2001. First Run/Icarus Films.
Fang mixes documentary and fiction techniques to recount an African art object's
journey through a century of peril and adventure, and uses the film styles of each
historical period to tell its story - a whole century. 8 mins.
[This 8 minute film by Harvard Professor Susan Vogel shows how the meaning of a
single artifact can change depending on its setting – among the people who made it; in a
museum, in an art gallery and so on. An excellent visual example of how con text
determines meaning]
6. N/um Tchai: The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen Directed by Johan
Marshall. 1966. Harvard Film Project. Video/C 3421
Bushman curing ceremony in the Kalahari Desert area of South West Africa by showing
an all-night n/um tchai (medicine dance). 1966. 20 min.
[Three 5 minute clips from this anthropological classic show the San/Bushman Medicine
Dance –one of the world’s oldest religious ceremonies, with distinctive music]
* Mastering a Continent (Part 2). Looks at two important developments in early African
society, the growth of cattle keeping and agriculture. Focuses on the activities of three
communities, the Pokot in Northern Kenya, Sukor in Nigeria and the Dogon of Mali.
* Caravans of Gold (Part 3). Traces the trade routes, which stretched from Africa to Asia
and southern Europe long before the arrival of the white man in Africa.
* The Bible and the Gun (Part 5). Looks at the impact on African society of three different
groups; slave traders, missionaries and colonialists.
[Clips from this video series will be used in Lessons 1,6,7,8 & 9 to provide a general
introduction and supply visual material of Africa’s past such as the pyramids, Great
Zimbabwe, environments, people, animals and so forth]
2. Africa Screams Directed by Charles Barton. 1949. Universal Studios.
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello. Starving cannibals, ferocious lions and awesome apes
terrorize Abbott and Costello in this African adventure. 79 min. DVD 1299
[A short 10 minute clip from this film will be shown in Lesson 10 to see how Africa was
portrayed in the 1920s-1950s; drawing on stereotypes of Africa as a place of `nature’
rather than `culture’]
3. Coincidence in Paradise. Directed by Matthias von Gunten. 1999. First Run/Icarus
Films.
From fossil rich desert gorges to laboratories and primeval rain forests this film presents
in the field some of the most influential scholars working today investigating the million
year mystery of human origins, seeking the latest discoveries. 88 mins. VIDEO/C 6984.
[A series of short 5 minute clips will be used in Lesson 5 to show the class what the
human fossil material looks like and to give them a range of views on human evolution
and creationism through interviews with experts in the field]
4. Congorilla (Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson's Congorilla: Adventures Among the Big
apes and Little People of Central Africa). Directed by Martin and Osa Johnson. 1932.
Universal Studios. 67 min. Video/C MM306
The fourth trip of naturalists and explorers Martin and Osa Johnson to Africa as they
encounter inhabitants of the Serengeti Plains, Kenya and the Congo.
[A 5-10 minute clip from this film will be shown in Lesson 10 to provide visual material for
Central Africa, often cast as the `Heart of Darkness’]
5. Fang an epic journey. Directed by Susan Vogel. 2001. First Run/Icarus Films.
Fang mixes documentary and fiction techniques to recount an African art object's
journey through a century of peril and adventure, and uses the film styles of each
historical period to tell its story - a whole century. 8 mins.
[This 8 minute film by Harvard Professor Susan Vogel shows how the meaning of a
single artifact can change depending on its setting – among the people who made it; in a
museum, in an art gallery and so on. An excellent visual example of how con text
determines meaning]
6. N/um Tchai: The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen Directed by Johan
Marshall. 1966. Harvard Film Project. Video/C 3421
Bushman curing ceremony in the Kalahari Desert area of South West Africa by showing
an all-night n/um tchai (medicine dance). 1966. 20 min.
[Three 5 minute clips from this anthropological classic show the San/Bushman Medicine
Dance –one of the world’s oldest religious ceremonies, with distinctive music]
5
7. Ota Benga: A Pygmy in America. Directed by Alfeu França. 2002. Film Arts.
This documentary relates when a pygmy, Ota Benga, was taken from the Congo in 1904
and exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair and the Bronx Zoo. 17 min. Video/C 9316
[A short film that will be shown in Lesson 10 to show colonial attitudes towards Africa
and how Africans coped with these attitudes]
8. The Life and Times of Sara Baartman: "The Hottentot Venus". Directed by Zola
Maseko. 1998. First Run/Icarus Films.
A documentary film on the life of a Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa in
1810 and exhibited across Britain and France. I In English and French with English
subtitles. 52 min. Video/C 6374
[15 minute clip will be shown in Lesson 10 to illustrate how African cultural material and
people have traveled beyond Africa, and some of these materials eventually return to
Africa]
9. The Gods Must Be Crazy Directed by Jamie Uys. 1984. Mimosa/Trimark Pictures.
An empty Coke bottle drops from the sky near an African San hunter and causes trouble
so he tries to return the bottle to the gods who must have dropped it. 109 min. 999:3216
[One of the world’s most successful films. Excerpts will be shown in Lesson 10 to see if
the class can distinguish parts where the San/Bushmen are accurately/sensitively
portrayed and sections where they are not]
10. Wonders of the African World. Written and presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
1999. BBC/TBS Productions.
* Parts 1 and 2: An epic journey through Egypt and Sudan in search of Nubia, an ancient
African civilization which once rivaled Egypt.
* Parts 3 and 4: Part 3: Gates travels through the old kingdoms of Asante and Dahomey
in modern Ghana and Benin to unravel the real story of the transatlantic slave trade.
* Parts 5 and 6: Pt. 5: Gates sets out on a journey from Mali, following ancient trace
routes to Zimbabwe, a 1000 old African city. 120 min. each installment. Video/C 6657
[Short clips will be shown in Lessons 1,7,10 to demonstrate African cultural
achievements as well as the connections between different parts of Africa in the past]]
Internet resources
University sites
1. John Arthur’s Archaeology of Africa’ course website, University of South Florida,
USA. http://www.stpt.usf.edu/arthurj/archaeology_of_africa.htm
2. Columbia University, USA. African Studies Resources, African Studies, 308
International Affairs, 420 W. 118th Street, NY 10027 Tel: (212) 854-8045 Email:
[email protected] Web site:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl
3. Stanford University, USA Africa south of the Sahara: selected internet resources.
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide.html
7. Ota Benga: A Pygmy in America. Directed by Alfeu França. 2002. Film Arts.
This documentary relates when a pygmy, Ota Benga, was taken from the Congo in 1904
and exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair and the Bronx Zoo. 17 min. Video/C 9316
[A short film that will be shown in Lesson 10 to show colonial attitudes towards Africa
and how Africans coped with these attitudes]
8. The Life and Times of Sara Baartman: "The Hottentot Venus". Directed by Zola
Maseko. 1998. First Run/Icarus Films.
A documentary film on the life of a Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa in
1810 and exhibited across Britain and France. I In English and French with English
subtitles. 52 min. Video/C 6374
[15 minute clip will be shown in Lesson 10 to illustrate how African cultural material and
people have traveled beyond Africa, and some of these materials eventually return to
Africa]
9. The Gods Must Be Crazy Directed by Jamie Uys. 1984. Mimosa/Trimark Pictures.
An empty Coke bottle drops from the sky near an African San hunter and causes trouble
so he tries to return the bottle to the gods who must have dropped it. 109 min. 999:3216
[One of the world’s most successful films. Excerpts will be shown in Lesson 10 to see if
the class can distinguish parts where the San/Bushmen are accurately/sensitively
portrayed and sections where they are not]
10. Wonders of the African World. Written and presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
1999. BBC/TBS Productions.
* Parts 1 and 2: An epic journey through Egypt and Sudan in search of Nubia, an ancient
African civilization which once rivaled Egypt.
* Parts 3 and 4: Part 3: Gates travels through the old kingdoms of Asante and Dahomey
in modern Ghana and Benin to unravel the real story of the transatlantic slave trade.
* Parts 5 and 6: Pt. 5: Gates sets out on a journey from Mali, following ancient trace
routes to Zimbabwe, a 1000 old African city. 120 min. each installment. Video/C 6657
[Short clips will be shown in Lessons 1,7,10 to demonstrate African cultural
achievements as well as the connections between different parts of Africa in the past]]
Internet resources
University sites
1. John Arthur’s Archaeology of Africa’ course website, University of South Florida,
USA. http://www.stpt.usf.edu/arthurj/archaeology_of_africa.htm
2. Columbia University, USA. African Studies Resources, African Studies, 308
International Affairs, 420 W. 118th Street, NY 10027 Tel: (212) 854-8045 Email:
[email protected] Web site:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl
3. Stanford University, USA Africa south of the Sahara: selected internet resources.
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide.html
6
4. Anne Stahl’s Archaeology of Africa, State University of New York, Binghamton,
USA. http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/%7Eastahl/#afarchsyllabus
5. Glenn Stone’s Anthropology 306: Africa: peoples and cultures. Washington
University at St Louis, USA. http://ascc.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/courses/306/
6. University of Wisconsin, USA Digital Library Africa: sights and sounds of a
continent http://africafocus.library.wisc.edu
7. Michigan State University Centre For African Studies.
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/
8. Boston University, African Studies Center http://www.bu.edu/AFR
9. Indiana University, African Studies Program http://indiana.edu~afrist
10. Ohio University, African Studies Program
http://www.ohiou.edu/~african/main.htm
11. University of California-Berkeley, Center for African Studies
http://ias.berkeley.edu/africa
12. University of California-Los Angeles, James Coleman African Studies Center
http://www.isop.ucla.edu/jscasc
13. University of Florida, Center for African Studies
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/aleslie/
14. University of Illinois, Center for African Studies http://www.afrst.uiuc.edu
15. University of Pennsylvani a, African Studies Program
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/K-12/AFR_GIDE.html
16. Yale University, Council on African Studies http://yale.edu/ycias/african/Africa
Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent. Developed at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison this site provides educators with a wonderful data-base of
digitized photos and music recordings from across Africa
http://africafocus.library.wisc.edu/
Other sites
17. African Voices: Web-based educational resources based on African Voices, a
permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural
History. http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/
18. African Odyssey Interactive: The African Odyssey Interactive [AOI] website is an
initiative of the Kennedy Center Education Department's ARTSEDGE Program
and contains arts and education information and resources for artists, teachers,
and students of African arts and culture. http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/aoi/
19. Africa South for the Sahara: Selected Internet Resources. Th e most
comprehensive searchable data-base of Internet resources on Africa currently
4. Anne Stahl’s Archaeology of Africa, State University of New York, Binghamton,
USA. http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/%7Eastahl/#afarchsyllabus
5. Glenn Stone’s Anthropology 306: Africa: peoples and cultures. Washington
University at St Louis, USA. http://ascc.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/courses/306/
6. University of Wisconsin, USA Digital Library Africa: sights and sounds of a
continent http://africafocus.library.wisc.edu
7. Michigan State University Centre For African Studies.
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/
8. Boston University, African Studies Center http://www.bu.edu/AFR
9. Indiana University, African Studies Program http://indiana.edu~afrist
10. Ohio University, African Studies Program
http://www.ohiou.edu/~african/main.htm
11. University of California-Berkeley, Center for African Studies
http://ias.berkeley.edu/africa
12. University of California-Los Angeles, James Coleman African Studies Center
http://www.isop.ucla.edu/jscasc
13. University of Florida, Center for African Studies
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/aleslie/
14. University of Illinois, Center for African Studies http://www.afrst.uiuc.edu
15. University of Pennsylvani a, African Studies Program
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/K-12/AFR_GIDE.html
16. Yale University, Council on African Studies http://yale.edu/ycias/african/Africa
Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent. Developed at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison this site provides educators with a wonderful data-base of
digitized photos and music recordings from across Africa
http://africafocus.library.wisc.edu/
Other sites
17. African Voices: Web-based educational resources based on African Voices, a
permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural
History. http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/
18. African Odyssey Interactive: The African Odyssey Interactive [AOI] website is an
initiative of the Kennedy Center Education Department's ARTSEDGE Program
and contains arts and education information and resources for artists, teachers,
and students of African arts and culture. http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/aoi/
19. Africa South for the Sahara: Selected Internet Resources. Th e most
comprehensive searchable data-base of Internet resources on Africa currently
7
available to educators. This data-base was developed by Karen Fung, Africana
librarian, Stanford University. http://www.stanford.edu/dept/AFR/
20. Art and Life in Africa Online contains information about African Art and Culture.
Some of the material on this site has been adapted from similar material
developed for the Art and Life in Africa CD-ROM being produced at The
University of Iowa. Additionally, some material is specific to this site (and not
found on the CD), as noted below. Links to further resources on the web have
been added where appropriate. http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/index.html
21. African Action: an important Washington DC based coalition of African advocacy
groups. They produce and post on their web-site excellent analyses of African
issues and U.S. policy towards Africa. http://www.africapolicy.org/index.shtml
22. TransAfrica Forum: a very important Washington DC based advocacy group on
African and African Diaspora issues. http://www.transafricaforum.org/
23. Bureau of African Affairs, United States Department of State Official U.S. policy
statements and documents on African affairs. http://www.state.gov/p/af/
News Services
24. Africa On Line http://www.africaonline.com
25. Africa News Now http://africanewsnow.com
26. All Africa News Service http://allafrica.com
27. IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Network-Africa)
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/index.phtml
28. BBC Africa Service http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/default.stm
29. American Journalism Review Links to African Newspapers
http://arj.newslink.org/nonusf.html
30. Ecola Links to African Newspapers http://ecola.com/news/press/af/
31. Christian Science Monitor: http://csmonitor.com/
32. Guardian (London): http://guardian.co.uk/guardian/
33. Le Monde (Paris/English Ed.): http://lwww.lemonde.fr/
34. New York Times: http://nytimes.com/
35. Observer (London): http:///www.observer.co.uk/
36. Washington Post: http://washingtonpost.com/
available to educators. This data-base was developed by Karen Fung, Africana
librarian, Stanford University. http://www.stanford.edu/dept/AFR/
20. Art and Life in Africa Online contains information about African Art and Culture.
Some of the material on this site has been adapted from similar material
developed for the Art and Life in Africa CD-ROM being produced at The
University of Iowa. Additionally, some material is specific to this site (and not
found on the CD), as noted below. Links to further resources on the web have
been added where appropriate. http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/index.html
21. African Action: an important Washington DC based coalition of African advocacy
groups. They produce and post on their web-site excellent analyses of African
issues and U.S. policy towards Africa. http://www.africapolicy.org/index.shtml
22. TransAfrica Forum: a very important Washington DC based advocacy group on
African and African Diaspora issues. http://www.transafricaforum.org/
23. Bureau of African Affairs, United States Department of State Official U.S. policy
statements and documents on African affairs. http://www.state.gov/p/af/
News Services
24. Africa On Line http://www.africaonline.com
25. Africa News Now http://africanewsnow.com
26. All Africa News Service http://allafrica.com
27. IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Network-Africa)
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/index.phtml
28. BBC Africa Service http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/default.stm
29. American Journalism Review Links to African Newspapers
http://arj.newslink.org/nonusf.html
30. Ecola Links to African Newspapers http://ecola.com/news/press/af/
31. Christian Science Monitor: http://csmonitor.com/
32. Guardian (London): http://guardian.co.uk/guardian/
33. Le Monde (Paris/English Ed.): http://lwww.lemonde.fr/
34. New York Times: http://nytimes.com/
35. Observer (London): http:///www.observer.co.uk/
36. Washington Post: http://washingtonpost.com/
8
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
2005 Policies & Regulations
ATTENDANCE POLICY
ABSENCES
For each unexcused absence, a student's grade will be lowered by one third of a
letter grade (for example, from an B+ to a B). Three unexcused absences will
result in failure of the course.
Students must provide a written explanation for each absence. Without a written
explanation, an absence will be counted as unexcused.
Patten University policy states that any student who misses more than 5 classes
(20% of the course) will not receive any course credit.
TARDINESS/EARLY DEPARTURE
Three unexcused late arrivals or early departures will be counted as one
unexcused absence (except for students whose housing situations require them
to arrive late or leave early).
GRADING
Tests and Assignments:
1 map quiz 5 tests*
5 writing assignments* Final project and presentation
*Tests will occur in class on Fridays and will last 20-30 mins.
*Tests will be handed back the following Friday.
*Writing assignments will be given in class on Friday and will be handed in on the
following Friday. These will be graded on content and argument, not grammar.
*Revision is encouraged and may increase your grade.
*Tests and writing assignments will be worth 20 points each.
Grading Policy
Map quiz, tests, and writing assignments (11 @ 5% each) 55%
Class participation 20%
Final project and presentation 25%
1 00%
90-100% = A+ 80-90% = A 75-80% = B+
70-75% = B 65-70% = C+ 60-65% = C
55-60% = D+ 50-55% = D Below 50% = Fail
There will be opportunities to achieve bonus points.
Students will have the chance to evaluate the course and the instructors at the end of
the term.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
2005 Policies & Regulations
ATTENDANCE POLICY
ABSENCES
For each unexcused absence, a student's grade will be lowered by one third of a
letter grade (for example, from an B+ to a B). Three unexcused absences will
result in failure of the course.
Students must provide a written explanation for each absence. Without a written
explanation, an absence will be counted as unexcused.
Patten University policy states that any student who misses more than 5 classes
(20% of the course) will not receive any course credit.
TARDINESS/EARLY DEPARTURE
Three unexcused late arrivals or early departures will be counted as one
unexcused absence (except for students whose housing situations require them
to arrive late or leave early).
GRADING
Tests and Assignments:
1 map quiz 5 tests*
5 writing assignments* Final project and presentation
*Tests will occur in class on Fridays and will last 20-30 mins.
*Tests will be handed back the following Friday.
*Writing assignments will be given in class on Friday and will be handed in on the
following Friday. These will be graded on content and argument, not grammar.
*Revision is encouraged and may increase your grade.
*Tests and writing assignments will be worth 20 points each.
Grading Policy
Map quiz, tests, and writing assignments (11 @ 5% each) 55%
Class participation 20%
Final project and presentation 25%
1 00%
90-100% = A+ 80-90% = A 75-80% = B+
70-75% = B 65-70% = C+ 60-65% = C
55-60% = D+ 50-55% = D Below 50% = Fail
There will be opportunities to achieve bonus points.
Students will have the chance to evaluate the course and the instructors at the end of
the term.
9
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa 2005 Syllabus Summary
1. Africa fact session (this is rumour control)
21 & 23 January. Africa past, present and syllabus overviews. Assign writing exercise.
2. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and Africa
represented?
28 & 30 January. How anthropology, archaeology and history work. *Map quiz.
3. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and Africa
represented?
4 & 6 February. How anthropology, archaeology and history work. *Test 1.
4. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
11 & 13 February. 3 million years of humanity. Feb 11 drop date. *Writing assignment 1.
5. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
18 & 20 February. 3 million years of humanity. *Test 2.
6. The rise of farming and cities
25 & 27 February. 7000 years of civilisation. *Writing assignment 2.
7. The rise of farming and cities
4 & 6 March. 7000 years of civilisation. *Test 3. Finalise research topics for 15 & 17
April.
8. The rise of farming and cities
11 & 13 March. Case studies of great African civilizations. *Writing assignment 3.
9. Africa and the rest slavery, diaspora and colonialism
18 & 20 March. 500 years of European interest in Africa. *Test 4.
10. Africa in the Americas
25 & 27 March. 400 years of Africa in the Americas. April 1 withdrawal date. *Test 5
11. Representations museums, literature, music, art
1 & 3 April. 500 years of imagining Africa. *Writing assignment 4. (cancelled assignment)
12. Consolidation questions and preparation for final presentations
8 & 10 April. Q & A on course. Preparation time for presentations. *Writing assignment 5.
13. Presentations and Evaluation what worked and what didnt
15 & 17 April. Research topics presented. Evaluation of course, instructors and students.
14. Final grading
Grades to Patten PUP by 24 April. [xx follow-up with students – or do this 17
th
]
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa 2005 Syllabus Summary
1. Africa fact session (this is rumour control)
21 & 23 January. Africa past, present and syllabus overviews. Assign writing exercise.
2. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and Africa
represented?
28 & 30 January. How anthropology, archaeology and history work. *Map quiz.
3. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and Africa
represented?
4 & 6 February. How anthropology, archaeology and history work. *Test 1.
4. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
11 & 13 February. 3 million years of humanity. Feb 11 drop date. *Writing assignment 1.
5. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
18 & 20 February. 3 million years of humanity. *Test 2.
6. The rise of farming and cities
25 & 27 February. 7000 years of civilisation. *Writing assignment 2.
7. The rise of farming and cities
4 & 6 March. 7000 years of civilisation. *Test 3. Finalise research topics for 15 & 17
April.
8. The rise of farming and cities
11 & 13 March. Case studies of great African civilizations. *Writing assignment 3.
9. Africa and the rest slavery, diaspora and colonialism
18 & 20 March. 500 years of European interest in Africa. *Test 4.
10. Africa in the Americas
25 & 27 March. 400 years of Africa in the Americas. April 1 withdrawal date. *Test 5
11. Representations museums, literature, music, art
1 & 3 April. 500 years of imagining Africa. *Writing assignment 4. (cancelled assignment)
12. Consolidation questions and preparation for final presentations
8 & 10 April. Q & A on course. Preparation time for presentations. *Writing assignment 5.
13. Presentations and Evaluation what worked and what didnt
15 & 17 April. Research topics presented. Evaluation of course, instructors and students.
14. Final grading
Grades to Patten PUP by 24 April. [xx follow-up with students – or do this 17
th
]
10
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa 2005 Detailed Syllabus
1. Africa Fact Session (this is rumour control)
21 & 23 January
Lesson aim
To provide a broad introduction to the diversity of natural and cultural environments in
Africa today, the recent past, the deep past and the pre-human past.
Lesson method
1. Instructors and students introduce themselves and say what their expectations of the
class are; what their interest in Africa is.
2. Instructors introduce course outline, timetable and grading system. Instructors outline
course philosophy on `Ubuntu’ principles.
3. Instructors outline how to present a coherent argument, how to structure a good
written argument, the importance of attributing sources, how to read closely, how to
contextualise information, how to present and balance a variety of perspectives.
4. Through different kinds of maps (climatic, demographic, geological, linguistic, political,
topographic) begin examining the diversity of the world’s 2
nd
largest continent (17.5
million km
2
- 20% of earth’s land surface) that today has 54 countries, about 900 million
people, approx. 1000 languages etc. Show standard historical method of working back
from known to the lesser known or unknown, move back from shallow time and deep
time.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Maps: Peters Projection map; Africa map
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html; climatic, demographic,
geological, linguistic, political and topographic maps from Encarta and Britannica online.
2. OHT visuals of Africa, people, places, animals etc. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa
and Gates’ Wonders of the African world.
For next week
1. Hand out Africa map to study for next week’s map quiz.
2. Pages 1-5 of Iliffe’s Africans the history of a continent.
3. Pages 1-11 of Phillipson’s African archaeology.
4. Introduction (pp. viii-xxviii) and 39-73 to David Lowenthal’s 1985. The past is a foreign
country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5. Pages 17-45 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
6. Introduction to Victor Mudimbe’s. 1994. The idea of Africa. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press.
Reading load: 70 pages.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 1 Writing Assignment:
One hand-written page on the subject:
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa 2005 Detailed Syllabus
1. Africa Fact Session (this is rumour control)
21 & 23 January
Lesson aim
To provide a broad introduction to the diversity of natural and cultural environments in
Africa today, the recent past, the deep past and the pre-human past.
Lesson method
1. Instructors and students introduce themselves and say what their expectations of the
class are; what their interest in Africa is.
2. Instructors introduce course outline, timetable and grading system. Instructors outline
course philosophy on `Ubuntu’ principles.
3. Instructors outline how to present a coherent argument, how to structure a good
written argument, the importance of attributing sources, how to read closely, how to
contextualise information, how to present and balance a variety of perspectives.
4. Through different kinds of maps (climatic, demographic, geological, linguistic, political,
topographic) begin examining the diversity of the world’s 2
nd
largest continent (17.5
million km
2
- 20% of earth’s land surface) that today has 54 countries, about 900 million
people, approx. 1000 languages etc. Show standard historical method of working back
from known to the lesser known or unknown, move back from shallow time and deep
time.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Maps: Peters Projection map; Africa map
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html; climatic, demographic,
geological, linguistic, political and topographic maps from Encarta and Britannica online.
2. OHT visuals of Africa, people, places, animals etc. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa
and Gates’ Wonders of the African world.
For next week
1. Hand out Africa map to study for next week’s map quiz.
2. Pages 1-5 of Iliffe’s Africans the history of a continent.
3. Pages 1-11 of Phillipson’s African archaeology.
4. Introduction (pp. viii-xxviii) and 39-73 to David Lowenthal’s 1985. The past is a foreign
country. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5. Pages 17-45 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
6. Introduction to Victor Mudimbe’s. 1994. The idea of Africa. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press.
Reading load: 70 pages.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 1 Writing Assignment:
One hand-written page on the subject:
11
What is Africa?
To be handed in next Friday (01/28) in class.
This assignment will be graded but will not count towards the final grade.
Notes
What, Why, How, When to believe?
1. Source
• Spoken, written, seen?
• Who what said/presented it? TV, book, person, internet?
• Old or recent knowledge?
2. More than one source
• Need more than one source.
• Need different types of sources.
• Need to know where to look.
3. Structure
• Logical? Beginning, middle and end?
• Seems strange? Trust instincts.
• Be prepared to be wrong.
4. Context
• Right or wrong?
• Appropriate or inappropriate?
• Agree to disagree?
Tips 1: margin summaries; notes, rough plan, write conclusion first
Tips 2: Have someone read/comment, revise, revise, revise
Visual examples
Compare Mercator and Peters Projection maps.
Writing examples:
Sample 1) Water pollution is starting to become a big problem, even in our local waters,
such as the San Francisco Bay. Many different types of heavy metal pollution that enters
our bay, especially mercury pollution. There are two main ways the pollution gets there.
These two types are point pollution, which includes dumping from sewage plants, and
What is Africa?
To be handed in next Friday (01/28) in class.
This assignment will be graded but will not count towards the final grade.
Notes
What, Why, How, When to believe?
1. Source
• Spoken, written, seen?
• Who what said/presented it? TV, book, person, internet?
• Old or recent knowledge?
2. More than one source
• Need more than one source.
• Need different types of sources.
• Need to know where to look.
3. Structure
• Logical? Beginning, middle and end?
• Seems strange? Trust instincts.
• Be prepared to be wrong.
4. Context
• Right or wrong?
• Appropriate or inappropriate?
• Agree to disagree?
Tips 1: margin summaries; notes, rough plan, write conclusion first
Tips 2: Have someone read/comment, revise, revise, revise
Visual examples
Compare Mercator and Peters Projection maps.
Writing examples:
Sample 1) Water pollution is starting to become a big problem, even in our local waters,
such as the San Francisco Bay. Many different types of heavy metal pollution that enters
our bay, especially mercury pollution. There are two main ways the pollution gets there.
These two types are point pollution, which includes dumping from sewage plants, and
12
nonpoint pollution (when pollutants don’t come from a specific industry or business),
which includes tributary inflow and runoff.
- no clear topic
- general statements without supporting evidence (‘because I said so’)
- listing of facts with no sources cited
- no transitions
Sample 2) Heavy metal pollution is a quickly growing problem for our oceans, lakes, and
rivers. [attention-grabbing statement] Right now it may not be the biggest pollution
problem, but just waiting for it to go away or to solve itself is not going to help. We need
to be aware of the problems heavy metal creates, so we all, in our own little ways, can
contribute to the solutions. [thesis statement/argument to be discussed]
Water pollution is starting to become a big problem, even in our local waters, such as the
San Francisco Bay. There are many different types of heavy metal pollution that enters
our bay, especially mercury pollution. There are two main ways the pollution gets there.
These two types are point pollution, which includes dumping from sewage plants, and
nonpoint pollution (when pollutants don’t come from a specific industry or business),
which includes tributary inflow and runoff.
- states the topic of the paper and draws the reader in
- general statements without supporting evidence (‘because I said so’)
- listing of facts with no sources cited
- no transitions
Sample 3) Heavy metal pollution is a quickly growing problem for our oceans, lakes, and
rivers. [attention-grabbing statement] Right now it may not be the biggest pollution
problem, but just waiting for it to go away or to solve itself is not going to help. We need
to be aware of the problems heavy metal creates, so we all, in our own little ways, can
contribute to the solutions. [thesis statement/argument to be discussed]
[background to argument]
Heavy metal pollution is a threat to human health, animals, plants, and the planet itself,
and is mainly caused by industrialization and its consequences. While some of the metal
pollutants come from fertilizers and sewage, the biggest source of heavy metal pollution
definitely is industrialization (Garbarino 2002).When heavy metal toxins get into the
ocean, no matter how they got there, they will travel up the food chain, getting more
concentrated and lethal with every step. [transition]
Heavy metals pose a large threat to humans. They are most dangerous when taken
orally, although some, like mercury, are known to be harmful just by touch (EPA 2002).
The biggest problem though, is heavy metals reaching our drinking water and
contaminating it, thus endangering humans and animals. [transition]
It begins with a plant or animal, particularly plankton, which absorbs the toxin. Plankton
are the basis of the food chain. Bottom feeders, such as herring, eat the contaminated
plankton. Next step up are then large predatory fish, shark and tuna, who eat the
contaminated bottom feeders. Animals at the top of the ocean food chain, mainly
seabirds, sea mammals and humans, get the highest level of toxicity in their food intake
(Hare 1991). [supporting argument/explanation]
[Conclusion: why is this important/interesting?]
nonpoint pollution (when pollutants don’t come from a specific industry or business),
which includes tributary inflow and runoff.
- no clear topic
- general statements without supporting evidence (‘because I said so’)
- listing of facts with no sources cited
- no transitions
Sample 2) Heavy metal pollution is a quickly growing problem for our oceans, lakes, and
rivers. [attention-grabbing statement] Right now it may not be the biggest pollution
problem, but just waiting for it to go away or to solve itself is not going to help. We need
to be aware of the problems heavy metal creates, so we all, in our own little ways, can
contribute to the solutions. [thesis statement/argument to be discussed]
Water pollution is starting to become a big problem, even in our local waters, such as the
San Francisco Bay. There are many different types of heavy metal pollution that enters
our bay, especially mercury pollution. There are two main ways the pollution gets there.
These two types are point pollution, which includes dumping from sewage plants, and
nonpoint pollution (when pollutants don’t come from a specific industry or business),
which includes tributary inflow and runoff.
- states the topic of the paper and draws the reader in
- general statements without supporting evidence (‘because I said so’)
- listing of facts with no sources cited
- no transitions
Sample 3) Heavy metal pollution is a quickly growing problem for our oceans, lakes, and
rivers. [attention-grabbing statement] Right now it may not be the biggest pollution
problem, but just waiting for it to go away or to solve itself is not going to help. We need
to be aware of the problems heavy metal creates, so we all, in our own little ways, can
contribute to the solutions. [thesis statement/argument to be discussed]
[background to argument]
Heavy metal pollution is a threat to human health, animals, plants, and the planet itself,
and is mainly caused by industrialization and its consequences. While some of the metal
pollutants come from fertilizers and sewage, the biggest source of heavy metal pollution
definitely is industrialization (Garbarino 2002).When heavy metal toxins get into the
ocean, no matter how they got there, they will travel up the food chain, getting more
concentrated and lethal with every step. [transition]
Heavy metals pose a large threat to humans. They are most dangerous when taken
orally, although some, like mercury, are known to be harmful just by touch (EPA 2002).
The biggest problem though, is heavy metals reaching our drinking water and
contaminating it, thus endangering humans and animals. [transition]
It begins with a plant or animal, particularly plankton, which absorbs the toxin. Plankton
are the basis of the food chain. Bottom feeders, such as herring, eat the contaminated
plankton. Next step up are then large predatory fish, shark and tuna, who eat the
contaminated bottom feeders. Animals at the top of the ocean food chain, mainly
seabirds, sea mammals and humans, get the highest level of toxicity in their food intake
(Hare 1991). [supporting argument/explanation]
[Conclusion: why is this important/interesting?]
13
Water pollution is starting to become a big problem, even in our local waters, such as the
San Francisco Bay. Clean water is our step into a clean future. We need to inform
people about how heavy metal pollution gets into our environment so they can be more
aware of the threats of these pollutants and change their behavior to stop the problem.
References
? EPA. "Mercury." 16 Sep.2002
? Garbarino, John R., et al. "Heavy Metals in the Mississippi River."
(www.water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1133/heavy-metals.html). 20 Sep. 2002
? Hare, Tony. Toxic Waste. New York, NY: Gloucester Press, 1991
- states the topic of the paper and draws the reader in
- general statements without supporting evidence
- sources cited
- transitions between topics/ideas
- explains the argument without assuming that the reader knows anything
about this (explains the What? When? How? Where? Why?)
- argument does not rely on “trust me, I’m an expert”, but instead convinces the
reader by answering their questions
Readings and Study Tips
Write pencil 1-word summaries next to paragraphs.
Give written work to a friend to comment on.
Set definite times to study and take breaks. 45 mins study 15 mins break works well.
Underline/highlight key words or words/phrases/ideas you are unsure about.
Learn how to skim.
African Plants and Animals
Africa is the second largest continent, comprising one fifth of the earth's landmass, or
about 12 million square miles. The sheer size of the African continent is reflected in its
diverse flora and fauna.
Environmental Zones and Plants.
There are several basic environmental zones in Africa (which are largely dependent on
latitude, altitude, and proximity to large bodies of water, among other factors).
DISCUSSION POINT: How do we conceive of the African landscape/environment?
Rainforests. Africa's tropical rainforests are located primarily in the west and central
parts of the continent. They include hundreds of species of trees, including oil palms,
ebony, mahogany, and okoume.
Water pollution is starting to become a big problem, even in our local waters, such as the
San Francisco Bay. Clean water is our step into a clean future. We need to inform
people about how heavy metal pollution gets into our environment so they can be more
aware of the threats of these pollutants and change their behavior to stop the problem.
References
? EPA. "Mercury." 16 Sep.2002
? Garbarino, John R., et al. "Heavy Metals in the Mississippi River."
(www.water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1133/heavy-metals.html). 20 Sep. 2002
? Hare, Tony. Toxic Waste. New York, NY: Gloucester Press, 1991
- states the topic of the paper and draws the reader in
- general statements without supporting evidence
- sources cited
- transitions between topics/ideas
- explains the argument without assuming that the reader knows anything
about this (explains the What? When? How? Where? Why?)
- argument does not rely on “trust me, I’m an expert”, but instead convinces the
reader by answering their questions
Readings and Study Tips
Write pencil 1-word summaries next to paragraphs.
Give written work to a friend to comment on.
Set definite times to study and take breaks. 45 mins study 15 mins break works well.
Underline/highlight key words or words/phrases/ideas you are unsure about.
Learn how to skim.
African Plants and Animals
Africa is the second largest continent, comprising one fifth of the earth's landmass, or
about 12 million square miles. The sheer size of the African continent is reflected in its
diverse flora and fauna.
Environmental Zones and Plants.
There are several basic environmental zones in Africa (which are largely dependent on
latitude, altitude, and proximity to large bodies of water, among other factors).
DISCUSSION POINT: How do we conceive of the African landscape/environment?
Rainforests. Africa's tropical rainforests are located primarily in the west and central
parts of the continent. They include hundreds of species of trees, including oil palms,
ebony, mahogany, and okoume.
14
Grasslands. Located in the west, east and southern parts of Africa, the savannah is an
important environment in which many different types of drought and fire resistant
grasses grow. Boabab and acacia trees also grew in the savannah.
Steppe/Sahel. These dry grasslands are home to many short, hearty grasses.
Deserts. Africa is home to the world's largest desert, the Sahara. Here, sparse grasses,
shrubs, and trees (such as cypress, olive, acacia, and date palm) live in the highland
areas. Desert plants must adapt to high temperatures and low precipitation. The Sahara
fluctuates in size, and reached its present size by about 2000 years ago. There is
archaeological evidence (e.g. cave paintings) that parts northern Africa used to be much
wetter. In southern Africa, the Kalahari and Namib are two other important deserts.
Coastal Areas. Mangroves grow along much of the African coastline. In the north, along
the Mediterranean, and on the southern tip of the continent, a mild Mediterranean
climate prevails. These regions are home to olive and oak trees.
Introduced Plants. Several food crops have been introduced to Africa, such as
bananas, cassava, corn, tea, and cocoa beans. Eucalyptus was also introduced.
African Animals.
Like the environmental diversity, the sheer number of living things in Africa is
astonishing. There are many thousands of species of mammals, reptiles, fishes, birds
and insects living on the continent today, and in the past.
Many of the most famous herding animals live on the eastern and southern savannah.
There, large groups of antelope, buffalo, zebras, and giraffes roam the grasslands. Of
course, these animals are preyed upon by predators (think Discovery Channel) such as
lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas.
Elephants. Most of the few remaining elephant herds are located in the east and
southeast.
Rhinoceros. There are five kinds of rhinoceros, only two of which live in Africa (the
other three live in Asia). African rhinos are two-horned, where as two of the Asian
species only have one horn. African rhinos are known as the Black Rhino and the White
Rhino, although they are both the same bluish-gray color.
Hippopotamus. Hippos live in central, southern and western Africa, but there range is
limited to places where they can have easy access to water. There are two kinds of
hippos—the River Hippopotamus and the smaller, and less common Pygmy
Hippopotamus. Although hippopotamus is Greek for "river horse," recent research
suggests that the hippo is actually most closely related to the whale (and not the pig, as
was formerly thought).
Bovids. There are roughly 100 species of bovids (hollow-horned ruminants) in Africa, 72
of which are antelopes including the impala and many kinds of gazelles. For comparison,
the prong-horned antelope is the only species of antelope in North America. Giraffes are
also in the bovid family, as are buffalo. It used to be thought that cows, which are
Grasslands. Located in the west, east and southern parts of Africa, the savannah is an
important environment in which many different types of drought and fire resistant
grasses grow. Boabab and acacia trees also grew in the savannah.
Steppe/Sahel. These dry grasslands are home to many short, hearty grasses.
Deserts. Africa is home to the world's largest desert, the Sahara. Here, sparse grasses,
shrubs, and trees (such as cypress, olive, acacia, and date palm) live in the highland
areas. Desert plants must adapt to high temperatures and low precipitation. The Sahara
fluctuates in size, and reached its present size by about 2000 years ago. There is
archaeological evidence (e.g. cave paintings) that parts northern Africa used to be much
wetter. In southern Africa, the Kalahari and Namib are two other important deserts.
Coastal Areas. Mangroves grow along much of the African coastline. In the north, along
the Mediterranean, and on the southern tip of the continent, a mild Mediterranean
climate prevails. These regions are home to olive and oak trees.
Introduced Plants. Several food crops have been introduced to Africa, such as
bananas, cassava, corn, tea, and cocoa beans. Eucalyptus was also introduced.
African Animals.
Like the environmental diversity, the sheer number of living things in Africa is
astonishing. There are many thousands of species of mammals, reptiles, fishes, birds
and insects living on the continent today, and in the past.
Many of the most famous herding animals live on the eastern and southern savannah.
There, large groups of antelope, buffalo, zebras, and giraffes roam the grasslands. Of
course, these animals are preyed upon by predators (think Discovery Channel) such as
lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas.
Elephants. Most of the few remaining elephant herds are located in the east and
southeast.
Rhinoceros. There are five kinds of rhinoceros, only two of which live in Africa (the
other three live in Asia). African rhinos are two-horned, where as two of the Asian
species only have one horn. African rhinos are known as the Black Rhino and the White
Rhino, although they are both the same bluish-gray color.
Hippopotamus. Hippos live in central, southern and western Africa, but there range is
limited to places where they can have easy access to water. There are two kinds of
hippos—the River Hippopotamus and the smaller, and less common Pygmy
Hippopotamus. Although hippopotamus is Greek for "river horse," recent research
suggests that the hippo is actually most closely related to the whale (and not the pig, as
was formerly thought).
Bovids. There are roughly 100 species of bovids (hollow-horned ruminants) in Africa, 72
of which are antelopes including the impala and many kinds of gazelles. For comparison,
the prong-horned antelope is the only species of antelope in North America. Giraffes are
also in the bovid family, as are buffalo. It used to be thought that cows, which are
15
important to many African economies, were introduced from Eurasia, but it is now
thought that cows were independently domesticated in Africa.
Apes. The three African apes are the gorilla, chimpanzee, and the bonobo.
There are three kinds of gorillas: the Western Lowland Gorilla which lives in the western
forests, from Nigeria south to the Congo River; the Eastern Lowland Gorilla, which lives
primarily within the modern boundaries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and
the Mountain Gorilla, which lives in the upland regions of the DRC and Rwanda. A male
gorilla can be as tall as six feet when fully upright and weigh as much as 450 pounds.
Chimpanzees live in tropical Africa, from Lake Victoria in the east to Gambia in the west.
They range in size from 3 1/4 – 5 1/2 feet and weigh between 90-110 pounds.
Bonobos, also called pygmy chimps, live south of the Congo River in the DRC.
Monkeys. There are all sorts of other monkeys in Africa (which I haven't included in
these notes), and it is a good idea to point out some of the differences between monkeys
and apes. Baboons live in large groups on the savannah, and are similar to dogs.
Lemurs live exclusively in Madagascar.
African peoples and languages
Living Africa
Africa has long represented primitive mystery to the West, an impenetrable `Dark
Continent’ populated by exotic people and gigantic animals. Even today, most people
hear little of life in Africa, beyond occasional horror stories of famine and civil war.
• What, then, are the daily lives of Africans really like, living in the many varied
rural and urban settings across the continent?
• How have historical processes shaped the lives of Africans living today?
• How does reality differ from the common stereotypes held about Africa?
We will seek to understand the African cultures as important and valuable ones in their
own right, while at the same time understanding the role of Africa and its influences in
the broader world.
The peoples of Africa are often described in terms of their ethnic background or their
languages. More than 680,000,000 people live in Africa, and the population of this
continent is rapidly expanding. There are several thousand ethnic groups in Africa,
ranging in physical stature from the short Pygmies to the tall Maasai, each with its own
cultural traditions.
Most of the countries that make up the continent of Africa today were created by seven
European countries—France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Belgium—at
the Berlin Conference of 1884-85.
Even though there is such a great amount of ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity on
the continent, Africa and all of the people there are still thought of by many people as
being the same. (R. Kelly’s jungle/perceptions of Africa)
important to many African economies, were introduced from Eurasia, but it is now
thought that cows were independently domesticated in Africa.
Apes. The three African apes are the gorilla, chimpanzee, and the bonobo.
There are three kinds of gorillas: the Western Lowland Gorilla which lives in the western
forests, from Nigeria south to the Congo River; the Eastern Lowland Gorilla, which lives
primarily within the modern boundaries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and
the Mountain Gorilla, which lives in the upland regions of the DRC and Rwanda. A male
gorilla can be as tall as six feet when fully upright and weigh as much as 450 pounds.
Chimpanzees live in tropical Africa, from Lake Victoria in the east to Gambia in the west.
They range in size from 3 1/4 – 5 1/2 feet and weigh between 90-110 pounds.
Bonobos, also called pygmy chimps, live south of the Congo River in the DRC.
Monkeys. There are all sorts of other monkeys in Africa (which I haven't included in
these notes), and it is a good idea to point out some of the differences between monkeys
and apes. Baboons live in large groups on the savannah, and are similar to dogs.
Lemurs live exclusively in Madagascar.
African peoples and languages
Living Africa
Africa has long represented primitive mystery to the West, an impenetrable `Dark
Continent’ populated by exotic people and gigantic animals. Even today, most people
hear little of life in Africa, beyond occasional horror stories of famine and civil war.
• What, then, are the daily lives of Africans really like, living in the many varied
rural and urban settings across the continent?
• How have historical processes shaped the lives of Africans living today?
• How does reality differ from the common stereotypes held about Africa?
We will seek to understand the African cultures as important and valuable ones in their
own right, while at the same time understanding the role of Africa and its influences in
the broader world.
The peoples of Africa are often described in terms of their ethnic background or their
languages. More than 680,000,000 people live in Africa, and the population of this
continent is rapidly expanding. There are several thousand ethnic groups in Africa,
ranging in physical stature from the short Pygmies to the tall Maasai, each with its own
cultural traditions.
Most of the countries that make up the continent of Africa today were created by seven
European countries—France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Belgium—at
the Berlin Conference of 1884-85.
Even though there is such a great amount of ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity on
the continent, Africa and all of the people there are still thought of by many people as
being the same. (R. Kelly’s jungle/perceptions of Africa)
16
It is difficult to believe that 680,000,000 people could all have the same culture or
language. Although the majority of the people in Africa lead a rural life, the continent is
urbanizing at a fast pace. Over a third of the population now lives in cities. Those who
live and work in the major metropolitan areas live in ways similar to most people in the
industrialized world. They drive cars, have televisions in their homes and apartments,
have computers with access to the Internet, are educated in excellent schools and many
go on to study at universities.
Those who live in many of the smaller towns dress in western style and do the kind of
work - in the manufacturing industry or the services - that people in many urbanized
parts of the world do. However, they may not always have all the advantages of those
who live in the larger more modern cities. Their schools may have fewer resources, the
opportunities for earning a living may not be as varied, the services available may not be
as technologically advanced.
In contrast, there are the different ethnic groups living in rural Africa whose lifestyles
have remained virtually unchanged for centuries. They have a rich cultural heritage that
they have passed down from generation to generation with very little influence from the
outside world.
Africa is actually a continent made up of a wide variety of worlds and its people live in
diverse conditions. There is extreme poverty and vast wealth; there are people who
suffer from droughts and famine and people who have plentiful food; there are vast,
magnificent nature reserves with an abundance of wildlife and there are highly urbanized
parts with major cities with high-rise buildings and modern amenities.
Categorization of People (Ethnic groups, etc.)
- ex. of categorization of people (Africans-Batswana-black, white, colored-groups with
totems)
The peoples of Africa belong to several thousand different ethnic groups. Each ethnic
group has its own distinct language, traditions, arts and crafts, history, way of life and
religion. At the same time, in the past the different groups have also influenced one
another and contributed to and enriched one another's culture. There are over 50
countries in Africa, and some of these have 20 or more different ethnic groups living
within their boundaries.
The majority of the countries in Africa are inhabited by peoples of African origin. Some
ethnic groups have been influenced by the migration of Arab peoples into northern
Africa. There are also Europeans whose families moved to Africa during the colonial
period and have stayed on and created new African cultures. In some parts of Africa,
you will also find people of Asian origin, for example from India or China.
Some of the more widely known ethnic groups in Africa are: Arabs, Ashanti, Bantu,
Berbers, Bushmen, Dinka, Fulani, Ganda, Hamites, Hausa, Hottentot, Kikuyu, Luba,
Lunda, Malinke, Moors, Nuer, Pygmies, Semites, Swahili, Tuareg, Xhosa, and Yoruba.
- ex. of the Bantu (archaeology, linguistics, cultural beliefs):
It is difficult to believe that 680,000,000 people could all have the same culture or
language. Although the majority of the people in Africa lead a rural life, the continent is
urbanizing at a fast pace. Over a third of the population now lives in cities. Those who
live and work in the major metropolitan areas live in ways similar to most people in the
industrialized world. They drive cars, have televisions in their homes and apartments,
have computers with access to the Internet, are educated in excellent schools and many
go on to study at universities.
Those who live in many of the smaller towns dress in western style and do the kind of
work - in the manufacturing industry or the services - that people in many urbanized
parts of the world do. However, they may not always have all the advantages of those
who live in the larger more modern cities. Their schools may have fewer resources, the
opportunities for earning a living may not be as varied, the services available may not be
as technologically advanced.
In contrast, there are the different ethnic groups living in rural Africa whose lifestyles
have remained virtually unchanged for centuries. They have a rich cultural heritage that
they have passed down from generation to generation with very little influence from the
outside world.
Africa is actually a continent made up of a wide variety of worlds and its people live in
diverse conditions. There is extreme poverty and vast wealth; there are people who
suffer from droughts and famine and people who have plentiful food; there are vast,
magnificent nature reserves with an abundance of wildlife and there are highly urbanized
parts with major cities with high-rise buildings and modern amenities.
Categorization of People (Ethnic groups, etc.)
- ex. of categorization of people (Africans-Batswana-black, white, colored-groups with
totems)
The peoples of Africa belong to several thousand different ethnic groups. Each ethnic
group has its own distinct language, traditions, arts and crafts, history, way of life and
religion. At the same time, in the past the different groups have also influenced one
another and contributed to and enriched one another's culture. There are over 50
countries in Africa, and some of these have 20 or more different ethnic groups living
within their boundaries.
The majority of the countries in Africa are inhabited by peoples of African origin. Some
ethnic groups have been influenced by the migration of Arab peoples into northern
Africa. There are also Europeans whose families moved to Africa during the colonial
period and have stayed on and created new African cultures. In some parts of Africa,
you will also find people of Asian origin, for example from India or China.
Some of the more widely known ethnic groups in Africa are: Arabs, Ashanti, Bantu,
Berbers, Bushmen, Dinka, Fulani, Ganda, Hamites, Hausa, Hottentot, Kikuyu, Luba,
Lunda, Malinke, Moors, Nuer, Pygmies, Semites, Swahili, Tuareg, Xhosa, and Yoruba.
- ex. of the Bantu (archaeology, linguistics, cultural beliefs):
17
• There are more than 60 million people who speak Bantu as their native language
and live primarily in the regions around the equator and continue southward into
southern Africa where they migrated to
• It is believed that the Bantu origins lie in Cameroon. About 1000 BC a massive
migration began (considered one of the largest in human history). This migration
continued until around the 3rd or 4th century AD.
• Anthropologists have studied this phenomenon and believe there are several
possibilities for its occurrence. It may have been due to a growing population in
ancient times, which increased the need for more food. It was around this time
that the banana, which is native to Asia, was introduced in southern Africa
• Another important occurrence in the history of the Bantu is a split that created
two major language families. They are known as the Eastern Bantu and the
Western Bantu. The Eastern Bantu migrated to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and
down into South Africa. The Western Bantu migrated into Angola, Namibia, and
parts of Botswana
• Currently the Bantu are known more as a language group than as a distinct
ethnic group. Swahili is the most widely spoken Bantu language (around 50
million people living in the countries along the east coast of Africa)
• The ethnic groups that make up the Eastern Bantu include the Xhosa, Zulu,
Kikuyu, and Shona peoples. The Western Bantu include the Herero and Tonga
peoples.
Clothing
- most Africans, particularly men, wear Western-style clothing on a daily basis; traditional
clothing is worn on special occasions
- not to “be like Americans/whites”
• early missionaries in the 19th century established schools and introduced
Western clothing to Afican people, which eventually began to replace the trade in
African cloth
• why? African cloth was made primarily for the weaver’s personal and family use,
and occasionally for trading with other groups. This handmade production was
much slower and could not keep up with the growing deman d for quickly
produced clothing. Western clothing is also more durable and holds up better to
wear.
- in the recent past, millions of people have left their small villages and families to work in
large towns and cities (shops, homes, factories, mines) where Western-style clothing is
the ‘norm’
- Many aid organizations, thrift stores and church groups sell clothes very inexpensively
(a few cents)
- some special events where special/traditional clothing is worn
• Engagement rituals: Kuanyama women participate in an engagement/coming to
womanhood ritual for which they wear showy clothes
• After Masai women are married, they wear more beaded collars and are then
allowed to wear brass earring (similar to a wedding ring?)
• When West African women get married, they wear large, elaborate head ties
• A Zulu boy courting a girl will wear Western clothing bought in the city, and a
goatskin front apron that is tied with a beaded belt.
• There are more than 60 million people who speak Bantu as their native language
and live primarily in the regions around the equator and continue southward into
southern Africa where they migrated to
• It is believed that the Bantu origins lie in Cameroon. About 1000 BC a massive
migration began (considered one of the largest in human history). This migration
continued until around the 3rd or 4th century AD.
• Anthropologists have studied this phenomenon and believe there are several
possibilities for its occurrence. It may have been due to a growing population in
ancient times, which increased the need for more food. It was around this time
that the banana, which is native to Asia, was introduced in southern Africa
• Another important occurrence in the history of the Bantu is a split that created
two major language families. They are known as the Eastern Bantu and the
Western Bantu. The Eastern Bantu migrated to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and
down into South Africa. The Western Bantu migrated into Angola, Namibia, and
parts of Botswana
• Currently the Bantu are known more as a language group than as a distinct
ethnic group. Swahili is the most widely spoken Bantu language (around 50
million people living in the countries along the east coast of Africa)
• The ethnic groups that make up the Eastern Bantu include the Xhosa, Zulu,
Kikuyu, and Shona peoples. The Western Bantu include the Herero and Tonga
peoples.
Clothing
- most Africans, particularly men, wear Western-style clothing on a daily basis; traditional
clothing is worn on special occasions
- not to “be like Americans/whites”
• early missionaries in the 19th century established schools and introduced
Western clothing to Afican people, which eventually began to replace the trade in
African cloth
• why? African cloth was made primarily for the weaver’s personal and family use,
and occasionally for trading with other groups. This handmade production was
much slower and could not keep up with the growing deman d for quickly
produced clothing. Western clothing is also more durable and holds up better to
wear.
- in the recent past, millions of people have left their small villages and families to work in
large towns and cities (shops, homes, factories, mines) where Western-style clothing is
the ‘norm’
- Many aid organizations, thrift stores and church groups sell clothes very inexpensively
(a few cents)
- some special events where special/traditional clothing is worn
• Engagement rituals: Kuanyama women participate in an engagement/coming to
womanhood ritual for which they wear showy clothes
• After Masai women are married, they wear more beaded collars and are then
allowed to wear brass earring (similar to a wedding ring?)
• When West African women get married, they wear large, elaborate head ties
• A Zulu boy courting a girl will wear Western clothing bought in the city, and a
goatskin front apron that is tied with a beaded belt.
18
Languages
-Just like there are many languages spoken in the United States, many languages and
dialects are spoken in Africa. There are over 1,000 languages spoken in Africa! Some
are linked to the earliest communications between humans, while others remain as
evidence of colonists: English French, Portugese, and Arabic are official languages of
many of the countries in Africa.
- The linguistic diversity of Africa is considered by some to be a problem for its people.
For example, estimates range from as low as 800 to just over 2,000 languages spoken
within the continent. In fact, there still exist some languages with no writing systems.
- what need is served by the study of languages? Language can reveal much about
historical and sociological factors related to the extension and diffusion of cultures.
- linguistic similarities (ex. ‘water’)
• Metsi in Setswana
• Maji in Swahili
- Africanisms in the English language
• Voodoo (“witchcraft”)
• something smells ‘funky’ (Ki-Kongo word for a bad odor ‘lu-fuki’)
• boogie (-woogie) “fast blues music’: (Mandingo bugB “to beat drums”)
• hip, hep “well informed, alert, aware of what’s going on” (Wolof hipi “to open
one’s eyes, be aware of what’s going on)
• cat “man, fellow” from Wolof Kat “denoting person as final element in compound”
(e.g. hipi-kat, hep cat)
• zombie “ghost, raised corpse” from Kindundu nzumbi “ghost”
• okay, O.K. (Mande oke “all right” and Wolof waw kay “all correct’)
• banana (Wolof word for “fruit”)
- Texas longhorn cattle breed brought with slaves (many Fulani) to herd cattle
• many cowboys in the west were black
• term “boy” given to slaves was eventually combined with “cow” since this was the
main duty of the slaves
African languages (4 phyla)
a. Afro-Asiatic: Egyptian, Cushitic, Semitic, Omotic, Chad, Berber. Agriculture,
pastoralism and state societies. Read Sea hills originary area.
b. KhoiSan: `Click’ languages with approx. 250 000 speakers. East African origins.
Gatherer-hunters and pastoralists.
c. Niger-Congo: 1436 languages – largest family in world. Bantu, Mande, Dogon, Krue,
Benue, Congo. Glotto-chronology back to 17 000 years ago.
d. Nilo-Saharan: Songhay, Sahara, Maba, Fur, East Sudanic (Waasai, Dinka, Nuer),
Central Sudanic, Berta Kunama, Koman, Gumuz, Kuliak. Eastern southern Sahara
originary area. At least 12 000 glotto-chronology. Hunter-gatherers; pastoralist and
agriculturist. .Various originary areas – Sudan – Mali with southwards Bantu extension.
Hunter-gatherers, agriculturalist and state societies.
History has given a false impression that Africa was isolated from the rest of the world.
In fact Africa borrowed from other continents for innovations in agriculture and material
Languages
-Just like there are many languages spoken in the United States, many languages and
dialects are spoken in Africa. There are over 1,000 languages spoken in Africa! Some
are linked to the earliest communications between humans, while others remain as
evidence of colonists: English French, Portugese, and Arabic are official languages of
many of the countries in Africa.
- The linguistic diversity of Africa is considered by some to be a problem for its people.
For example, estimates range from as low as 800 to just over 2,000 languages spoken
within the continent. In fact, there still exist some languages with no writing systems.
- what need is served by the study of languages? Language can reveal much about
historical and sociological factors related to the extension and diffusion of cultures.
- linguistic similarities (ex. ‘water’)
• Metsi in Setswana
• Maji in Swahili
- Africanisms in the English language
• Voodoo (“witchcraft”)
• something smells ‘funky’ (Ki-Kongo word for a bad odor ‘lu-fuki’)
• boogie (-woogie) “fast blues music’: (Mandingo bugB “to beat drums”)
• hip, hep “well informed, alert, aware of what’s going on” (Wolof hipi “to open
one’s eyes, be aware of what’s going on)
• cat “man, fellow” from Wolof Kat “denoting person as final element in compound”
(e.g. hipi-kat, hep cat)
• zombie “ghost, raised corpse” from Kindundu nzumbi “ghost”
• okay, O.K. (Mande oke “all right” and Wolof waw kay “all correct’)
• banana (Wolof word for “fruit”)
- Texas longhorn cattle breed brought with slaves (many Fulani) to herd cattle
• many cowboys in the west were black
• term “boy” given to slaves was eventually combined with “cow” since this was the
main duty of the slaves
African languages (4 phyla)
a. Afro-Asiatic: Egyptian, Cushitic, Semitic, Omotic, Chad, Berber. Agriculture,
pastoralism and state societies. Read Sea hills originary area.
b. KhoiSan: `Click’ languages with approx. 250 000 speakers. East African origins.
Gatherer-hunters and pastoralists.
c. Niger-Congo: 1436 languages – largest family in world. Bantu, Mande, Dogon, Krue,
Benue, Congo. Glotto-chronology back to 17 000 years ago.
d. Nilo-Saharan: Songhay, Sahara, Maba, Fur, East Sudanic (Waasai, Dinka, Nuer),
Central Sudanic, Berta Kunama, Koman, Gumuz, Kuliak. Eastern southern Sahara
originary area. At least 12 000 glotto-chronology. Hunter-gatherers; pastoralist and
agriculturist. .Various originary areas – Sudan – Mali with southwards Bantu extension.
Hunter-gatherers, agriculturalist and state societies.
History has given a false impression that Africa was isolated from the rest of the world.
In fact Africa borrowed from other continents for innovations in agriculture and material
19
technology. As early as the first millennium, long before Europeans began establishing
colonies, Africans were trading over the Indian Ocean with Arabia, India, Persia, and
China. They exported gold and other commodities across the Sahara Desert to Europe.
Europe and the Middle East were in contact with Africa, exchanging scholars and ideas.
And the rest of the world?
Pyramids 4500 years ago Maya pyramids 1500 years ago
Europe has no metal
Corn domesticated in Mexico
Great Zimbabwe 900-1450 AD/CE Dark ages in Europe
Zen Buddhism (c.1200)
Gunpowder in China (c.1150)
Slave trade 15
th
– 19
th
centuries Industrial Revolution 1760-1830
(1400s – 1800s) US Dec Independence 1776
Shaka Zulu rules 1816-1828
General
Use 6
th
-grade black/white T-shirt, race example.
Alert class of need for final group project and to identify partners.
Punchy intro, summary conclusion.
Structure and methodical.
Superimpose USA onto Africa (page 19 of Bohannan and Curtin).
Use OHT of Africa on whiteboard and write onto it ecological zones etc.
R Kelley jungle-studio example.
`Hippopotamus’ = `river horse’ but more closely related to whale.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 1
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme; and
Admin/paperwork.
technology. As early as the first millennium, long before Europeans began establishing
colonies, Africans were trading over the Indian Ocean with Arabia, India, Persia, and
China. They exported gold and other commodities across the Sahara Desert to Europe.
Europe and the Middle East were in contact with Africa, exchanging scholars and ideas.
And the rest of the world?
Pyramids 4500 years ago Maya pyramids 1500 years ago
Europe has no metal
Corn domesticated in Mexico
Great Zimbabwe 900-1450 AD/CE Dark ages in Europe
Zen Buddhism (c.1200)
Gunpowder in China (c.1150)
Slave trade 15
th
– 19
th
centuries Industrial Revolution 1760-1830
(1400s – 1800s) US Dec Independence 1776
Shaka Zulu rules 1816-1828
General
Use 6
th
-grade black/white T-shirt, race example.
Alert class of need for final group project and to identify partners.
Punchy intro, summary conclusion.
Structure and methodical.
Superimpose USA onto Africa (page 19 of Bohannan and Curtin).
Use OHT of Africa on whiteboard and write onto it ecological zones etc.
R Kelley jungle-studio example.
`Hippopotamus’ = `river horse’ but more closely related to whale.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 1
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme; and
Admin/paperwork.
20
In class
1. Trust account withdrawal forms : Students fill in name, CDC#, housing, signature,
number written on item, title and value of item.
2. Distribute notebooks, folders, pencils from Class Box. Chalk, dry erase markers
3. Attendance roster: Roll. Newbies - Add Form. Opt-outs - Drop Form. Feb 11 Deadline.
4. Pre-Release Academic Advising: On Thursday eves for all inmates. For studies after
parole – distribute Sign up sheet.
5. Friday tutorial 10:30-14:30 and 18:20-20:45 sign-up.
6. Introduce selves, outline course, give rules. Assignments – in writing - given by 18:45.
7. 18:45 Close B students leave.
After class
1.Attendance roster, Add/Drop form, Pre-Release Programme sign-up & Tutorial sign-up
to Jody/NicoleSign in sheets to Jody/Nicole Box.
In class
1. Trust account withdrawal forms : Students fill in name, CDC#, housing, signature,
number written on item, title and value of item.
2. Distribute notebooks, folders, pencils from Class Box. Chalk, dry erase markers
3. Attendance roster: Roll. Newbies - Add Form. Opt-outs - Drop Form. Feb 11 Deadline.
4. Pre-Release Academic Advising: On Thursday eves for all inmates. For studies after
parole – distribute Sign up sheet.
5. Friday tutorial 10:30-14:30 and 18:20-20:45 sign-up.
6. Introduce selves, outline course, give rules. Assignments – in writing - given by 18:45.
7. 18:45 Close B students leave.
After class
1.Attendance roster, Add/Drop form, Pre-Release Programme sign-up & Tutorial sign-up
to Jody/NicoleSign in sheets to Jody/Nicole Box.
21
2. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and
Africa represented?
28 & 30 January
Lesson aim
1. To introduce the histories, basic techniques, methods, assumptions and theoretical
orientations of anthropology, archaeology and history.
2. Discuss principles of stratigraphy, excavation, dating techniques, how to make a multi-
stranded argument.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins for map quiz on 28
th
and 15 mins handback and review on 30th.
2. Examine the histories of anthropology, archaeology and history.
3. Consider the benefits and drawbacks of different evidence (artefactual, oral, written).
4. Take key sites like the Egyptian pyramids, Great Zimbabwe, a San rock painting
shelter, a European colonial settlement and examine how anthropology, archaeology
and history would investigate each site.
5. Author 411 – who is doing this writing?
6. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 1-5 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; Pages 1-11 of Phillipson’s
African archaeology; Introduction to David Lowenthal’s 1985. The past is a foreign
country; pages 17-45 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans Introduction to David
Lowenthal’s 1985. The past is a foreign country. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press; and introduction to Victor Mudimbe’s. 1994. The idea of Africa. Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press.
2. OHT visuals of sites, artefacts, archaeologists.
3. Glossary of commonly-used terms.
For next week
1. Assign pages 6-17 of Iliffe’s Africans the history of a continent for next week.
2. Assign Curtin, Philip, D. 1974 [1964]. Precolonial African history. Washington, D.C.:
American Historical Association Pamphlets 501: 3-66 for next week.
3. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 1).
Reading load: 75 pages.
Notes
History
• `Started’ by Herodotus of Halicarnassas (then Greek, town ruled by Persians
now Bodrum, Turkey). Born approx 484 BC died 425 BC (explain BC and time).
• Prominent family and travelled widely in Mediterranean. Well-educated.
• Revolutionary and then moved Athens, where literary talents feted. But not a
citizen so moved to southern Italy in hope of attaining citizen’s rights.
• Works on his 9-volume `histories’ (inquiry’ in the Greek). Mostly about Persian-
Greek conflict. (links to Lowenthal’s uses/abuses of history).
• Cicero called him the `Father of History’; others called him the `Father of Lies’.
2. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and
Africa represented?
28 & 30 January
Lesson aim
1. To introduce the histories, basic techniques, methods, assumptions and theoretical
orientations of anthropology, archaeology and history.
2. Discuss principles of stratigraphy, excavation, dating techniques, how to make a multi-
stranded argument.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins for map quiz on 28
th
and 15 mins handback and review on 30th.
2. Examine the histories of anthropology, archaeology and history.
3. Consider the benefits and drawbacks of different evidence (artefactual, oral, written).
4. Take key sites like the Egyptian pyramids, Great Zimbabwe, a San rock painting
shelter, a European colonial settlement and examine how anthropology, archaeology
and history would investigate each site.
5. Author 411 – who is doing this writing?
6. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 1-5 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; Pages 1-11 of Phillipson’s
African archaeology; Introduction to David Lowenthal’s 1985. The past is a foreign
country; pages 17-45 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans Introduction to David
Lowenthal’s 1985. The past is a foreign country. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press; and introduction to Victor Mudimbe’s. 1994. The idea of Africa. Bloomington, IN:
Indiana University Press.
2. OHT visuals of sites, artefacts, archaeologists.
3. Glossary of commonly-used terms.
For next week
1. Assign pages 6-17 of Iliffe’s Africans the history of a continent for next week.
2. Assign Curtin, Philip, D. 1974 [1964]. Precolonial African history. Washington, D.C.:
American Historical Association Pamphlets 501: 3-66 for next week.
3. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 1).
Reading load: 75 pages.
Notes
History
• `Started’ by Herodotus of Halicarnassas (then Greek, town ruled by Persians
now Bodrum, Turkey). Born approx 484 BC died 425 BC (explain BC and time).
• Prominent family and travelled widely in Mediterranean. Well-educated.
• Revolutionary and then moved Athens, where literary talents feted. But not a
citizen so moved to southern Italy in hope of attaining citizen’s rights.
• Works on his 9-volume `histories’ (inquiry’ in the Greek). Mostly about Persian-
Greek conflict. (links to Lowenthal’s uses/abuses of history).
• Cicero called him the `Father of History’; others called him the `Father of Lies’.
22
• Query: Is history specific to Greek/Persians from 5
th
century?
Methodology
Direct Historical Method – work from known – unknown; present to past. `Logos’. Source
materials – written sources prime (papyrus, stone, clay tablets – pre-cuneiform @ 5500
years ago; Heiroglyphs 3300 BC; Shang dynasty China @ 1700 BC – and maybe 8600
year-old bone symbols). What about maker’s marks? Andean string `documents’.
History, pre and proto-history. Need to cross-reference within and between texts and
with other data sources. Both direct and indirect source. Can use structures
(architecture) and some oral interviewing. Linking objects and documents (i.e. to
establish provenance). Importance of `close’ reading.
Strengths: Detailed. Emic. Authored. Familiar. Durable (?). Influential. Tells a good
story. Don’t have to go `there’ – can study from a distance.
Weaknesses: Bias. Pencil and pen of the conqueror and the vanquished. Words written
down from an oral tradition or long after an event. Big man and singular event history.
Partial recording. Different priorities. Different understanding of reality, myth, reliability.
Used as a marker for `civilisation’. Cultural ontogeny.
Anthropology
- four field tradition: archaeology (study of human cultures and societies of the past
through recovery and interpretation of the remains of material culture and their contexts),
linguistics (focus on language), biological (grounded in natural sciences and medicine;
human evolution, primatology, human genetics, human physical growth, human
ecology), cultural (contemporary human society, make sense of behaviors seen as
bizarre by outsiders, comparative method to avoid ethnocentrism; participant
observation; informants)
- Emic (insiders view; how people think, perceive their world and interpret their culture)
versus Etic (outsiders view; the ethnographer tries to objectively interpret cultural traits
with cross-cultural comparisons)
- Developed by university-trained anthropologists to succeed amateur interests
represented by the Bureau of American Ethnology, local ethnological and folklore
societies and museums
- began as historical inquiry
- Rousseau’s ‘Noble savage’ (1762): view of the savage as innocent and free
- Darwin’s Origin of the Species (1859)
- Savagery, barbarism, civilization
-BAE: gov’t. dept established in 1879 after it was argued that studying Native Americans
would make it easier to deal with them
- debate over whether the goal of American anthropology was explanation or
interpretation
- trends/phases
• 1) (1851-1889) ethnology practiced mainly by the Bureau of American
Ethnology: long periods of fieldwork among Native Americans, artifacts and texts
• Query: Is history specific to Greek/Persians from 5
th
century?
Methodology
Direct Historical Method – work from known – unknown; present to past. `Logos’. Source
materials – written sources prime (papyrus, stone, clay tablets – pre-cuneiform @ 5500
years ago; Heiroglyphs 3300 BC; Shang dynasty China @ 1700 BC – and maybe 8600
year-old bone symbols). What about maker’s marks? Andean string `documents’.
History, pre and proto-history. Need to cross-reference within and between texts and
with other data sources. Both direct and indirect source. Can use structures
(architecture) and some oral interviewing. Linking objects and documents (i.e. to
establish provenance). Importance of `close’ reading.
Strengths: Detailed. Emic. Authored. Familiar. Durable (?). Influential. Tells a good
story. Don’t have to go `there’ – can study from a distance.
Weaknesses: Bias. Pencil and pen of the conqueror and the vanquished. Words written
down from an oral tradition or long after an event. Big man and singular event history.
Partial recording. Different priorities. Different understanding of reality, myth, reliability.
Used as a marker for `civilisation’. Cultural ontogeny.
Anthropology
- four field tradition: archaeology (study of human cultures and societies of the past
through recovery and interpretation of the remains of material culture and their contexts),
linguistics (focus on language), biological (grounded in natural sciences and medicine;
human evolution, primatology, human genetics, human physical growth, human
ecology), cultural (contemporary human society, make sense of behaviors seen as
bizarre by outsiders, comparative method to avoid ethnocentrism; participant
observation; informants)
- Emic (insiders view; how people think, perceive their world and interpret their culture)
versus Etic (outsiders view; the ethnographer tries to objectively interpret cultural traits
with cross-cultural comparisons)
- Developed by university-trained anthropologists to succeed amateur interests
represented by the Bureau of American Ethnology, local ethnological and folklore
societies and museums
- began as historical inquiry
- Rousseau’s ‘Noble savage’ (1762): view of the savage as innocent and free
- Darwin’s Origin of the Species (1859)
- Savagery, barbarism, civilization
-BAE: gov’t. dept established in 1879 after it was argued that studying Native Americans
would make it easier to deal with them
- debate over whether the goal of American anthropology was explanation or
interpretation
- trends/phases
• 1) (1851-1889) ethnology practiced mainly by the Bureau of American
Ethnology: long periods of fieldwork among Native Americans, artifacts and texts
23
collected; believed that deteriorating demographic and material conditions on the
reservations necessitated a form of ‘salvage anthropology’ since the Indian way
of life was quickly disappearing
• 2) (1890-1940) academic anthropology established; concept of ‘culture’
articulated by Boas and developed by his students (Mead, Lowie, Kroeber,
Sapir), replacing the earlier emphasis on ‘society’; four-field approach developed
to reconstruct the disappearing Native American cultures (influenced by German
ethnology; Boasian period); influence of British social anthropology added
attention to kinship and social organization
• Boas attempted to distance themselves from evolutionary i deas;
ethnocentrism; detailed research into culture and variation between cultures;
realization that cultures are being studies in a historical context
• Lowie (Boas’s first PhD student) & Kroeber helped establish the Berkeley
anthro dept.; fieldwork among native California and Plains groups
• 3) (1940-1964) movement beyond science to a domination by i deas of
economics, sociology and political science; change in methodology: began to
study contemporary conditions on reservations, questioned generalizations by
sociologists and political scientists about United States society; expansion of
overseas fieldwork leading to questioning of tradition, modernization, continuity
and change; 50s and 60s influence of Francophone scholars; culture history,
cultural ecology
• 4) (1965) increased specialization and contestation of the interrelationship
among the four fields; development of new groups (ex. medical, urban, visual)
- post 1960: emergence of humankind (biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics):
connections to tool-making and tool use, forms of social organization and language;
cultural transformation (archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnography): shifts in food
production, trade and growth of cities
-Wilmsen’s Land Filled with Flies (1989): key text in the four-field approach; used
archaeological, archival, linguistic, biological and ethnographic evidence to refute
analytically closed-system approaches of structuralists and cultural ecologists (view of
!Kung as a contemporary instance of remote way of life of hunter-gatherers); Wilmsen
found them to have had a long history of regional and transcontinental trade; entrenched
ideology in modern society perpetuated their dispossession and rural underclass status
- Africa
• early ethnography: classical Greek and Arab sources, Europea n
navigators
• second half of 19th c: daily records of explorers, colonial administrators,
missionaries (uncritical, distorted by stereotyped prejudices)
• ex. Great Lakes kingdoms of Buganda, Rwanda and Burundi: eff icient
bureaucracy impressed Europeans so much that they became seen as heirs of a
mythical empire founded by the Bacwezi, a superior race of ‘whitish’ immigrants
• “Curse of Central Africa” (1903, Captain Guy Burrows, district
commissioner in the Congo Free State) (p 212) “That the native thinks there is no
harm in cannibalism there can be no doubt. It comes as natural to him to eat the
flesh of a human being as it does to Europeans to eat beef or mutton; and he
certainly emphasizes the point that the flesh of man is superior to that of other
collected; believed that deteriorating demographic and material conditions on the
reservations necessitated a form of ‘salvage anthropology’ since the Indian way
of life was quickly disappearing
• 2) (1890-1940) academic anthropology established; concept of ‘culture’
articulated by Boas and developed by his students (Mead, Lowie, Kroeber,
Sapir), replacing the earlier emphasis on ‘society’; four-field approach developed
to reconstruct the disappearing Native American cultures (influenced by German
ethnology; Boasian period); influence of British social anthropology added
attention to kinship and social organization
• Boas attempted to distance themselves from evolutionary i deas;
ethnocentrism; detailed research into culture and variation between cultures;
realization that cultures are being studies in a historical context
• Lowie (Boas’s first PhD student) & Kroeber helped establish the Berkeley
anthro dept.; fieldwork among native California and Plains groups
• 3) (1940-1964) movement beyond science to a domination by i deas of
economics, sociology and political science; change in methodology: began to
study contemporary conditions on reservations, questioned generalizations by
sociologists and political scientists about United States society; expansion of
overseas fieldwork leading to questioning of tradition, modernization, continuity
and change; 50s and 60s influence of Francophone scholars; culture history,
cultural ecology
• 4) (1965) increased specialization and contestation of the interrelationship
among the four fields; development of new groups (ex. medical, urban, visual)
- post 1960: emergence of humankind (biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics):
connections to tool-making and tool use, forms of social organization and language;
cultural transformation (archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnography): shifts in food
production, trade and growth of cities
-Wilmsen’s Land Filled with Flies (1989): key text in the four-field approach; used
archaeological, archival, linguistic, biological and ethnographic evidence to refute
analytically closed-system approaches of structuralists and cultural ecologists (view of
!Kung as a contemporary instance of remote way of life of hunter-gatherers); Wilmsen
found them to have had a long history of regional and transcontinental trade; entrenched
ideology in modern society perpetuated their dispossession and rural underclass status
- Africa
• early ethnography: classical Greek and Arab sources, Europea n
navigators
• second half of 19th c: daily records of explorers, colonial administrators,
missionaries (uncritical, distorted by stereotyped prejudices)
• ex. Great Lakes kingdoms of Buganda, Rwanda and Burundi: eff icient
bureaucracy impressed Europeans so much that they became seen as heirs of a
mythical empire founded by the Bacwezi, a superior race of ‘whitish’ immigrants
• “Curse of Central Africa” (1903, Captain Guy Burrows, district
commissioner in the Congo Free State) (p 212) “That the native thinks there is no
harm in cannibalism there can be no doubt. It comes as natural to him to eat the
flesh of a human being as it does to Europeans to eat beef or mutton; and he
certainly emphasizes the point that the flesh of man is superior to that of other
24
animals. He prefers that of the white man to the black, because Europeans are
accustomed to the habitual use of salt, which of course the native does not use.”
• Romantic fictions of Laurens van der Post in “The Lost World of the
Kalahari” (1958)
• intense study of Kalahari groups: thought that insights from contemporary
hunter-gatherer groups could help to develop models for the evolution of human
behavior, egalitarianism
• religion conceived as magic and condemned by missionaries as pagan
superstition; later approached in terms of cosmological ideas and philosophy
(est. in 1969 of a chair of African Religions and Philosophy at a university in
Uganda, John Mditi)
• recent focus on rituals leading to reinforced traditions, traditional medicine
(WHO)
• development of African Independent Churches: initially studied as a
reaction to racial discrimination, recent studies emphasize their ability to help
with African struggles to cope with a demanding urban environment
- sketchy roots (race, savagery/civilization) to study of the creation of these systems and
interest in the history of anthropology (American interest)
-Ethics in anthropology
• Do no harm
• An anthropologist has an ethical obligation to the people, animals and materials
he or she studies
• Must respect their safety, privacy and dignity
• Anthropologists are responsible for the integrity and reputation of their discipline
• They should do all they can to preserve opportunities for future field work
• They should share their findings with the scientific community
- Responsibility to the public
• Anthropologists should make their results available to sponsors, students and
other non-anthropologists
• They need to consider the social and political implications of their work
Archaeology
Archaeology is the study of the past.
Archaeo means old, and ology is loosely translated as "the study of".
Literally, archaeology is the study of old things.
And things are a major part of it. We, as archaeologists study, the things people made,
used, modified, and ultimately left behind. Most of what we find is the residue of daily
life. This is what we call material culture. These are usually mundane things like
pottery, not treasure. Indian Jones example.
Archaeology and its ties to Anthropology and History
animals. He prefers that of the white man to the black, because Europeans are
accustomed to the habitual use of salt, which of course the native does not use.”
• Romantic fictions of Laurens van der Post in “The Lost World of the
Kalahari” (1958)
• intense study of Kalahari groups: thought that insights from contemporary
hunter-gatherer groups could help to develop models for the evolution of human
behavior, egalitarianism
• religion conceived as magic and condemned by missionaries as pagan
superstition; later approached in terms of cosmological ideas and philosophy
(est. in 1969 of a chair of African Religions and Philosophy at a university in
Uganda, John Mditi)
• recent focus on rituals leading to reinforced traditions, traditional medicine
(WHO)
• development of African Independent Churches: initially studied as a
reaction to racial discrimination, recent studies emphasize their ability to help
with African struggles to cope with a demanding urban environment
- sketchy roots (race, savagery/civilization) to study of the creation of these systems and
interest in the history of anthropology (American interest)
-Ethics in anthropology
• Do no harm
• An anthropologist has an ethical obligation to the people, animals and materials
he or she studies
• Must respect their safety, privacy and dignity
• Anthropologists are responsible for the integrity and reputation of their discipline
• They should do all they can to preserve opportunities for future field work
• They should share their findings with the scientific community
- Responsibility to the public
• Anthropologists should make their results available to sponsors, students and
other non-anthropologists
• They need to consider the social and political implications of their work
Archaeology
Archaeology is the study of the past.
Archaeo means old, and ology is loosely translated as "the study of".
Literally, archaeology is the study of old things.
And things are a major part of it. We, as archaeologists study, the things people made,
used, modified, and ultimately left behind. Most of what we find is the residue of daily
life. This is what we call material culture. These are usually mundane things like
pottery, not treasure. Indian Jones example.
Archaeology and its ties to Anthropology and History
25
Anthropology:
In North America, archaeology is usually taught in anthropology departments, and most
archaeologists would consider themselves anthropological archaeologists. Archaeology
after all, is the study of mankind, from its earliest manifestations onward.
As we talked about in the lecture on anthropology, archaeology is one of the four main
subdivisions of anthropology: Archaeology, socio-cultural, linguistic, and physical.
In this class, we will be looking closely at archaeology as well as physical anthropology
(which can be defined as the study of the human body, how it works and how it evolved).
Much of the physical anthropological evidence we will be looking at are those of those
pertaining to human evolution thousands, even millions of years ago. This part of
physical anthropology, often called paleo-anthropology, overlaps greatly with
archaeology, especially in terms of methods used by researchers. More on that later,
History: Both archaeology and history are interested in the past, but as we talked about,
history is its own discipline separate from archaeology.
Historians rely primarily on texts (remember Herodotus?), whereas archaeologists rely
primarily on material remains, such as stone tools, pottery, animal bones, and even
human skeletons.
Archaeologists also use texts and oral traditions where available (examples: colonial
stuff). In terms of Africa, we look at texts, oral traditions, linguistics, and ethnography, to
better understand ancient history. but in many cases, especially for ancient history,
physical evidence is all we have to go on.
Historical bias: focus on elites through most documents (colonial examples).
Archaeology has its own methodological problems, We'll get to that later…
Recently, many archaeologists looking at historical periods=> Historical Archaeology.
Problem with Prehistory/history divide. Africa example.
Archaeology also has close ties to classical studies (ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt),
geography, and many natural sciences. For this class, mostly looking at History,
Anthropology, and Archaeology, but some of the other things may come up as well.
First, a little history of archaeology:
Archaeology basically started from antiquarianism.
In Europe, this was fostered by a longstanding interest in the classical world.
For example, one of the earliest, and most famous archaeological digs was Heinrich
Schliemann's excavations in the 1870s of what he thought was Troy.
People initially excavated sites for objects to sell or to display in museums, though they
didn't always use controlled excavation techniques.
In the US, archaeology had its roots in a similar fascination with the remains of Native
American cultures. Parallel between the mound-builder myth and the great Zimbabwe.
Thomas Jefferson excavated an "Indian mound" in 1784.
Anthropology:
In North America, archaeology is usually taught in anthropology departments, and most
archaeologists would consider themselves anthropological archaeologists. Archaeology
after all, is the study of mankind, from its earliest manifestations onward.
As we talked about in the lecture on anthropology, archaeology is one of the four main
subdivisions of anthropology: Archaeology, socio-cultural, linguistic, and physical.
In this class, we will be looking closely at archaeology as well as physical anthropology
(which can be defined as the study of the human body, how it works and how it evolved).
Much of the physical anthropological evidence we will be looking at are those of those
pertaining to human evolution thousands, even millions of years ago. This part of
physical anthropology, often called paleo-anthropology, overlaps greatly with
archaeology, especially in terms of methods used by researchers. More on that later,
History: Both archaeology and history are interested in the past, but as we talked about,
history is its own discipline separate from archaeology.
Historians rely primarily on texts (remember Herodotus?), whereas archaeologists rely
primarily on material remains, such as stone tools, pottery, animal bones, and even
human skeletons.
Archaeologists also use texts and oral traditions where available (examples: colonial
stuff). In terms of Africa, we look at texts, oral traditions, linguistics, and ethnography, to
better understand ancient history. but in many cases, especially for ancient history,
physical evidence is all we have to go on.
Historical bias: focus on elites through most documents (colonial examples).
Archaeology has its own methodological problems, We'll get to that later…
Recently, many archaeologists looking at historical periods=> Historical Archaeology.
Problem with Prehistory/history divide. Africa example.
Archaeology also has close ties to classical studies (ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt),
geography, and many natural sciences. For this class, mostly looking at History,
Anthropology, and Archaeology, but some of the other things may come up as well.
First, a little history of archaeology:
Archaeology basically started from antiquarianism.
In Europe, this was fostered by a longstanding interest in the classical world.
For example, one of the earliest, and most famous archaeological digs was Heinrich
Schliemann's excavations in the 1870s of what he thought was Troy.
People initially excavated sites for objects to sell or to display in museums, though they
didn't always use controlled excavation techniques.
In the US, archaeology had its roots in a similar fascination with the remains of Native
American cultures. Parallel between the mound-builder myth and the great Zimbabwe.
Thomas Jefferson excavated an "Indian mound" in 1784.
26
As archaeology became more professional, around in the early part of the twentieth
century, people became interested in what is called "culture history". This was a project
intended to track the different cultures of the world through time and space.
After WWII, archaeology sought to understand the past scientifically. This meant not the
reconstruction or interpretation of the history of a specific people, but rather the use of
the archaeological record as laboratory in which we could test generalizing hypotheses
about all of humanity.
Underlying this was an evolutionary framework, in which cultures over time became
more complex. Such evolutionary thinking was implicit in a lot of earlier archaeology and
anthropology, but during the 1960s and 70s, it became mutated into different forms.
Tribes, bands, chiefdoms, states. Systems theory, etc (probably don't need to spend
much time on this).
Today, people are taking a more contextual approach. Less concerned with the ability to
generalize, and more engaged with descendant communities and the public at large.
The point is not for you to know the precise history of archaeology, but to see that the
field has changed dramatically over the last 100 years and that it is subject to more
change in the future. The schools we attend, the people we work with, and the theories
we hold about the way the world works, all play a role in how we interpret the past.
Archaeologists don't have a monopoly on the truth, we just act like we do.
The take home message is basically that the way we view the world today shapes the
way we view past worlds.
METHODOLOGY:
Archaeology isn't just digging, and even in cases when excavation does take place, it is
a pretty small component of the overall research project.
Research design.
The first thing that an archaeologist needs to do before starting a project is to come up
with a research design. Most archaeology is by nature destructive, and once you dig a
site, you can't undo it. So you need to think about what you're doing and why you are
doing it before you begin.
Survey.
This is the finding of sites. Sure, the pyramids, and the Great Zimbabwe are pretty easy
to find, but what about a temporary hunting camps that was used 10,000 years ago?
There are number of ways to find sites, and most people use a combination of the
following:
Interviews (avocational archs, property owners, residents, oral histories, etc).
Remote sensing (aerial photos, GPR, metal detector, etc).
Pedestrian survey, subsurface testing
Excavation:
Once you decide where to excavate, you need to decide what to excavate.
As archaeology became more professional, around in the early part of the twentieth
century, people became interested in what is called "culture history". This was a project
intended to track the different cultures of the world through time and space.
After WWII, archaeology sought to understand the past scientifically. This meant not the
reconstruction or interpretation of the history of a specific people, but rather the use of
the archaeological record as laboratory in which we could test generalizing hypotheses
about all of humanity.
Underlying this was an evolutionary framework, in which cultures over time became
more complex. Such evolutionary thinking was implicit in a lot of earlier archaeology and
anthropology, but during the 1960s and 70s, it became mutated into different forms.
Tribes, bands, chiefdoms, states. Systems theory, etc (probably don't need to spend
much time on this).
Today, people are taking a more contextual approach. Less concerned with the ability to
generalize, and more engaged with descendant communities and the public at large.
The point is not for you to know the precise history of archaeology, but to see that the
field has changed dramatically over the last 100 years and that it is subject to more
change in the future. The schools we attend, the people we work with, and the theories
we hold about the way the world works, all play a role in how we interpret the past.
Archaeologists don't have a monopoly on the truth, we just act like we do.
The take home message is basically that the way we view the world today shapes the
way we view past worlds.
METHODOLOGY:
Archaeology isn't just digging, and even in cases when excavation does take place, it is
a pretty small component of the overall research project.
Research design.
The first thing that an archaeologist needs to do before starting a project is to come up
with a research design. Most archaeology is by nature destructive, and once you dig a
site, you can't undo it. So you need to think about what you're doing and why you are
doing it before you begin.
Survey.
This is the finding of sites. Sure, the pyramids, and the Great Zimbabwe are pretty easy
to find, but what about a temporary hunting camps that was used 10,000 years ago?
There are number of ways to find sites, and most people use a combination of the
following:
Interviews (avocational archs, property owners, residents, oral histories, etc).
Remote sensing (aerial photos, GPR, metal detector, etc).
Pedestrian survey, subsurface testing
Excavation:
Once you decide where to excavate, you need to decide what to excavate.
27
Most archaeologists usually excavate a sample of the site, rather than the whole thing.
Many times people do a random sample in the hopes that it will be representative of the
whole (maybe do an illustration).
But other times you may know that you want to excavate a particular part of a site. This
is called a non-random or judgmental sample.
Preservation:
Different types of materials last longer in the ground than others. Stone tools will last a
lot longer that plant remains. Especially true for wet climates or soils with high acidity.
Talk about what might preserve best in different African settings.
Also, terms like "stone age" leave out all sorts of other items people would've been using
that simply didn't last archaeologically…
Context
It is incredibly important that artifacts discovered in excavation can be interpreted
through their depositional context. So a lot of the information that we can get from an
artifact depends on where it was found. We use the word provenience to refer to the
location where an artifact was found. Here, recording is key. Lots of paperwork.
Stratigraphy (layers)
One of the most important things that archaeologists record about an artifact's context is
its stratigraphic provenience, ie where it was found underground. This is important for
interpretation and also for dating. Usually artifacts found nearer to the surface were
deposited more recently than those further underground. Illustration. Exceptions: pits,
disturbance, etc. Law of superposition.
DATING:
Archaeologists refer to relative and absolute dating.
The law of superposition is an example of relative dating. Illustration: artifact A is older
than artifact B.
Another example of relative dating is cross dating. Common in paleontological studies
(reference fossils). Site A is older than site B. But we don't know by how much.
Absolute dating: This means getting the precise date of the artifact or site, in terms of
calendrical dates. Also called chronometric dating.
14
C / Carbon-14 Method of dating organic remains through a radioactive carbon
isotope. Effective until about 40 000 years back. Carbon-14 has a half life of 5730 years.
Potassium Argon: used mostly for dating volcanic materials that go back between 1
and 5 million years. Used frequently in East Africa in paleoanthropological research.
Obsidian Hydration: This technique measures a thin layer of water that begins to
adhere to the surface of obsidian after it is first exposed to air (after it is flaked).
Dendrochronology: Based on tree rings, measurement and patterns of growth. Can go
back hundreds of years in arid regions, where old wood is well preserved (not used
much in Africa).
Most archaeologists usually excavate a sample of the site, rather than the whole thing.
Many times people do a random sample in the hopes that it will be representative of the
whole (maybe do an illustration).
But other times you may know that you want to excavate a particular part of a site. This
is called a non-random or judgmental sample.
Preservation:
Different types of materials last longer in the ground than others. Stone tools will last a
lot longer that plant remains. Especially true for wet climates or soils with high acidity.
Talk about what might preserve best in different African settings.
Also, terms like "stone age" leave out all sorts of other items people would've been using
that simply didn't last archaeologically…
Context
It is incredibly important that artifacts discovered in excavation can be interpreted
through their depositional context. So a lot of the information that we can get from an
artifact depends on where it was found. We use the word provenience to refer to the
location where an artifact was found. Here, recording is key. Lots of paperwork.
Stratigraphy (layers)
One of the most important things that archaeologists record about an artifact's context is
its stratigraphic provenience, ie where it was found underground. This is important for
interpretation and also for dating. Usually artifacts found nearer to the surface were
deposited more recently than those further underground. Illustration. Exceptions: pits,
disturbance, etc. Law of superposition.
DATING:
Archaeologists refer to relative and absolute dating.
The law of superposition is an example of relative dating. Illustration: artifact A is older
than artifact B.
Another example of relative dating is cross dating. Common in paleontological studies
(reference fossils). Site A is older than site B. But we don't know by how much.
Absolute dating: This means getting the precise date of the artifact or site, in terms of
calendrical dates. Also called chronometric dating.
14
C / Carbon-14 Method of dating organic remains through a radioactive carbon
isotope. Effective until about 40 000 years back. Carbon-14 has a half life of 5730 years.
Potassium Argon: used mostly for dating volcanic materials that go back between 1
and 5 million years. Used frequently in East Africa in paleoanthropological research.
Obsidian Hydration: This technique measures a thin layer of water that begins to
adhere to the surface of obsidian after it is first exposed to air (after it is flaked).
Dendrochronology: Based on tree rings, measurement and patterns of growth. Can go
back hundreds of years in arid regions, where old wood is well preserved (not used
much in Africa).
28
Glottochronology Determining the age of languages by comparing similarities and
differences between languages.
Other dating miscellaneous (from the Glossary):
BC AD Before Christ. Anno Domini - `in the year of our Lord’. Makes the
year 0 the hypothetical birth of Christ. Christian-centric.
BCE CE Before the Common Era. Common Era. More neutral than BC and
AD.
BP `Before present’. `Present’ = 1950, after which atomic rad iation
has major affect of
14
C readings.
c. / circa `c.’ is abbreviation for Latin `about’. Christ was born c. 0
BOTTOM LINE:
Archaeology is the only way to know about the majority of world history, but it only offers
us a limited view into this history (preservation issues, primarily an etic view, etc.).
Miscellania
Iliffe’s harsh environment vs Philipson’s stable environment vs Bohannan & Curtin’s
`poor soils’.
Arc as a `direct’ source rather than `indirect’ lingustics, oral histories, living societies.
First article on African archaeology Langham Dale’s 1869. On a collection of stone
implements from the Cape of Good Hope. xx
First African’s article – Ekpo Eyo’s 1974. xx. West African Journal of Archaeology.
First female African article – Alinah Segobye’s 1998 xx.
Origin of word `Africa
1. Our president once said, “ I am an Africa” which became the famous phrase used to
denote that someone is not ashamed of belonging to the continent “Africa”. I wonder, did
people ever ask themselves about the meaning and the origin of the word Africa?
Recent findings reveal that although the origin is uncertain but according to The
Crawfurd homepage there is credible connection of the word as originated from Latin
“Africa” which means sunny and even Greek word “Aphrike” which means not cold. The
two meanings are true of our continent and therefore may be true that the word is not
African. If this is true, then it becomes meaning less to cal, our continent Africa or even
our country South Africa. What then could we call South Africa, Azania? I suppose not
considering that even the origin of the word “Azania” maybe Greek or Arabic but not
“African”. Not to mention but a few other “African” countries whose names are of foreign
origin namely; Mozambique is Portuguese, Eritrea is Italian, Cameroon is Portuguese,
Ethiopia is Greek and the list is endless. http://blogspot.mg.co.za/?q=node/245
Glottochronology Determining the age of languages by comparing similarities and
differences between languages.
Other dating miscellaneous (from the Glossary):
BC AD Before Christ. Anno Domini - `in the year of our Lord’. Makes the
year 0 the hypothetical birth of Christ. Christian-centric.
BCE CE Before the Common Era. Common Era. More neutral than BC and
AD.
BP `Before present’. `Present’ = 1950, after which atomic rad iation
has major affect of
14
C readings.
c. / circa `c.’ is abbreviation for Latin `about’. Christ was born c. 0
BOTTOM LINE:
Archaeology is the only way to know about the majority of world history, but it only offers
us a limited view into this history (preservation issues, primarily an etic view, etc.).
Miscellania
Iliffe’s harsh environment vs Philipson’s stable environment vs Bohannan & Curtin’s
`poor soils’.
Arc as a `direct’ source rather than `indirect’ lingustics, oral histories, living societies.
First article on African archaeology Langham Dale’s 1869. On a collection of stone
implements from the Cape of Good Hope. xx
First African’s article – Ekpo Eyo’s 1974. xx. West African Journal of Archaeology.
First female African article – Alinah Segobye’s 1998 xx.
Origin of word `Africa
1. Our president once said, “ I am an Africa” which became the famous phrase used to
denote that someone is not ashamed of belonging to the continent “Africa”. I wonder, did
people ever ask themselves about the meaning and the origin of the word Africa?
Recent findings reveal that although the origin is uncertain but according to The
Crawfurd homepage there is credible connection of the word as originated from Latin
“Africa” which means sunny and even Greek word “Aphrike” which means not cold. The
two meanings are true of our continent and therefore may be true that the word is not
African. If this is true, then it becomes meaning less to cal, our continent Africa or even
our country South Africa. What then could we call South Africa, Azania? I suppose not
considering that even the origin of the word “Azania” maybe Greek or Arabic but not
“African”. Not to mention but a few other “African” countries whose names are of foreign
origin namely; Mozambique is Portuguese, Eritrea is Italian, Cameroon is Portuguese,
Ethiopia is Greek and the list is endless. http://blogspot.mg.co.za/?q=node/245
29
2. "Africa" is not an African word. The origin of the word is still a little uncertain, but it is
credible to see a connection from Latin (Africa = sunny) and Greek (Aphrike = not cold).
The Romans were the first to use the name. For them it covered Tunisia and the most
northern parts of Algeria and Libya. Egypt was already known territory, but further South
was unknown land. Around 2,000 years ago "Aethiopia" seems to have been used to
describe the land found south of Sahara, but Europeans later used "Africa" to describe
the entire continent. This is why we began to see Africa one land with only one kind of
people. Strangely enough it changed from the land of sunshine and warmth to "the dark
continent". The story is much more complex than that: a more fulfilling explanation can
be found in the excellent book "Wonders of the African World" by Dr. Henry Louis Gates,
Jr, which is also my source (see "shop now" box elsewhere on this pa ge).
http://crawfurd.dk/africa/word.htm
3. Posted by muhammad abdullah <[email protected]> on Wed, 25
Jun 2003, in response to Is there somebody who knows the origin of Alkebulan, posted
by kader on Wed, 18 Jun 2003 as-salamu-alaikum" " where does the word africa come
from?"-the origin of the word" africa"has been difficult to elucidatre.it became the
acepted term from roman times onwards in the form,' africa' re[lacing the originally greek
or egyptian word'libya',the land of the lebu or the lubins in genesis.from designating the
north african coast,the word ' africa' came to be applied to the whole continent from the
end of the first century before our era. but what was the original meaning of the
name?*the word ' africa' is thought to come from the name of a berber people who lived
to the south of carthage,the afarik or aourigha,whence afriga or africa to denote the land
of the afarik.*another derivation of the word africa is that it comes from two phoenician
terms,one of which means an ear of corn,a fertility symbol in that region,and the
other,pharika,means the land of fruit.*it is further suggested that the word comes from
the latin adjective aprica[sunny]or the greek aprike[free from cold].*another origin might
be the phoenician root faraq,which suggests the idea of separation or in other words
diaspora.it may be pointed out that the same root is to be found in some african
languages,for instance bambara.*in sanskrit and hindi the root apara or africa denotes
that which,in geographical terms,comes ' after,' in other words the west.africa is the
western continent.*an historical tradition subscribed to be leo africanus has it that a
yemenite chief named africus invaded north africa in the second millenium before our
era and founded a town called afrikyah.but it is more likely that the arabic term ifriqiya is
the arabic transliteration of the word' africa.'*one version even suggests that afer was a
grandson of abraham[ibrahim]pbuh and a companion of hercules.[from:general history of
africa[unesco]vol.1,general introduction by joseph ki zerbo,director of the vol.,p.21]insha-
Allah email my son to get sheikh muhammad sharef's email to add more insight to your
question.' [email protected] abdullah-p.o.box 338-compton,ca.90223
http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/messages/genbbs.cgi/AARA/1565
4a)The Afarak were a Berber people who lived south of Carthage.
b) The Latin word aprica means sunny, while the Greek aprike means “free from cold”.
c) In Sanskrit and Hindu, Apara or Africa means “in the West” (of India).
d) The Phoenician word Pharikia means “land of the fruit”.
2. "Africa" is not an African word. The origin of the word is still a little uncertain, but it is
credible to see a connection from Latin (Africa = sunny) and Greek (Aphrike = not cold).
The Romans were the first to use the name. For them it covered Tunisia and the most
northern parts of Algeria and Libya. Egypt was already known territory, but further South
was unknown land. Around 2,000 years ago "Aethiopia" seems to have been used to
describe the land found south of Sahara, but Europeans later used "Africa" to describe
the entire continent. This is why we began to see Africa one land with only one kind of
people. Strangely enough it changed from the land of sunshine and warmth to "the dark
continent". The story is much more complex than that: a more fulfilling explanation can
be found in the excellent book "Wonders of the African World" by Dr. Henry Louis Gates,
Jr, which is also my source (see "shop now" box elsewhere on this pa ge).
http://crawfurd.dk/africa/word.htm
3. Posted by muhammad abdullah <[email protected]> on Wed, 25
Jun 2003, in response to Is there somebody who knows the origin of Alkebulan, posted
by kader on Wed, 18 Jun 2003 as-salamu-alaikum" " where does the word africa come
from?"-the origin of the word" africa"has been difficult to elucidatre.it became the
acepted term from roman times onwards in the form,' africa' re[lacing the originally greek
or egyptian word'libya',the land of the lebu or the lubins in genesis.from designating the
north african coast,the word ' africa' came to be applied to the whole continent from the
end of the first century before our era. but what was the original meaning of the
name?*the word ' africa' is thought to come from the name of a berber people who lived
to the south of carthage,the afarik or aourigha,whence afriga or africa to denote the land
of the afarik.*another derivation of the word africa is that it comes from two phoenician
terms,one of which means an ear of corn,a fertility symbol in that region,and the
other,pharika,means the land of fruit.*it is further suggested that the word comes from
the latin adjective aprica[sunny]or the greek aprike[free from cold].*another origin might
be the phoenician root faraq,which suggests the idea of separation or in other words
diaspora.it may be pointed out that the same root is to be found in some african
languages,for instance bambara.*in sanskrit and hindi the root apara or africa denotes
that which,in geographical terms,comes ' after,' in other words the west.africa is the
western continent.*an historical tradition subscribed to be leo africanus has it that a
yemenite chief named africus invaded north africa in the second millenium before our
era and founded a town called afrikyah.but it is more likely that the arabic term ifriqiya is
the arabic transliteration of the word' africa.'*one version even suggests that afer was a
grandson of abraham[ibrahim]pbuh and a companion of hercules.[from:general history of
africa[unesco]vol.1,general introduction by joseph ki zerbo,director of the vol.,p.21]insha-
Allah email my son to get sheikh muhammad sharef's email to add more insight to your
question.' [email protected] abdullah-p.o.box 338-compton,ca.90223
http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/messages/genbbs.cgi/AARA/1565
4a)The Afarak were a Berber people who lived south of Carthage.
b) The Latin word aprica means sunny, while the Greek aprike means “free from cold”.
c) In Sanskrit and Hindu, Apara or Africa means “in the West” (of India).
d) The Phoenician word Pharikia means “land of the fruit”.
30
e) In the second millennium BC, a chief named Africus invaded North Africa — and
founded a town called Afrikya.
http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3057
Glossary
(add words that are new to you and look up their meanings)
14
C / Carbon-14 Method of dating organic remains through a radioactive carbon
isotope. Effective until about 40 000 years back.
Absolute dating Calendric dates – getting the precise age of an artifact or site.
Relative dating Dating artifacts/sites relative to other artifacts/sites. Older than or
younger than.
Africa Uncertain origin. Possibilities include:
a) The Latin word aprica meaning `sunny’
b) The Greek aprike meaning `free from cold’.
c) Sanskrit and Hindu, Apara/Africa means `in the West’ (of India).
d) The Phoenician word Pharikia meaning `land of the fruit’.
e) In the second millennium BC, a chief named Africus invaded
North Africa — and founded a town called Afrikya.
Analogy Similarity between two things. A heart is like a mechanical pump.
Anthropology Study of the origins of and relationships between human beings.
Derived from Latin `Anthropos’ for `human/people’ and Greek
`logos’ - `study’ of’.
Archaeology The study of material culture, especially of prehistoric people and
places.
Artifact A human-made object, usually old. Similar to `material culture’.
BC AD Before Christ. Anno Domini - `in the year of our Lord’. Makes the
year 0 the hypothetical birth of Christ. Christian-centric.
BCE CE Before the Common Era. Common Era. More neutral than BC and
AD.
BP `Before present’. `Present’ = 1950, after which atomic radia tion
has major affect of
14
C readings.
c. / circa `c.’ is abbreviation for Latin `about’. Christ was born c. 0
Demography The distribution of people and resources across a landscape.
Ethnography In-depth, qualitative social research.
Geology The history of the earth as recorded in rocks.
Glottochronology Determining the age of languages by comparing similarities and
differences between languages.
History All events from the past, leading to the present.
Holocene The last 10 000 years.
Iron Age Period when people made tools and artifacts from iron. U sually
the last few thousand years.
Lithic Stone, anything made of stone, like stone tools.
Material culture Objects that people make. Can be ancient or modern.
Prehistory Period before written history.
Palaeontology The study of non-human fossils.
Radiocarbon Same as
14
C and carbon-14.
Site A place where human activity has occurred. Usually marked b y
artifacts.
Stone Age Period when people used stone for tools. Did not work iron.
e) In the second millennium BC, a chief named Africus invaded North Africa — and
founded a town called Afrikya.
http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=3057
Glossary
(add words that are new to you and look up their meanings)
14
C / Carbon-14 Method of dating organic remains through a radioactive carbon
isotope. Effective until about 40 000 years back.
Absolute dating Calendric dates – getting the precise age of an artifact or site.
Relative dating Dating artifacts/sites relative to other artifacts/sites. Older than or
younger than.
Africa Uncertain origin. Possibilities include:
a) The Latin word aprica meaning `sunny’
b) The Greek aprike meaning `free from cold’.
c) Sanskrit and Hindu, Apara/Africa means `in the West’ (of India).
d) The Phoenician word Pharikia meaning `land of the fruit’.
e) In the second millennium BC, a chief named Africus invaded
North Africa — and founded a town called Afrikya.
Analogy Similarity between two things. A heart is like a mechanical pump.
Anthropology Study of the origins of and relationships between human beings.
Derived from Latin `Anthropos’ for `human/people’ and Greek
`logos’ - `study’ of’.
Archaeology The study of material culture, especially of prehistoric people and
places.
Artifact A human-made object, usually old. Similar to `material culture’.
BC AD Before Christ. Anno Domini - `in the year of our Lord’. Makes the
year 0 the hypothetical birth of Christ. Christian-centric.
BCE CE Before the Common Era. Common Era. More neutral than BC and
AD.
BP `Before present’. `Present’ = 1950, after which atomic radia tion
has major affect of
14
C readings.
c. / circa `c.’ is abbreviation for Latin `about’. Christ was born c. 0
Demography The distribution of people and resources across a landscape.
Ethnography In-depth, qualitative social research.
Geology The history of the earth as recorded in rocks.
Glottochronology Determining the age of languages by comparing similarities and
differences between languages.
History All events from the past, leading to the present.
Holocene The last 10 000 years.
Iron Age Period when people made tools and artifacts from iron. U sually
the last few thousand years.
Lithic Stone, anything made of stone, like stone tools.
Material culture Objects that people make. Can be ancient or modern.
Prehistory Period before written history.
Palaeontology The study of non-human fossils.
Radiocarbon Same as
14
C and carbon-14.
Site A place where human activity has occurred. Usually marked b y
artifacts.
Stone Age Period when people used stone for tools. Did not work iron.
31
Superpositioning Principle that states that lower layers are older than layers on top
of them.
Stratigraphy Layers of material on top of or underneath each other.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Africa Map Quiz (25 minutes)
Name:……………………………………………………………………………….
On the blank Africa outline map in front of you, please correctly fill in the following:
Countries (fill in 10 of the 15 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Botswana Egypt Ethiopia
Democratic Republic of Congo Ghana Kenya
Liberia Libya Madagascar
Morocco Senegal South Africa
Sudan Tanzania Zimbabwe
Capital cities (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Addis Ababa Antananarivo Cairo
Dakar Gaborone Khartoum
Kinshasa Luanda Lusaka
Tunis
Physical features (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Atlantic Ocean Drakensberg Equator
Great Rift Valley Indian Ocean Kilimanjaro
North Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn
Red Sea
Bonus section (1 point for each correct answer)
Superpositioning Principle that states that lower layers are older than layers on top
of them.
Stratigraphy Layers of material on top of or underneath each other.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Africa Map Quiz (25 minutes)
Name:……………………………………………………………………………….
On the blank Africa outline map in front of you, please correctly fill in the following:
Countries (fill in 10 of the 15 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Botswana Egypt Ethiopia
Democratic Republic of Congo Ghana Kenya
Liberia Libya Madagascar
Morocco Senegal South Africa
Sudan Tanzania Zimbabwe
Capital cities (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Addis Ababa Antananarivo Cairo
Dakar Gaborone Khartoum
Kinshasa Luanda Lusaka
Tunis
Physical features (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Atlantic Ocean Drakensberg Equator
Great Rift Valley Indian Ocean Kilimanjaro
North Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn
Red Sea
Bonus section (1 point for each correct answer)
32
Atlas mountains Chad Lake Victoria
Sahara Windhoek Yamoussoukro
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 2a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme; and
Admin/paperwork.
In class
1. Take roll and pass sign-in sheet around. Add/drop/registration. Collect and mark off
writing assignments. Week 1 feedback (Baobabs and Tarzan Lord of the `Apes’).
2. Hand out map quiz and blank map. 25 mins quiz. Collect maps (not question sheets).
Show OHT of next week’s test. Stress NB of good notes. Introduce glossary.
3. 15-25 mins on `History’ – history and methodology. Intro via last few lines of Iliffe and
title of talk. Link to Lowenthal and Mudimbe readings. `Africa’ `history’, `material culture’,
and `demography’ Copy names to make mark sheet.
4. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
5. Questions and video – Gates.
6. Pack up and go.
After class
1.Attendance roster, Add/Drop form, Pre-Release Programme sign-up & Tutorial sign-up
to Jody/Nicole Sign in sheets to Jody/Nicole Box.
2. Mark quizzes and photocopy maps.
3. Make master class marking sheet.
Week 2b
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme; and
Admin/paperwork.
In class
1. Take roll, hand back map quizzes. Explain marking, common mistakes, strengths etc.
Feedback from Friday class (Gilgamesh – perhaps world’s oldest recorded story - 12
clay tablets in cunieform about King of Uruk’s (Iraq) adventures circa 2750 and 2500
BCE)., Ptolemy I one of Alexander’s [56 to 323 B.C.] generals Macedonian family that
ruled Egypt during the Hellenistic period, from the death of Alexander the Great in 323
bc until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC. Alexandria capital and last Queen
Cleopatra. 1
st
African PhD, Edward A. Bouchet first African-American PhD in Physics at
Yale in 1876. In Africa – `Kaptein’ from xx? Who studied at Leiden in ?1600s and wrote
Atlas mountains Chad Lake Victoria
Sahara Windhoek Yamoussoukro
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 2a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme; and
Admin/paperwork.
In class
1. Take roll and pass sign-in sheet around. Add/drop/registration. Collect and mark off
writing assignments. Week 1 feedback (Baobabs and Tarzan Lord of the `Apes’).
2. Hand out map quiz and blank map. 25 mins quiz. Collect maps (not question sheets).
Show OHT of next week’s test. Stress NB of good notes. Introduce glossary.
3. 15-25 mins on `History’ – history and methodology. Intro via last few lines of Iliffe and
title of talk. Link to Lowenthal and Mudimbe readings. `Africa’ `history’, `material culture’,
and `demography’ Copy names to make mark sheet.
4. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
5. Questions and video – Gates.
6. Pack up and go.
After class
1.Attendance roster, Add/Drop form, Pre-Release Programme sign-up & Tutorial sign-up
to Jody/Nicole Sign in sheets to Jody/Nicole Box.
2. Mark quizzes and photocopy maps.
3. Make master class marking sheet.
Week 2b
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme; and
Admin/paperwork.
In class
1. Take roll, hand back map quizzes. Explain marking, common mistakes, strengths etc.
Feedback from Friday class (Gilgamesh – perhaps world’s oldest recorded story - 12
clay tablets in cunieform about King of Uruk’s (Iraq) adventures circa 2750 and 2500
BCE)., Ptolemy I one of Alexander’s [56 to 323 B.C.] generals Macedonian family that
ruled Egypt during the Hellenistic period, from the death of Alexander the Great in 323
bc until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC. Alexandria capital and last Queen
Cleopatra. 1
st
African PhD, Edward A. Bouchet first African-American PhD in Physics at
Yale in 1876. In Africa – `Kaptein’ from xx? Who studied at Leiden in ?1600s and wrote
33
how Christianity and slavery were compatible for his dissertation. `Pygmy singer: – Zap
Mama formed in the early ’90s as an all-female, a cappella group fronted by African
native Marie Daulne – Belgian father and Zaireois mother. Father killed in independence
c. 1960 riots and Pygmies sheltered mother, who bore child in forest. Herodotus as
`father of history’ perhaps appropriate in European context but not Africa – text vs
orality). Leave OHT of next week’s test up.
2. 20-25 mins on `Anthropology’ and `Archaeology’ – history and methodology. Cover
origins of words `Anthropology’ and `archaeology’ and `ethnography’ and `bp’. Strengths
and failings.
3. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
4. Questions and video – Gates.
5. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Attendance roster, Add/Drop form, Pre-Release Programme sign-up & Tutorial sign-
up to Jody/Nicole Sign in sheets to Jody/Nicole Box.
how Christianity and slavery were compatible for his dissertation. `Pygmy singer: – Zap
Mama formed in the early ’90s as an all-female, a cappella group fronted by African
native Marie Daulne – Belgian father and Zaireois mother. Father killed in independence
c. 1960 riots and Pygmies sheltered mother, who bore child in forest. Herodotus as
`father of history’ perhaps appropriate in European context but not Africa – text vs
orality). Leave OHT of next week’s test up.
2. 20-25 mins on `Anthropology’ and `Archaeology’ – history and methodology. Cover
origins of words `Anthropology’ and `archaeology’ and `ethnography’ and `bp’. Strengths
and failings.
3. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
4. Questions and video – Gates.
5. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Attendance roster, Add/Drop form, Pre-Release Programme sign-up & Tutorial sign-
up to Jody/Nicole Sign in sheets to Jody/Nicole Box.
34
3. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and
Africa represented?
4 & 6 February
Lesson aim
1. To introduce the histories, basic techniques, methods, assumptions and theoretical
orientations of anthropological, archaeological and historical enquiry.
2. To suggest the relative merits of different ways of representing Africa and its 3 million
year human history.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 1 on 4
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 11th
th
.
3. Examine common assumptions of Africa and its history and examine their factual
basis and believability. Examples like `The Lost Tribe of Israel’; the position of Egypt in
Africa, the notion of Africa as a `natural’ rather than `cultural’ place. .
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 6-17 of Iliffe’s Africans the history of a continent and Curtin, Philip, D. 1974
[1964]. Precolonial African history. Washington, D.C.: American Historical Association
Pamphlets 501: 3-66.
2. OHT visuals of sites, artefacts, archaeologists.
For next week
1. Assign pages 12-59 of Phillipson’s African archaeology
2. Assign pages 1-19 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
3. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 1).
Reading load: 65 pages.
Notes
Grading comments
Good
1. Writing, spelling and grammar are good. Notion of `adult student’ – we all are so
forget the inferiority complex.
2. Almost everyone followed the 1-page instruction
Bad
1. Question is framed in present tense –p most essays dealt with past. OK to set up
argument of present but must be less than 50%.
2. Limited sources used. Have course materials and a library. Minimum of two sources.
3. Lack of attribution to sources. Where did you get the info exactly.
3. The Past is a Foreign Country How is history made and
Africa represented?
4 & 6 February
Lesson aim
1. To introduce the histories, basic techniques, methods, assumptions and theoretical
orientations of anthropological, archaeological and historical enquiry.
2. To suggest the relative merits of different ways of representing Africa and its 3 million
year human history.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 1 on 4
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 11th
th
.
3. Examine common assumptions of Africa and its history and examine their factual
basis and believability. Examples like `The Lost Tribe of Israel’; the position of Egypt in
Africa, the notion of Africa as a `natural’ rather than `cultural’ place. .
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 6-17 of Iliffe’s Africans the history of a continent and Curtin, Philip, D. 1974
[1964]. Precolonial African history. Washington, D.C.: American Historical Association
Pamphlets 501: 3-66.
2. OHT visuals of sites, artefacts, archaeologists.
For next week
1. Assign pages 12-59 of Phillipson’s African archaeology
2. Assign pages 1-19 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
3. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 1).
Reading load: 65 pages.
Notes
Grading comments
Good
1. Writing, spelling and grammar are good. Notion of `adult student’ – we all are so
forget the inferiority complex.
2. Almost everyone followed the 1-page instruction
Bad
1. Question is framed in present tense –p most essays dealt with past. OK to set up
argument of present but must be less than 50%.
2. Limited sources used. Have course materials and a library. Minimum of two sources.
3. Lack of attribution to sources. Where did you get the info exactly.
35
4. Lot of rhetoric, but what do you mean? `Colonialism’? “This encouraged the theory
that Africa’s first anatomically modern men were the ancestors of all human beings,
expanding from their country to colonise the rest of the world and supplant other strains
such as the Neanderthals” Source: page 17 of Iliffe, John. 1995. Africans the history of a
continent. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (emphasis added). What is meant is
European colonialism c. 1880-1960.
5. Absolutism – context is key. Seldom is anything `right’ or `wrong’ – “… older history
showed only part of the truth” (Curtin 1974:3). Implies even the `old’ had some `truth’
and was partly `right’. Similarly, is there one, knowable truth? Also page 8 on importance
of old sources. 1/8 vs 6% Curtin 1974:4. Curtin page 51 – moralistics aside – how did it
all work and why? Page 52 and 5% of African slaves to US. Page 65 – constant
vigilance
Tips
1. Use the `Eskimo Principle’ – assume you are writing for an audience that has NO idea
of you subject. Explain basics, link concepts, use specific, illustrative examples.
Time
The earths history in 1 year
January 1
st
- end February: Earth forms (4.5 billion years ago).
March 25
th
(before sunrise): Simple life begins.
November: Multicellular animals appear. Land plants 5 pm Nov. 26
th
December 13
th
: Dinosaurs appear (120-65 million years). Die after 13 day s.
97% of earth’s history already past. Gondwana and
Laurasia start separating from Pangaea.
December 20
th
: Earth looks as it does today.
December 31
st
, 7 pm: Human ancestors appear (2.5 million years)
December 31
st
11:49 pm Homo sapiens appear (100 000 years)
December 31
st
11:59 pm: Agriculture, cities and writing develop.
December 31
st
11:59, 58 Industrial revolution (c. 1860 AD/CE)
Your lifetime? About 0.5 seconds
4. Lot of rhetoric, but what do you mean? `Colonialism’? “This encouraged the theory
that Africa’s first anatomically modern men were the ancestors of all human beings,
expanding from their country to colonise the rest of the world and supplant other strains
such as the Neanderthals” Source: page 17 of Iliffe, John. 1995. Africans the history of a
continent. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (emphasis added). What is meant is
European colonialism c. 1880-1960.
5. Absolutism – context is key. Seldom is anything `right’ or `wrong’ – “… older history
showed only part of the truth” (Curtin 1974:3). Implies even the `old’ had some `truth’
and was partly `right’. Similarly, is there one, knowable truth? Also page 8 on importance
of old sources. 1/8 vs 6% Curtin 1974:4. Curtin page 51 – moralistics aside – how did it
all work and why? Page 52 and 5% of African slaves to US. Page 65 – constant
vigilance
Tips
1. Use the `Eskimo Principle’ – assume you are writing for an audience that has NO idea
of you subject. Explain basics, link concepts, use specific, illustrative examples.
Time
The earths history in 1 year
January 1
st
- end February: Earth forms (4.5 billion years ago).
March 25
th
(before sunrise): Simple life begins.
November: Multicellular animals appear. Land plants 5 pm Nov. 26
th
December 13
th
: Dinosaurs appear (120-65 million years). Die after 13 day s.
97% of earth’s history already past. Gondwana and
Laurasia start separating from Pangaea.
December 20
th
: Earth looks as it does today.
December 31
st
, 7 pm: Human ancestors appear (2.5 million years)
December 31
st
11:49 pm Homo sapiens appear (100 000 years)
December 31
st
11:59 pm: Agriculture, cities and writing develop.
December 31
st
11:59, 58 Industrial revolution (c. 1860 AD/CE)
Your lifetime? About 0.5 seconds
36
If 4.5 billion years is represented as 4.5 miles:
Last 0.57 miles: Life appears
0.25 miles – 77.5 feet: Dinosaurs appear
5.25 feet: Human ancestors appear
1.5 inches: Homo sapiens.
3/10,000 of an inch: Your life
John Mc Phee's time exercise: "With your arms spread to represent all time on earth,
look at one hand. The Cambrian begins in the wrist. The Permian is the outer palm. The
Cenozoic is a fingerprint. A single stroke with a nail file would eradicate human history.."
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 3 Test 1 (25 minutes – 20 points)
Longer answers (3 points each)
1. Are old historic documents reliable? Why? Why not? Are modern historic documents
reliable? Why? Why not? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Imagine you are a Social Anthropologist from Stanford going to study the Masaai in
Kenya. What techniques would you use to get information? Which of these techniques
would be `etic’ and which would be `emic’? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Why might "ancient history" be a better term than "prehistory" for the study of past
African societies? 3 points
If 4.5 billion years is represented as 4.5 miles:
Last 0.57 miles: Life appears
0.25 miles – 77.5 feet: Dinosaurs appear
5.25 feet: Human ancestors appear
1.5 inches: Homo sapiens.
3/10,000 of an inch: Your life
John Mc Phee's time exercise: "With your arms spread to represent all time on earth,
look at one hand. The Cambrian begins in the wrist. The Permian is the outer palm. The
Cenozoic is a fingerprint. A single stroke with a nail file would eradicate human history.."
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 3 Test 1 (25 minutes – 20 points)
Longer answers (3 points each)
1. Are old historic documents reliable? Why? Why not? Are modern historic documents
reliable? Why? Why not? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Imagine you are a Social Anthropologist from Stanford going to study the Masaai in
Kenya. What techniques would you use to get information? Which of these techniques
would be `etic’ and which would be `emic’? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Why might "ancient history" be a better term than "prehistory" for the study of past
African societies? 3 points
37
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Short answers (1 point each)
4. List one possible origin of the word `Africa’ and what it means 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Who was Herodotus? (say more than he was `the father of history’) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. According to Iliffe (Chap 2), how many African language families are there? (Not how
many individual languages, but how many broader language families) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What is `demography’ 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. According to Philip Curtin, what percentage of African slaves were brought to the
USA? (Hint: it is less than you think) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. What does `Anthropology’ mean? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Name three sources of bias that can influence an ethnography? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Which of the following types of evidence are used by archaeologists to understand
the past? Circle one correct answer.
a) written texts b) oral traditions c) linguistics d) all of the above 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Short answers (1 point each)
4. List one possible origin of the word `Africa’ and what it means 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Who was Herodotus? (say more than he was `the father of history’) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. According to Iliffe (Chap 2), how many African language families are there? (Not how
many individual languages, but how many broader language families) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What is `demography’ 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. According to Philip Curtin, what percentage of African slaves were brought to the
USA? (Hint: it is less than you think) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. What does `Anthropology’ mean? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Name three sources of bias that can influence an ethnography? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Which of the following types of evidence are used by archaeologists to understand
the past? Circle one correct answer.
a) written texts b) oral traditions c) linguistics d) all of the above 1 point
38
12. True or False – Normally, archaeological materials nearest to the surface are
younger) than materials found further underground. 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. Many objects used in the past are not found in archaeological sites because they
deteriorate over time. Which archaeological materials do you think are best preserved in
African sites? Circle one correct answer.
a) wood implements b) skeletons c) stone tools d) food remains 1 point
14. What is the difference between an `emic’ and an `etic’ perspective? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bonus section (each 1 point)
15. Name the principle that states layers underneath are older than layers on top.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. Name three archaeological dating techniques.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. What are the approximate date ranges for a) the slave trade and b) colonialism?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 3a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. Check out Library. Get Lee copy of Iliffe. Ask about Superbowl TV coverage.
2. Take roll, mention 11
th
drop/add date. Sign in sheet.
3. Give instructions for test (no talking, no books, budget time etc). 25 mins test. At end
take papers from each individual list and mark off on roll sheet.
4. Hand back essays and discuss the good, bad and room for improvement.
5. Discuss test briefly – page 17 Iliffe on preservation and Curtin page 14.
6. Feedback – First African PhD pending – refer to pages 9-13 of Curtin. Oral histories –
David to address on Sunday.
7. Talk about time, concepts of past-present-future and the relativeness and
absoluteness of dating. Page 8 on multiple sources and page 15 on methods quote.
12. True or False – Normally, archaeological materials nearest to the surface are
younger) than materials found further underground. 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. Many objects used in the past are not found in archaeological sites because they
deteriorate over time. Which archaeological materials do you think are best preserved in
African sites? Circle one correct answer.
a) wood implements b) skeletons c) stone tools d) food remains 1 point
14. What is the difference between an `emic’ and an `etic’ perspective? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bonus section (each 1 point)
15. Name the principle that states layers underneath are older than layers on top.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. Name three archaeological dating techniques.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. What are the approximate date ranges for a) the slave trade and b) colonialism?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 3a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. Check out Library. Get Lee copy of Iliffe. Ask about Superbowl TV coverage.
2. Take roll, mention 11
th
drop/add date. Sign in sheet.
3. Give instructions for test (no talking, no books, budget time etc). 25 mins test. At end
take papers from each individual list and mark off on roll sheet.
4. Hand back essays and discuss the good, bad and room for improvement.
5. Discuss test briefly – page 17 Iliffe on preservation and Curtin page 14.
6. Feedback – First African PhD pending – refer to pages 9-13 of Curtin. Oral histories –
David to address on Sunday.
7. Talk about time, concepts of past-present-future and the relativeness and
absoluteness of dating. Page 8 on multiple sources and page 15 on methods quote.
39
Page 20 on history/prehistory. Page 24 colonial period and p 44 slave trade. Page 38 on
history and elite. Page 43 on tribe. Page 50 on microcosm/macrocosm.
8. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
9. Questions and video – Gates’ Wonders of the African World.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Mark and photocopy test.
2. Feedback to Jody/Nicole on writing skills.
Week 3b
No Class because of Superbowl (decided class vote 24 for Superbowl and 4 for
Class)
Page 20 on history/prehistory. Page 24 colonial period and p 44 slave trade. Page 38 on
history and elite. Page 43 on tribe. Page 50 on microcosm/macrocosm.
8. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
9. Questions and video – Gates’ Wonders of the African World.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Mark and photocopy test.
2. Feedback to Jody/Nicole on writing skills.
Week 3b
No Class because of Superbowl (decided class vote 24 for Superbowl and 4 for
Class)
40
4. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
11 & 13 February
Lesson aim
1. Investigate the basic human question – where do we come from?
2. Do we have to choose between Creationism and Evolution?
Lesson method
1. Hand out Writing Assignment 2 on 11
th
and review on 18
th
.
2. Outline evidence for Creationism and Evolution; their assumptions and contexts.
3. Provide an evolutionary overview of the basic human ancestors and humans.
4. Introduce the `Out of Africa’ vs `Multi-regionalism’ debate of human origins and lay out
the evidence for each. Do the same for `African Eve’. The Piltdown forgery is a good
example of Europe mis-representing Africa’s place in human evolution.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 12-59 of Phillipson’s African archaeology & pages 1-19 of Connah’s Forgotten
Africa.
2. OHT visuals of sites and artifacts.
3. Video clips from Coincidence in Paradise and Num Tchai videos.
For next week
1. Assign pages 1-13 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
2. Assign pages 49-61 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
3. Assign pages 27-38 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
4. Assign Ouzman, Sven. 2002. Render unto Africans what is rightly ours. The Sunday
Independent, July 14:9.
5. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 2).
Reading load: 34 pages.
Notes
Cheat sheet of human ancestors.
Geological and ecological examples will work well.
Lovejoy’s Great Chain of Being.
Di Leonardo’s `circle of we’.
AK47 and Botlano Fela (Thamaga Hill, Botswana)
- Bantu-speaking agropastoralist migration ~1500-1000 years ago, material culture
in advance of contact, ethnohistories discussion of relationships, missionaries
- survey to locate hunter-gatherer sites, evidence of contact, everyone says that
they never lived here or left long ago for Moshaweng
- sites on Thamaga hill
4. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
11 & 13 February
Lesson aim
1. Investigate the basic human question – where do we come from?
2. Do we have to choose between Creationism and Evolution?
Lesson method
1. Hand out Writing Assignment 2 on 11
th
and review on 18
th
.
2. Outline evidence for Creationism and Evolution; their assumptions and contexts.
3. Provide an evolutionary overview of the basic human ancestors and humans.
4. Introduce the `Out of Africa’ vs `Multi-regionalism’ debate of human origins and lay out
the evidence for each. Do the same for `African Eve’. The Piltdown forgery is a good
example of Europe mis-representing Africa’s place in human evolution.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 12-59 of Phillipson’s African archaeology & pages 1-19 of Connah’s Forgotten
Africa.
2. OHT visuals of sites and artifacts.
3. Video clips from Coincidence in Paradise and Num Tchai videos.
For next week
1. Assign pages 1-13 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
2. Assign pages 49-61 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
3. Assign pages 27-38 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
4. Assign Ouzman, Sven. 2002. Render unto Africans what is rightly ours. The Sunday
Independent, July 14:9.
5. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 2).
Reading load: 34 pages.
Notes
Cheat sheet of human ancestors.
Geological and ecological examples will work well.
Lovejoy’s Great Chain of Being.
Di Leonardo’s `circle of we’.
AK47 and Botlano Fela (Thamaga Hill, Botswana)
- Bantu-speaking agropastoralist migration ~1500-1000 years ago, material culture
in advance of contact, ethnohistories discussion of relationships, missionaries
- survey to locate hunter-gatherer sites, evidence of contact, everyone says that
they never lived here or left long ago for Moshaweng
- sites on Thamaga hill
41
- test excavation at Botlano Fela: stone walls, burial (chief Thamaga), midden,
strata, superposition and features
- cow verts (use of comparative collections, age, sex, species), ceremonial
slaughtering?, culinary processing (not mokoto)
- AK47 occupation: proximity to Botlano Fela, c-14 date 600 BP +/- 100 (1250-
1450 CE), ceramics ~850 BP (~1100 CE) from Moritshane
- Agropastoralist ceramics, OES beads (manufacture, ethnography), glass/metal
beads, trade networks
- Petrography, ceramic styles/uses, lipid analyses, seeds, metal composition
- collecting oral traditions (explain difference from oral histories), understanding of
contemporary racism
- who lived in Thamaga? (hard to nail down) hiding during WWII, BaPene,
Bathlaope, Bakgalagadi (‘they came from far away’; non-Swana-speaking Bantu
language), Radiepelwang (‘what are they digging for’; “the greatest healer”
stayed to continue healing when his family moved away)
- Bakgatla ba mananna (vervet and thamaga cow; connection to other grops of
Bakgatla), settled Thamaga in 1924 for the second time; previous movement
near Kanye, then Moshupa; dominated by Bakwena
* no one line of evidence is enough
The Great Zimbabwe as a case study for the importance of scientific
methodology
Background
In southeastern Africa, there are several hundred stone-walled sites that are generally
referred to as zimbabwes, which means "stone building" in the Shona language. (There
are 250 in Zimbabwe alone—others in Botswana, Mozambique, and the Northern
Province of South Africa). The Great Zimbabwe is the largest of these sites, and is the
largest pre-colonial monument south of the Pyramids. We will get to the details of the
Great Zimbabwe and its role in the ancient history of the region in a few weeks, but for
now, it is enough to know that it was built by the ancestors of the Shona, a Bantu-
speaking people, and that the site was at its peak between 1200 and 1500 A.D. There
are 100 acres enclosed by the stone walls of the Great Zimbabwe. These walls reach as
high as 32 feet, and were all built without the use of mortar. As you may already know,
colonial settlers appropriated the Great Zimbabwe and created long-standing myths
about the site's origins in order to justify their plundering of the site and the colonial
occupation in general. In keeping with the theme of methodology, we're going to talk
about how history, anthropology, archaeology each helped to counter these colonial
myths about the Great Zimbabwe and illuminate its actual role in African ancient history.
The creation of the colonial myths (Following Hall [1995])
There is a common thread to many early European myths about ancient monuments in
Africa and the New World (ie, the Americas). Generally, there is a basic three-part
structure that revolves around an early civilization, its destruction by savage (preferably
dark skinned) hordes, and its rediscovery by noble Europeans. Often such myths are
- test excavation at Botlano Fela: stone walls, burial (chief Thamaga), midden,
strata, superposition and features
- cow verts (use of comparative collections, age, sex, species), ceremonial
slaughtering?, culinary processing (not mokoto)
- AK47 occupation: proximity to Botlano Fela, c-14 date 600 BP +/- 100 (1250-
1450 CE), ceramics ~850 BP (~1100 CE) from Moritshane
- Agropastoralist ceramics, OES beads (manufacture, ethnography), glass/metal
beads, trade networks
- Petrography, ceramic styles/uses, lipid analyses, seeds, metal composition
- collecting oral traditions (explain difference from oral histories), understanding of
contemporary racism
- who lived in Thamaga? (hard to nail down) hiding during WWII, BaPene,
Bathlaope, Bakgalagadi (‘they came from far away’; non-Swana-speaking Bantu
language), Radiepelwang (‘what are they digging for’; “the greatest healer”
stayed to continue healing when his family moved away)
- Bakgatla ba mananna (vervet and thamaga cow; connection to other grops of
Bakgatla), settled Thamaga in 1924 for the second time; previous movement
near Kanye, then Moshupa; dominated by Bakwena
* no one line of evidence is enough
The Great Zimbabwe as a case study for the importance of scientific
methodology
Background
In southeastern Africa, there are several hundred stone-walled sites that are generally
referred to as zimbabwes, which means "stone building" in the Shona language. (There
are 250 in Zimbabwe alone—others in Botswana, Mozambique, and the Northern
Province of South Africa). The Great Zimbabwe is the largest of these sites, and is the
largest pre-colonial monument south of the Pyramids. We will get to the details of the
Great Zimbabwe and its role in the ancient history of the region in a few weeks, but for
now, it is enough to know that it was built by the ancestors of the Shona, a Bantu-
speaking people, and that the site was at its peak between 1200 and 1500 A.D. There
are 100 acres enclosed by the stone walls of the Great Zimbabwe. These walls reach as
high as 32 feet, and were all built without the use of mortar. As you may already know,
colonial settlers appropriated the Great Zimbabwe and created long-standing myths
about the site's origins in order to justify their plundering of the site and the colonial
occupation in general. In keeping with the theme of methodology, we're going to talk
about how history, anthropology, archaeology each helped to counter these colonial
myths about the Great Zimbabwe and illuminate its actual role in African ancient history.
The creation of the colonial myths (Following Hall [1995])
There is a common thread to many early European myths about ancient monuments in
Africa and the New World (ie, the Americas). Generally, there is a basic three-part
structure that revolves around an early civilization, its destruction by savage (preferably
dark skinned) hordes, and its rediscovery by noble Europeans. Often such myths are
42
used to justify the destruction of native inhabitants and the colonization of their land. In
the US, this type of myth is best exemplified by the myth of the mound builders. When
American settlers moved into the Southeast and Midwest, they found huge earthen
mounds. Rather than see these structures as monuments constructed by Native
Americans, Anglo-Americans concocted stories that such mounds were evidence that
the lost tribes of Israel had wandered to the Americas only to be wiped out by the
uncivilized and savage American Indians. Thomas Jefferson even excavated a so-called
Indian Mound to learn more about this apparently mysterious phenomenon, and the
mounds were not properly attributed to Native Americans until the late 19th century with
the advent of modern archaeological techniques. In Africa, like the Americas, Europeans
sought out the treasures of "lost civilizations," and the Great Zimbabwe assumed an
important role in the myths created by European colonists. In the 16th century,
Portuguese merchants became the first Europeans to hear of the Great Zimbabwe.
Although never laid eyes upon the ruins, the rumors that they heard impressed them.
One chronicler, João de Barros, thought the Great Zimbabwe must have been Axuma,
one of the cities of the Queen of Sheba. Other Portuguese associated the Great
Zimbabwe with the gold trade of southern Africa and proposed that the ruins represented
Ophir, a biblical region that produced gold for King Solomon and was ruled by the queen
of Sheba. The bible isn't clear on the location of Ophir (it says only that it took three
years to sail there from Jerusalem). So in 1871 a German explorer named Carl Mauch
came to southern Africa, in full Indiana Jones style, to find the ruins of Ophir. There he
stumbled upon the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe. Wood that he found in the ruins
apparently looked and smelled like the wood of his pencil, which was cedar from
Lebanon. Mauch thus concluded the wood must have been brought to the site by the
Phoenicians and that the great ruins must have been built by the Queen of Sheba. Just
two years later, in 1873, a map was made that placed the Great Zimbabwe in the "Realm
of Queen of Sheba," The myth was further perpetuated in the novel King Solomon's
Mines by Henry Rider Haggard. Through these works, the myth of the Great Zimbabwe
as the ruins of a lost civilization took hold, and the image of Africa as a dark and savage
place became entrenched in the minds of Europeans, underscoring the moral virtue of
colonialism. These ideas fit perfectly with Cecil Rhodes, who led the British colonial
enterprise in the region. In 1890 his company was in control of the region, and he was
eager to legitimate his rule. Accordingly, he sponsored the first archaeological dig of the
Great Zimbabwe, which was conducted by the Royal Geographic Society and the British
Association for the Advancement of Science, under the leadership of Theodore Bent,
who was an expert on the Phoenicians (Rhodes was trying to build up the Phoenician
connection). While Bent dismissed the connection between the Great Zimbabwe and
Sheba/Solomon, he nonetheless supported the idea that the site had been built by Arab
gold miners. This version differed only in the details from the standard European myth.
By the early 1900s, it was apparent that the so-called archaeologists that had
investigated the site were simply plundering the Great Zimbabwe. Most of the
archaeological deposits had been destroyed in an unsuccessful attempt to prove the
"white" origins of the site. Eventually the colonial authorities recognized the damage that
was being done, and eventually the archaeological work did improve (David Randall-
MacIver in 1900s and Gurtrude Caton-Thompson in 1920s). As early as 1906 reports
were published that attributed the Great Zimbabwe to local (ie African) origins, but these
findings were intolerable for the white settlers of the region, many of whom continued to
question the origin of the Great Zimbabwe. In the 1960s, the Great Zimbabwe became
the symbol of the African nationalist movement, and the white government of Rhodesia
tried to re-popularize the myth about the Great Zimbabwe's foreign origin. One
archaeologist, Peter Garlake, was even forced to leave the country. Today, however,
used to justify the destruction of native inhabitants and the colonization of their land. In
the US, this type of myth is best exemplified by the myth of the mound builders. When
American settlers moved into the Southeast and Midwest, they found huge earthen
mounds. Rather than see these structures as monuments constructed by Native
Americans, Anglo-Americans concocted stories that such mounds were evidence that
the lost tribes of Israel had wandered to the Americas only to be wiped out by the
uncivilized and savage American Indians. Thomas Jefferson even excavated a so-called
Indian Mound to learn more about this apparently mysterious phenomenon, and the
mounds were not properly attributed to Native Americans until the late 19th century with
the advent of modern archaeological techniques. In Africa, like the Americas, Europeans
sought out the treasures of "lost civilizations," and the Great Zimbabwe assumed an
important role in the myths created by European colonists. In the 16th century,
Portuguese merchants became the first Europeans to hear of the Great Zimbabwe.
Although never laid eyes upon the ruins, the rumors that they heard impressed them.
One chronicler, João de Barros, thought the Great Zimbabwe must have been Axuma,
one of the cities of the Queen of Sheba. Other Portuguese associated the Great
Zimbabwe with the gold trade of southern Africa and proposed that the ruins represented
Ophir, a biblical region that produced gold for King Solomon and was ruled by the queen
of Sheba. The bible isn't clear on the location of Ophir (it says only that it took three
years to sail there from Jerusalem). So in 1871 a German explorer named Carl Mauch
came to southern Africa, in full Indiana Jones style, to find the ruins of Ophir. There he
stumbled upon the ruins of the Great Zimbabwe. Wood that he found in the ruins
apparently looked and smelled like the wood of his pencil, which was cedar from
Lebanon. Mauch thus concluded the wood must have been brought to the site by the
Phoenicians and that the great ruins must have been built by the Queen of Sheba. Just
two years later, in 1873, a map was made that placed the Great Zimbabwe in the "Realm
of Queen of Sheba," The myth was further perpetuated in the novel King Solomon's
Mines by Henry Rider Haggard. Through these works, the myth of the Great Zimbabwe
as the ruins of a lost civilization took hold, and the image of Africa as a dark and savage
place became entrenched in the minds of Europeans, underscoring the moral virtue of
colonialism. These ideas fit perfectly with Cecil Rhodes, who led the British colonial
enterprise in the region. In 1890 his company was in control of the region, and he was
eager to legitimate his rule. Accordingly, he sponsored the first archaeological dig of the
Great Zimbabwe, which was conducted by the Royal Geographic Society and the British
Association for the Advancement of Science, under the leadership of Theodore Bent,
who was an expert on the Phoenicians (Rhodes was trying to build up the Phoenician
connection). While Bent dismissed the connection between the Great Zimbabwe and
Sheba/Solomon, he nonetheless supported the idea that the site had been built by Arab
gold miners. This version differed only in the details from the standard European myth.
By the early 1900s, it was apparent that the so-called archaeologists that had
investigated the site were simply plundering the Great Zimbabwe. Most of the
archaeological deposits had been destroyed in an unsuccessful attempt to prove the
"white" origins of the site. Eventually the colonial authorities recognized the damage that
was being done, and eventually the archaeological work did improve (David Randall-
MacIver in 1900s and Gurtrude Caton-Thompson in 1920s). As early as 1906 reports
were published that attributed the Great Zimbabwe to local (ie African) origins, but these
findings were intolerable for the white settlers of the region, many of whom continued to
question the origin of the Great Zimbabwe. In the 1960s, the Great Zimbabwe became
the symbol of the African nationalist movement, and the white government of Rhodesia
tried to re-popularize the myth about the Great Zimbabwe's foreign origin. One
archaeologist, Peter Garlake, was even forced to leave the country. Today, however,
43
Rhodesia no longer exists, and the nation of Zimbabwe has majority rule and is free to
write the history of the Great Zimbabwe without the burden of colonial ideology.
So how are we to unravel the real story of the Great Zimbabwe?
Archaeology:
Some of the most important evidence that scholars have used to refute the colonial
myths about the Great Zimbabwe has come from archaeology. Although the early
explorers destroyed a large portion of the archaeological deposits associated with the
ruins, their finds as well as later work can be used to show the African origins of the site.
First and foremost is the overwhelming number of artifacts recovered from the site that
are made from local resources in distinctly African ways. Indeed, the types of houses,
iron implements, pottery, and weaving tools are all similar to those found at other
Zimbabwe sites in the region, and additionally bear resemblance to the types of artifacts
used by the Shona when the Portuguese arrived in the 16th Century. These artifacts
were also similar to the material culture of the local Karanga, a Shona group who was
living near the site during the first excavations.Yet some of the items found at the site
were of foreign origin. Although colonists argued that such finds proved that the site was
not constructed by Africans, the evidence indicates that most of the foreign items came
to the coast of eastern Africa by way of Arab and Asian traders during the height of the
Great Zimbabwe. These items include 13th century Chinese ceramics, a 14th century
Persian bowl, and thousands of tiny glass beads manufactured in India. A good example
of relative dating. Radiocarbon dates also helped to show that the Great Zimbabwe was
constructed much more recently than the time of the Queen of Sheba and King
Solomon. In 1952, Libby, the originator of radiocarbon dating, conducted some of the
first ever radiocarbon dates on wood used in the construction of the Great Zimbabwe.
These dates, however, were wrong. They were apparently taken from Tambooti wood,
which can survive up to 500 years, and gave a date of about 600 AD. Later attempts to
date the Great Zimbabwe have shown that it was constructed somewhat later around
1200AD, and that the site was probably occupied for about 300 years or until around
1500 AD.
Anthropology
Although archaeology can counter some of the myths surrounding the Great Zimbabwe,
particularly those regarding when it was built and by whom, scholars have also looked to
anthropology to add more details. Archaeological evidence clearly shows that the Great
Zimbabwe was built by Africans, but by which group? The oral traditions collected from
the Shona have helped to convince scholars that it was the ancestors of this group, the
Shona, who built the Great Zimbabwe. Recently, scholars studying the Great Zimbabwe,
have also used ethnographic analogy to understand the function and meaning of various
portions of the site. Here, they have looked at practices that were recorded among local
people by anthropologists and then looked for similarities in the architecture and
archaeological record of the Great Zimbabwe. For example, Thomas Huffman uses
modern Venda initiation schools for girls to interpret certain buildings which he suggests
were used to instruct the daughters of the ruling families at the Great Zimbabwe.
Huffman also uses Shona ethnography to understand the different roles of men and
women, as well as to demonstrate the relationship between heaven and earth (but see
Beach 1998 for a criticism of Huffman's work at the site). Peter Garlake, the definitive
authority on the Great Zimbabwe, uses ethnographic observations on the connection
between rulers and spirit mediums to understand various aspects of the spatial layout at
the site (the ruler lived in the Great Enclosure, which signified status, while the spirit
Rhodesia no longer exists, and the nation of Zimbabwe has majority rule and is free to
write the history of the Great Zimbabwe without the burden of colonial ideology.
So how are we to unravel the real story of the Great Zimbabwe?
Archaeology:
Some of the most important evidence that scholars have used to refute the colonial
myths about the Great Zimbabwe has come from archaeology. Although the early
explorers destroyed a large portion of the archaeological deposits associated with the
ruins, their finds as well as later work can be used to show the African origins of the site.
First and foremost is the overwhelming number of artifacts recovered from the site that
are made from local resources in distinctly African ways. Indeed, the types of houses,
iron implements, pottery, and weaving tools are all similar to those found at other
Zimbabwe sites in the region, and additionally bear resemblance to the types of artifacts
used by the Shona when the Portuguese arrived in the 16th Century. These artifacts
were also similar to the material culture of the local Karanga, a Shona group who was
living near the site during the first excavations.Yet some of the items found at the site
were of foreign origin. Although colonists argued that such finds proved that the site was
not constructed by Africans, the evidence indicates that most of the foreign items came
to the coast of eastern Africa by way of Arab and Asian traders during the height of the
Great Zimbabwe. These items include 13th century Chinese ceramics, a 14th century
Persian bowl, and thousands of tiny glass beads manufactured in India. A good example
of relative dating. Radiocarbon dates also helped to show that the Great Zimbabwe was
constructed much more recently than the time of the Queen of Sheba and King
Solomon. In 1952, Libby, the originator of radiocarbon dating, conducted some of the
first ever radiocarbon dates on wood used in the construction of the Great Zimbabwe.
These dates, however, were wrong. They were apparently taken from Tambooti wood,
which can survive up to 500 years, and gave a date of about 600 AD. Later attempts to
date the Great Zimbabwe have shown that it was constructed somewhat later around
1200AD, and that the site was probably occupied for about 300 years or until around
1500 AD.
Anthropology
Although archaeology can counter some of the myths surrounding the Great Zimbabwe,
particularly those regarding when it was built and by whom, scholars have also looked to
anthropology to add more details. Archaeological evidence clearly shows that the Great
Zimbabwe was built by Africans, but by which group? The oral traditions collected from
the Shona have helped to convince scholars that it was the ancestors of this group, the
Shona, who built the Great Zimbabwe. Recently, scholars studying the Great Zimbabwe,
have also used ethnographic analogy to understand the function and meaning of various
portions of the site. Here, they have looked at practices that were recorded among local
people by anthropologists and then looked for similarities in the architecture and
archaeological record of the Great Zimbabwe. For example, Thomas Huffman uses
modern Venda initiation schools for girls to interpret certain buildings which he suggests
were used to instruct the daughters of the ruling families at the Great Zimbabwe.
Huffman also uses Shona ethnography to understand the different roles of men and
women, as well as to demonstrate the relationship between heaven and earth (but see
Beach 1998 for a criticism of Huffman's work at the site). Peter Garlake, the definitive
authority on the Great Zimbabwe, uses ethnographic observations on the connection
between rulers and spirit mediums to understand various aspects of the spatial layout at
the site (the ruler lived in the Great Enclosure, which signified status, while the spirit
44
medium lived on the hill, which was a spiritual domain). Edward Matenga has used
ethnohistoric and contemporary accounts of Shona religion to try to understand the
significance of the soapstone birds found at the Great Zimbabwe. According to his
analysis, these large statues (~1.5m) represent messengers of God. Like Garlake and
Huffman, Matenga has also used insights from historic and current Shona society to
interpret the spatial organization of the Great Zimbabwe.
History
So what about history? And here I am talking about history as a specific academic
discipline, not the broad scope of human time…. True, local Bantu people kept their own
oral traditions, but what about texts… What can historical documents tell us about the
Great Zimbabwe? A couple of things… First, historians study texts, and there is much to
be learned in the early writings of the Europeans who heard about and saw the Great
Zimbabwe. The Portuguese and other Europeans often recorded important details about
the habits and beliefs of the people with whom they with whom they interacted. These
have been important for reconstructing the possible reasons behind the layout of the
Great Zimbabwe. Similarly, Mauch, the first European to see the Great Zimbabwe
recorded that the Shona people continued to worship at the site of the Great Zimbabwe
and even kept a caretaker there to look after the site. These are important details that
help us to understand the continuing signifcance of the site for local people.
Furthermore, without history we wouldn't have the record o f the myths,
misrepresentations, and lies that were put forth by those Europeans who colonized
southern Africa and who wanted to deny any African heritage to the region.But as for
dispelling those myths, and for gaining a better understanding of the meaning of the
Great Zimbabwe, and the lives of those people who lived there, archaeology and
anthropology are perhaps more important than history. We'll be talking about what
scholars have learned about the Great Zimbabwe through these techniques later on.
Kilwa-Kisiwani
Tanzanian coast. Island. Rose to prominence in 800 CE. Archaeology variable because
of monsoons [link to Gates video of sites under sites – 3 layers]. Oral tradition has it that
the African `owners’ sold island to Arab merchant Ali bin al-Hasan, founder of Shiraz
Dynasty and became an independent city state. Initial prohibitions on African – Arab
interactions but softened; also with `globalised’ trade. gold, copper, iron, coconuts, ivory
and rhino horn to Kilwa and out and porcelain from China, jewelry, glass and cloth in.
1100-1500 Kilwa’s peak and records of trade far flung – India, Timbuktu. 1331 Abu
Abdullah Ibn Batuta and via Portuguese records:
"The city large and elegant, its buildings, As typical along the coast, Constructed of
stones and coral rag.
Houses were generally single storied, consisting of a number of small rooms
separated by thick walls supporting heavy stone roofing slabs laid across mangrove
poles.
Some of the more formidable structures contained second and third stories, and
many were embellished with cut stone decorative borders framing the entranceway.
Tapestries and ornamental niches covered the walls and the floors were carpeted. Of
course, such appointments were only for the wealthy; the poorer classes occupied
the timeless mud and straw huts of Africa,
medium lived on the hill, which was a spiritual domain). Edward Matenga has used
ethnohistoric and contemporary accounts of Shona religion to try to understand the
significance of the soapstone birds found at the Great Zimbabwe. According to his
analysis, these large statues (~1.5m) represent messengers of God. Like Garlake and
Huffman, Matenga has also used insights from historic and current Shona society to
interpret the spatial organization of the Great Zimbabwe.
History
So what about history? And here I am talking about history as a specific academic
discipline, not the broad scope of human time…. True, local Bantu people kept their own
oral traditions, but what about texts… What can historical documents tell us about the
Great Zimbabwe? A couple of things… First, historians study texts, and there is much to
be learned in the early writings of the Europeans who heard about and saw the Great
Zimbabwe. The Portuguese and other Europeans often recorded important details about
the habits and beliefs of the people with whom they with whom they interacted. These
have been important for reconstructing the possible reasons behind the layout of the
Great Zimbabwe. Similarly, Mauch, the first European to see the Great Zimbabwe
recorded that the Shona people continued to worship at the site of the Great Zimbabwe
and even kept a caretaker there to look after the site. These are important details that
help us to understand the continuing signifcance of the site for local people.
Furthermore, without history we wouldn't have the record o f the myths,
misrepresentations, and lies that were put forth by those Europeans who colonized
southern Africa and who wanted to deny any African heritage to the region.But as for
dispelling those myths, and for gaining a better understanding of the meaning of the
Great Zimbabwe, and the lives of those people who lived there, archaeology and
anthropology are perhaps more important than history. We'll be talking about what
scholars have learned about the Great Zimbabwe through these techniques later on.
Kilwa-Kisiwani
Tanzanian coast. Island. Rose to prominence in 800 CE. Archaeology variable because
of monsoons [link to Gates video of sites under sites – 3 layers]. Oral tradition has it that
the African `owners’ sold island to Arab merchant Ali bin al-Hasan, founder of Shiraz
Dynasty and became an independent city state. Initial prohibitions on African – Arab
interactions but softened; also with `globalised’ trade. gold, copper, iron, coconuts, ivory
and rhino horn to Kilwa and out and porcelain from China, jewelry, glass and cloth in.
1100-1500 Kilwa’s peak and records of trade far flung – India, Timbuktu. 1331 Abu
Abdullah Ibn Batuta and via Portuguese records:
"The city large and elegant, its buildings, As typical along the coast, Constructed of
stones and coral rag.
Houses were generally single storied, consisting of a number of small rooms
separated by thick walls supporting heavy stone roofing slabs laid across mangrove
poles.
Some of the more formidable structures contained second and third stories, and
many were embellished with cut stone decorative borders framing the entranceway.
Tapestries and ornamental niches covered the walls and the floors were carpeted. Of
course, such appointments were only for the wealthy; the poorer classes occupied
the timeless mud and straw huts of Africa,
45
Their robs a simple loincloth, their dinner millet porridge."
100 room palace for Sultan and architecture was Persian. Largest Mosque on African
East Coast 12-13 centuries. Grew cotton. 1505 Portuguese invaded and erected a fort
called Guereza. 1512 Arab mercenary retook island but Portuguese control of E African
coast and trade network meant 300 years of decline. French occupied it in 18
th
-century,
German 1886-1914. erious archeological investigation began in the 1950's. A lot of this
work was done in libraries and European museums. Fieldwork on Kilwa was done on the
Portuguese fort and Malindi, a mosque that had been built in the fourteenth century. The
shore of Kilwa's city is lined with layers of pottery shards. There are stone foundations of
houses and palaces. Kilwa Kisiwani was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.
(http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/africa/kilwa_kisiwani.htm)
Swahili: is a Bantu language stock (syntax and grammar) with Arabic, Portuguese,
English and German borrowings (lexicon) along East African coast (Somalia –
Mozambique) and `Swahili’ means `The Coast’. Probable 1
st
century AD/CE origins
based on archaeology and lingustics. About 7
th
in world with 45-100 million first
language speakers. Is an Islamic way of life. 2nd century AD (in Greek language by
anonymous author at Alexandria in Egypt and it is called the Periplus of Erythrean Sea)
says that merchants visiting the East African coast at that time from Southern Arabia,
used to speak with the natives in their local language and they intermarried with them.
`Simba’ = lion. (Source Ali O Hassan http://www.glcom.com/hassan/swahili_history.html)
Evolution - Origins
Evolution and Human Ancestors
Evolution
Science and religion are two wholly different ways of knowing the world. The can
coexist, but they are ultimately incommensurable. Religion is based on faith, whereas
science is based on physical evidence, particularly evidence that can be replicated in a
number of settings. Theory vs. hypothesis…Evolution is the unifying theory of nearly all
of the biological sciences. And for most scientists, and can be treated as fact. In terms of
our own species' history, paleo-anthropologists still fight about the exact evolutionary
sequence, but there is a growing physical evidence. And it is this physical evidence that
we're going to look at.
Background
Charles Darwin developed his theory of natural selection in the middle of the 19th
century, but other naturalists and scholars were coming up with similar ideas around that
same time. Darwin was born in 1809 in England. He wasn't very good at anything as
child, so his father sent him to medical school in Edinburgh to keep him out of trouble.
There he was exposed to the ideas of other scientists who were slowly beginning to
piece together the puzzle of evolution. The crystallizing moment came with his around
the world voyage on the HMS Beagle in the early 1830s. Nevertheless, these ideas were
controversial, and his book, On the Origins of Species would not be published until 1859.
Darwin was important, but others were on the same track. We're not going to go into the
whole history of evolutionary thought, but it is important to remember that Darwin wasn't
alone—the whole scientific revolution that began in the Renaissance was in some ways
pointing in the same direction.
Their robs a simple loincloth, their dinner millet porridge."
100 room palace for Sultan and architecture was Persian. Largest Mosque on African
East Coast 12-13 centuries. Grew cotton. 1505 Portuguese invaded and erected a fort
called Guereza. 1512 Arab mercenary retook island but Portuguese control of E African
coast and trade network meant 300 years of decline. French occupied it in 18
th
-century,
German 1886-1914. erious archeological investigation began in the 1950's. A lot of this
work was done in libraries and European museums. Fieldwork on Kilwa was done on the
Portuguese fort and Malindi, a mosque that had been built in the fourteenth century. The
shore of Kilwa's city is lined with layers of pottery shards. There are stone foundations of
houses and palaces. Kilwa Kisiwani was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.
(http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/africa/kilwa_kisiwani.htm)
Swahili: is a Bantu language stock (syntax and grammar) with Arabic, Portuguese,
English and German borrowings (lexicon) along East African coast (Somalia –
Mozambique) and `Swahili’ means `The Coast’. Probable 1
st
century AD/CE origins
based on archaeology and lingustics. About 7
th
in world with 45-100 million first
language speakers. Is an Islamic way of life. 2nd century AD (in Greek language by
anonymous author at Alexandria in Egypt and it is called the Periplus of Erythrean Sea)
says that merchants visiting the East African coast at that time from Southern Arabia,
used to speak with the natives in their local language and they intermarried with them.
`Simba’ = lion. (Source Ali O Hassan http://www.glcom.com/hassan/swahili_history.html)
Evolution - Origins
Evolution and Human Ancestors
Evolution
Science and religion are two wholly different ways of knowing the world. The can
coexist, but they are ultimately incommensurable. Religion is based on faith, whereas
science is based on physical evidence, particularly evidence that can be replicated in a
number of settings. Theory vs. hypothesis…Evolution is the unifying theory of nearly all
of the biological sciences. And for most scientists, and can be treated as fact. In terms of
our own species' history, paleo-anthropologists still fight about the exact evolutionary
sequence, but there is a growing physical evidence. And it is this physical evidence that
we're going to look at.
Background
Charles Darwin developed his theory of natural selection in the middle of the 19th
century, but other naturalists and scholars were coming up with similar ideas around that
same time. Darwin was born in 1809 in England. He wasn't very good at anything as
child, so his father sent him to medical school in Edinburgh to keep him out of trouble.
There he was exposed to the ideas of other scientists who were slowly beginning to
piece together the puzzle of evolution. The crystallizing moment came with his around
the world voyage on the HMS Beagle in the early 1830s. Nevertheless, these ideas were
controversial, and his book, On the Origins of Species would not be published until 1859.
Darwin was important, but others were on the same track. We're not going to go into the
whole history of evolutionary thought, but it is important to remember that Darwin wasn't
alone—the whole scientific revolution that began in the Renaissance was in some ways
pointing in the same direction.
46
Natural Selection
Darwin saw that evolution works similarly to animal breeding, but instead of humans
selecting for certain traits in a population of animals, species in the wild undergo a
process of natural selection.
The idea of natural selection is as follows:
1. All species have a certain amount of variation, ie no two individuals are exactly alike.
2. Some of these variations will be favorable in particular environments (coloring, speed,
etc), and those individuals that possess the favorable variations will have an advantage
over those that do not. In terms of evolution, this advantage is measured by the
individual's reproductive success. The individuals with the advantageous traits are more
likely to survive to reproduce than those who do not. We call this reproductive success.
3. Whether or not a particular trait is beneficial depends on the environmental context.
Because of differing natural processes, a trait that may be advantageous in one context
may be a liability in another place or time.
4. Because variations occur genetically, they will be passed on to the next generation. In
a case where a particular trait is advantageous, individuals who possess it will have
more offspring than others; and these offspring, who will also have the trait, will have
more offspring, and over time, the trait will become more common in the population.
Conversely, less favorable traits will be selected against and will become less common.
5. Over geological time, favorable variations will accumulate in a population, and
eventually later populations will be distinct from earlier, ancestral ones. Thus, over long
periods of time, new species come into being.
6. But geographical isolation can also accelerate the process of evolution. If a small
population is isolated from the rest of species, certain variations present in the group will
become more prevalent. Or as in the case of the Galápagos Islands, one species of
finch came from mainland South America and by exploiting different environmental
niches, evolved into 13 different species of finch.
Basically, natural selection operates on individuals, but it is the population that evolves.
On the individual scale, if you have a favorable variation, you might have more
reproductive success; if you have an unfavorable variation, you might die before you
reproduce or whatever. But in either case, these variations are measured by their
prevalence in a population. The favorable ones will accumulate in the population as
those individuals that have them have more reproductive success, while the unfavorable
ones will become less common. Example of moths in England. Used to be gray, which
was good for chilling on lichen-covered trees, but with industrial revolution, pollution
turned trees black, and those moths that were darker in color were harder for the
predators to see, and thus had more reproductive success. But when pollution
restrictions were put in place in the last few decades, the trend has reversed itself and
how the lighter moths are at an advantage. Here, a species changed in response to
changes in its environment, we call that an adaptation. Bottom line: For evolution to
work, the traits being selected for or against need to be genetic, ie they need to be able
to be passed down to the next generation (if someone had just painted the moths, the
next generation would've been just as gray and therefore just as vulnerable to
predation). Also, you need variation in these inheritable traits (if the moths had all been
gray, they would've been wiped out).
Natural Selection
Darwin saw that evolution works similarly to animal breeding, but instead of humans
selecting for certain traits in a population of animals, species in the wild undergo a
process of natural selection.
The idea of natural selection is as follows:
1. All species have a certain amount of variation, ie no two individuals are exactly alike.
2. Some of these variations will be favorable in particular environments (coloring, speed,
etc), and those individuals that possess the favorable variations will have an advantage
over those that do not. In terms of evolution, this advantage is measured by the
individual's reproductive success. The individuals with the advantageous traits are more
likely to survive to reproduce than those who do not. We call this reproductive success.
3. Whether or not a particular trait is beneficial depends on the environmental context.
Because of differing natural processes, a trait that may be advantageous in one context
may be a liability in another place or time.
4. Because variations occur genetically, they will be passed on to the next generation. In
a case where a particular trait is advantageous, individuals who possess it will have
more offspring than others; and these offspring, who will also have the trait, will have
more offspring, and over time, the trait will become more common in the population.
Conversely, less favorable traits will be selected against and will become less common.
5. Over geological time, favorable variations will accumulate in a population, and
eventually later populations will be distinct from earlier, ancestral ones. Thus, over long
periods of time, new species come into being.
6. But geographical isolation can also accelerate the process of evolution. If a small
population is isolated from the rest of species, certain variations present in the group will
become more prevalent. Or as in the case of the Galápagos Islands, one species of
finch came from mainland South America and by exploiting different environmental
niches, evolved into 13 different species of finch.
Basically, natural selection operates on individuals, but it is the population that evolves.
On the individual scale, if you have a favorable variation, you might have more
reproductive success; if you have an unfavorable variation, you might die before you
reproduce or whatever. But in either case, these variations are measured by their
prevalence in a population. The favorable ones will accumulate in the population as
those individuals that have them have more reproductive success, while the unfavorable
ones will become less common. Example of moths in England. Used to be gray, which
was good for chilling on lichen-covered trees, but with industrial revolution, pollution
turned trees black, and those moths that were darker in color were harder for the
predators to see, and thus had more reproductive success. But when pollution
restrictions were put in place in the last few decades, the trend has reversed itself and
how the lighter moths are at an advantage. Here, a species changed in response to
changes in its environment, we call that an adaptation. Bottom line: For evolution to
work, the traits being selected for or against need to be genetic, ie they need to be able
to be passed down to the next generation (if someone had just painted the moths, the
next generation would've been just as gray and therefore just as vulnerable to
predation). Also, you need variation in these inheritable traits (if the moths had all been
gray, they would've been wiped out).
47
Genetics maintains the variation in a population and selection reduces the prevalence of
less advantageous traits, thereby increasing the proportion of advantageous traits over
time.
Natural selection is the survival of the fittest, but fittest doesn’t mean better or more
advanced, only more likely to survive to reproduce. Everything evolves in its own
context.
Human Evolution
So what about the context of human evolution?
Time: We have to remember that evolution takes a lot of time to occur.
In the 1600s, Christian theologians placed the creation of the earth in 4004B.C. based
on the number of generations since Adam. But evolution takes place on a geological
time scale, and remember that geologists have determined that the earth is about 4.5
billion years old. Suppose we looked at the last 100 million years or so…. The dinosaurs
get wiped out at about 65 million years ago. Hominids (about 7.5mya). But even from
this vantage point, it is still millions of years before the present. That is a very long time.
And it is often difficult to trace the exact evolutionary path of our species. Not everything
is preserved. Bones don't last too long (couple hundred years in CA), so everything we
know comes from the fossil record. These are bones that have been mineralized,
basically turned into rock. But as we saw in that video, they come in small portions. A
skull here, some teeth there, etc. With more finds, things change and the picture gets
clearer. So think of it is as a family tree, but one we can't see very much of. Like a tree
inside a house—you can only see it through certain windows, but you can get the
general idea anyway. That's what we're looking at.
Human Ancestors.
We're going to follow the readings pretty closely, and this is the stuff that is going to be
on the test next week.
We'll start with the earliest hominids (p. 14 in the Phillipson, pg. 2 in the Connah).
These creatures are the genus Australopithecus. (writing conventions? Italicized or
underlined, genus species, with genus starting with caps, species in lower case).
The australopithecines evolved by at least 4.5 million years ago in Africa, and fossil
evidence has been recovered from eastern and southern Africa. They would have lived
in tropical grasslands with scattered forest areas. What defines the australopithecines as
hominids is the fact that they walked on two legs. In fact bipedalism is the defining
feature of all hominids. The ape-like animals that came before them would have had, like
modern apes, four hands rather than four feet. This is great for the forest where you
have to climb around a lot, but with the environmental changes that were going on 10-5
million years ago, there was more and more open grassland. Upright walking would
have been much more efficient for moving through these open areas. Some scientists
think that this is the reason that our ancestors became bipeds, although a similar idea
exists that walking erect would have been an advantage because it would enable the
animal to carry more stuff. Whatever the exact cause, we know that by about 4 million
years ago, our ancestors were already walking upright. At a site in Tanzania called
Laetoli, showed the footprints of two, possibly three hominids who walked upright with
feet not unlike ours. This site has been dated to around 3.8 mya. Mary Leaky?
Cast of Characters
Genetics maintains the variation in a population and selection reduces the prevalence of
less advantageous traits, thereby increasing the proportion of advantageous traits over
time.
Natural selection is the survival of the fittest, but fittest doesn’t mean better or more
advanced, only more likely to survive to reproduce. Everything evolves in its own
context.
Human Evolution
So what about the context of human evolution?
Time: We have to remember that evolution takes a lot of time to occur.
In the 1600s, Christian theologians placed the creation of the earth in 4004B.C. based
on the number of generations since Adam. But evolution takes place on a geological
time scale, and remember that geologists have determined that the earth is about 4.5
billion years old. Suppose we looked at the last 100 million years or so…. The dinosaurs
get wiped out at about 65 million years ago. Hominids (about 7.5mya). But even from
this vantage point, it is still millions of years before the present. That is a very long time.
And it is often difficult to trace the exact evolutionary path of our species. Not everything
is preserved. Bones don't last too long (couple hundred years in CA), so everything we
know comes from the fossil record. These are bones that have been mineralized,
basically turned into rock. But as we saw in that video, they come in small portions. A
skull here, some teeth there, etc. With more finds, things change and the picture gets
clearer. So think of it is as a family tree, but one we can't see very much of. Like a tree
inside a house—you can only see it through certain windows, but you can get the
general idea anyway. That's what we're looking at.
Human Ancestors.
We're going to follow the readings pretty closely, and this is the stuff that is going to be
on the test next week.
We'll start with the earliest hominids (p. 14 in the Phillipson, pg. 2 in the Connah).
These creatures are the genus Australopithecus. (writing conventions? Italicized or
underlined, genus species, with genus starting with caps, species in lower case).
The australopithecines evolved by at least 4.5 million years ago in Africa, and fossil
evidence has been recovered from eastern and southern Africa. They would have lived
in tropical grasslands with scattered forest areas. What defines the australopithecines as
hominids is the fact that they walked on two legs. In fact bipedalism is the defining
feature of all hominids. The ape-like animals that came before them would have had, like
modern apes, four hands rather than four feet. This is great for the forest where you
have to climb around a lot, but with the environmental changes that were going on 10-5
million years ago, there was more and more open grassland. Upright walking would
have been much more efficient for moving through these open areas. Some scientists
think that this is the reason that our ancestors became bipeds, although a similar idea
exists that walking erect would have been an advantage because it would enable the
animal to carry more stuff. Whatever the exact cause, we know that by about 4 million
years ago, our ancestors were already walking upright. At a site in Tanzania called
Laetoli, showed the footprints of two, possibly three hominids who walked upright with
feet not unlike ours. This site has been dated to around 3.8 mya. Mary Leaky?
Cast of Characters
48
So who were the australopithecines? In general, they were small. They stood 4-5ft tall,
and weighed between 70-150lbs. Brain size was still only 1/3 of ours, but the
australopithecines walked upright like us. The teeth were also closer in size and
configuration to ours. Two kinds: gracile and robust. The earliest australopithecines were
lightly built, and called gracile australopithecines.
Gracile. The earliest of these was Australopithecus afarensis. It lived from about 4.5-
3mya. East Africa (Hadar and Omo, Eithiopia; Laetoli, Tanzania; Koobi Fora, Kenya).
This fellow had an apelike face with a low forehead. The brain capacity was still small
(1/3 size of ours), but it had the lower limbs of a biped and it was likely afarensis that
made the footprints at Laetoli. Despite bipedalism afarensis was probably good at
climbing trees, and may have slept in them.
Lucy, a 40% intact skeleton found in 1973 Hadar, Ethiopia, discovered by Donald
Johanson. Other important afarensis finds have also come from Hadar.
Another gracile australopithecine was Australopithecus africanus. It lived somewhat
later, from about 3-2mya (Sterkfontein, Makapansgat and Taung, South Africa). Similar
to afarensis, but with a steeper forehead and somewhat larger brain. Omnivorous diet—
smaller jar, bigger front teeth. Picture on p. 18 in Phillipson, top. The first
australopithecine to ever be identified was africanus. The first specimen was a juvenile
skull found in 1924 by Raymond Dart as he looked for fossils in a South African lime
quarry. He called it the Taung Child. The first adult australopithecine skull was found in
1936 at another South African limeworks called Sterkfontein. Africanus Africanus
probably gave rise to the genus Homo which David will talk about.
Robust. Although we call these animals robust, they were mainly robust in their cranial
and dental anatomy… Their bodies were as small as graciles, but their jaws and cheek
teeth were much larger due to a mostly vegetarian diet that required a lot of grinding.
That's why they have the sagital crest (bony ridge on head), which was where their huge
jaw muscles attached to the skull. They developed later than the graciles, but formed
their own branch on the family tree. Not human ancestors. The Connah reading calls
some of the robust australopithecines as genus Paranthropus, but we'll stick to
Australopithecus.
Australopithecus aethiopicus. 2.5 mya. East Africa (West Lake Turkana, Kenya; Omo,
Ethiopia). Intermediate between the gracile afarensis and the other robust
australopithecines.
Australopithecus robustus. 2-1.5mya. South Africa (Swartkrans and Kromdraai, S.
Africa). Body similar to gracile Africanus, but large skull and teeth, and sagital crest. No
forehead. See Phillipson pg. 18.
Australopithecus boisei. 2-1mya. East Africa (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania; West Lake
Turkana and Peninj, Kenya; Omo, Ethiopia). Intermediate. Similar to robustus, but even
more massive face and cheek teeth. The most robust of the robusts, but closely related
the the ones from South Africa. Mary Leaky was the original discoverer.
As Phillipson talks about, there is evidence that the robust australopithecines, especially
boisei, lived side by side with Homo habilis, who was probably one of our ancestors. At
Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania, remains of boisei have been found associated with
So who were the australopithecines? In general, they were small. They stood 4-5ft tall,
and weighed between 70-150lbs. Brain size was still only 1/3 of ours, but the
australopithecines walked upright like us. The teeth were also closer in size and
configuration to ours. Two kinds: gracile and robust. The earliest australopithecines were
lightly built, and called gracile australopithecines.
Gracile. The earliest of these was Australopithecus afarensis. It lived from about 4.5-
3mya. East Africa (Hadar and Omo, Eithiopia; Laetoli, Tanzania; Koobi Fora, Kenya).
This fellow had an apelike face with a low forehead. The brain capacity was still small
(1/3 size of ours), but it had the lower limbs of a biped and it was likely afarensis that
made the footprints at Laetoli. Despite bipedalism afarensis was probably good at
climbing trees, and may have slept in them.
Lucy, a 40% intact skeleton found in 1973 Hadar, Ethiopia, discovered by Donald
Johanson. Other important afarensis finds have also come from Hadar.
Another gracile australopithecine was Australopithecus africanus. It lived somewhat
later, from about 3-2mya (Sterkfontein, Makapansgat and Taung, South Africa). Similar
to afarensis, but with a steeper forehead and somewhat larger brain. Omnivorous diet—
smaller jar, bigger front teeth. Picture on p. 18 in Phillipson, top. The first
australopithecine to ever be identified was africanus. The first specimen was a juvenile
skull found in 1924 by Raymond Dart as he looked for fossils in a South African lime
quarry. He called it the Taung Child. The first adult australopithecine skull was found in
1936 at another South African limeworks called Sterkfontein. Africanus Africanus
probably gave rise to the genus Homo which David will talk about.
Robust. Although we call these animals robust, they were mainly robust in their cranial
and dental anatomy… Their bodies were as small as graciles, but their jaws and cheek
teeth were much larger due to a mostly vegetarian diet that required a lot of grinding.
That's why they have the sagital crest (bony ridge on head), which was where their huge
jaw muscles attached to the skull. They developed later than the graciles, but formed
their own branch on the family tree. Not human ancestors. The Connah reading calls
some of the robust australopithecines as genus Paranthropus, but we'll stick to
Australopithecus.
Australopithecus aethiopicus. 2.5 mya. East Africa (West Lake Turkana, Kenya; Omo,
Ethiopia). Intermediate between the gracile afarensis and the other robust
australopithecines.
Australopithecus robustus. 2-1.5mya. South Africa (Swartkrans and Kromdraai, S.
Africa). Body similar to gracile Africanus, but large skull and teeth, and sagital crest. No
forehead. See Phillipson pg. 18.
Australopithecus boisei. 2-1mya. East Africa (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania; West Lake
Turkana and Peninj, Kenya; Omo, Ethiopia). Intermediate. Similar to robustus, but even
more massive face and cheek teeth. The most robust of the robusts, but closely related
the the ones from South Africa. Mary Leaky was the original discoverer.
As Phillipson talks about, there is evidence that the robust australopithecines, especially
boisei, lived side by side with Homo habilis, who was probably one of our ancestors. At
Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania, remains of boisei have been found associated with
49
those of Homo habilis, and also large concentrations of stone tools. It is not clear who
was making the stone tools, and many people have assumed that it must have been the
more advanced Homo habilis. In this scenario, habilis and boisei either periodically used
the same locations, or perhaps Homo habilis was eating australopithecines. But it is also
possible that the australopithecines were mimicking the tools of habilis.
Homo
Homo habilis
- 1.9-1.8 mya (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and East Turkana, Kenya)
- 2.5 – 2.4 mya (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi)
- Hadar (Ethiopia), 2.3mya
- larger brain than Australopithecines (630 cm3)
- smaller back teeth
- small bodies; males still larger
- arms relatively long compared to legs (retention of tree-climbing ability; fully
capable of upright walking)
- Oldowan tools
o Smashing bones to extract marrow, crack nuts
- Leakey: “Zinj” rob. Aus at olduvai, habilis meal
- Homo lived contemporaneous with A. for at least 1mil years
Homo ergaster
- 1.8 – 1.7 mya (possibly to 600 kya)
- Olduvai Gorge, East and West Turkana, Swartkrans, Olorgesailie (Kenyan Rift
Valley)
- found by L. Leakey in 1960 at Olduvai, 1.4mya
- R.Leakey found H.e/H.e. at East Turkana (Kenya) at 1.8mya
- Kamoya Kimeu and R. Leakey; Nariokotome (West Turkana), most c omplete
H.ergaster skeleton (WT 15000); 1.6 mya; boy about 12 years-old and 5 ft. 3 in.
(possibly would have been 6 ft.)
- Larger brain (~907 cm3); reorganization suggested by skull shape
- Greater body size (about the same as modern H.s.); no major m/f difference
(pair-bonding; less competition)
- Language?
- Reduction of back teeth; “shovel-shaped” incisors are an ancestral feature of
erectus
- Longer legs then arms indicate habitual bipedalism
- Culture
o Acheulean tools: bifaces, hand-axes, cleavers (~1.4 mya)
o More effective tool-kit allowed wider range of environments to be utilized
o Manual skill and mental ability; learned process
o Control of fire?
- Butchering of scavenged/hunted animals
- Plant-food evidence does not preserve
- Expansion to eastern Europe and Asia, Indonesia
- Homo erectus
those of Homo habilis, and also large concentrations of stone tools. It is not clear who
was making the stone tools, and many people have assumed that it must have been the
more advanced Homo habilis. In this scenario, habilis and boisei either periodically used
the same locations, or perhaps Homo habilis was eating australopithecines. But it is also
possible that the australopithecines were mimicking the tools of habilis.
Homo
Homo habilis
- 1.9-1.8 mya (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania and East Turkana, Kenya)
- 2.5 – 2.4 mya (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi)
- Hadar (Ethiopia), 2.3mya
- larger brain than Australopithecines (630 cm3)
- smaller back teeth
- small bodies; males still larger
- arms relatively long compared to legs (retention of tree-climbing ability; fully
capable of upright walking)
- Oldowan tools
o Smashing bones to extract marrow, crack nuts
- Leakey: “Zinj” rob. Aus at olduvai, habilis meal
- Homo lived contemporaneous with A. for at least 1mil years
Homo ergaster
- 1.8 – 1.7 mya (possibly to 600 kya)
- Olduvai Gorge, East and West Turkana, Swartkrans, Olorgesailie (Kenyan Rift
Valley)
- found by L. Leakey in 1960 at Olduvai, 1.4mya
- R.Leakey found H.e/H.e. at East Turkana (Kenya) at 1.8mya
- Kamoya Kimeu and R. Leakey; Nariokotome (West Turkana), most c omplete
H.ergaster skeleton (WT 15000); 1.6 mya; boy about 12 years-old and 5 ft. 3 in.
(possibly would have been 6 ft.)
- Larger brain (~907 cm3); reorganization suggested by skull shape
- Greater body size (about the same as modern H.s.); no major m/f difference
(pair-bonding; less competition)
- Language?
- Reduction of back teeth; “shovel-shaped” incisors are an ancestral feature of
erectus
- Longer legs then arms indicate habitual bipedalism
- Culture
o Acheulean tools: bifaces, hand-axes, cleavers (~1.4 mya)
o More effective tool-kit allowed wider range of environments to be utilized
o Manual skill and mental ability; learned process
o Control of fire?
- Butchering of scavenged/hunted animals
- Plant-food evidence does not preserve
- Expansion to eastern Europe and Asia, Indonesia
- Homo erectus
50
Homo sapiens
- H. neanderthalensis: adapted to cold climate of northern latitudes
- Archaic H. sapiens
- Broken Hill (Zambia)
o 400 kya
- Elandsfontein (South Africa), Singa (Sudan): 600-90 kya
- Klasies River Mouth: 115-60 kya
- Border Cave: 90-50 kya
- Die Kelders I: 71-45 kya
- Kalambo Falls (Zambia): 100-80 kya
- Mumba Shelter (Tanzania): 130-109 kya
- Omo-Kibish (Ethiopia): 127-37 kya
- Dar es Soltan Cave 2 (Morocco): 127-40 kya
- Israel: 120-80 kya
- Culture
o More human-like behavior; developed speech (tied to right-handedness)
o Increasing technological complexity: flakes, blades (Levallois technique
earlier than Europe); much regional diversity (many industries)
o Home bases near water; occupation of “caves”
o Howieson’s Poort industry (South Africa): 70 kya; microliths
o Personal adornment: OES beads, teeth
o Harpoons, barbs, hafting
o Increasing variety of environmental exploitation (terrestrial and marine;
species indicate a wetter climate)
o Art? Blombos ochre; Apollo 11 (Namibia): 28-19 kya
o Hearths (Klasies River Mouth)
o Earlier Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age
- Out-of-Africa vs. Multiregional
- Out of afica
o Africa is the region of all earlier hominids
o Widest geographical area
o Most expansive tool-kit
o 1.8mya appearance for erectus/ergaster in E. Africa, about the same time
in Indonesia (Java; 1.8 & 1.6) and soon after in eastern Europe (Dmanisi,
Republic of Georgia; 1.75mya; smaller, different features and older tool-
types; was H.e. the first hominid to leave Africa?)
o “mitochondrial Eve” about 200 kya
o rapid expansion (1.8 in Africa, then a few thousand years to other places)
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 4 Writing Assignment 1 (20 points)
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the
beginning of class on 18
th
February. Make sure to link your writing to readings
done in class. Use as many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as
possible. Reference ideas and facts where appropriate.
Homo sapiens
- H. neanderthalensis: adapted to cold climate of northern latitudes
- Archaic H. sapiens
- Broken Hill (Zambia)
o 400 kya
- Elandsfontein (South Africa), Singa (Sudan): 600-90 kya
- Klasies River Mouth: 115-60 kya
- Border Cave: 90-50 kya
- Die Kelders I: 71-45 kya
- Kalambo Falls (Zambia): 100-80 kya
- Mumba Shelter (Tanzania): 130-109 kya
- Omo-Kibish (Ethiopia): 127-37 kya
- Dar es Soltan Cave 2 (Morocco): 127-40 kya
- Israel: 120-80 kya
- Culture
o More human-like behavior; developed speech (tied to right-handedness)
o Increasing technological complexity: flakes, blades (Levallois technique
earlier than Europe); much regional diversity (many industries)
o Home bases near water; occupation of “caves”
o Howieson’s Poort industry (South Africa): 70 kya; microliths
o Personal adornment: OES beads, teeth
o Harpoons, barbs, hafting
o Increasing variety of environmental exploitation (terrestrial and marine;
species indicate a wetter climate)
o Art? Blombos ochre; Apollo 11 (Namibia): 28-19 kya
o Hearths (Klasies River Mouth)
o Earlier Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age
- Out-of-Africa vs. Multiregional
- Out of afica
o Africa is the region of all earlier hominids
o Widest geographical area
o Most expansive tool-kit
o 1.8mya appearance for erectus/ergaster in E. Africa, about the same time
in Indonesia (Java; 1.8 & 1.6) and soon after in eastern Europe (Dmanisi,
Republic of Georgia; 1.75mya; smaller, different features and older tool-
types; was H.e. the first hominid to leave Africa?)
o “mitochondrial Eve” about 200 kya
o rapid expansion (1.8 in Africa, then a few thousand years to other places)
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 4 Writing Assignment 1 (20 points)
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the
beginning of class on 18
th
February. Make sure to link your writing to readings
done in class. Use as many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as
possible. Reference ideas and facts where appropriate.
51
1. `Out of Africa.’ It has been suggested that Africa is, in an evolutionary
paradigm, the cradle or birthplace of humanity. Using especially the Connah
(pages 1-19) and Phillipson (pages 12-59) readings, argue why Africa may or
may not be humanity’s original home. Use as much hard evidence as possible.
State both why your argument works and why the opposing argument does not
work.
2. It is 1995. You have just discovered the architectural remains of an ancient
Islamic city in North Africa. Eroding out of the sand are clay tablets with
punctuate marks on them; there are stone piles (?graves); places where people
made cooking fires; many decorated and undecorated pottery fragments. There
seem to be residential areas with garbage heaps and areas that seem to have
been kept very clean. Some buildings seem to be precisely alignment and facing
cardinal directions. Explain how you would find out more about this Ancient City
and its people (now no longer there, though there are Bedouin people living
nearby) using:
a) Historical methodology
b) Archaeological methodology
c) Anthropological methodology
3. Review the readings you have done to date. Isolate in these readings a
problem, issue or question important to you. The address this problem, issue or
question using the readings, being as specific as possible.
Good luck, remember the need to rough plan your essay, assemble the facts,
write a coherent argument. Revision always improves an essay. Imagine you are
explaining your argument to someone who knows very little about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 4a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand back tests and pass sign-in sheet aro und. Last day to
Add/drop/registration. Hand out Essay topics for next week. Hand back unclaimed Quiz,
Essay. Hand out next week’s readings.
3. Test feedback - strong and weak points. Stress need to link to readings.
4. Go over course rationale again. Feedback from last week
1. `Out of Africa.’ It has been suggested that Africa is, in an evolutionary
paradigm, the cradle or birthplace of humanity. Using especially the Connah
(pages 1-19) and Phillipson (pages 12-59) readings, argue why Africa may or
may not be humanity’s original home. Use as much hard evidence as possible.
State both why your argument works and why the opposing argument does not
work.
2. It is 1995. You have just discovered the architectural remains of an ancient
Islamic city in North Africa. Eroding out of the sand are clay tablets with
punctuate marks on them; there are stone piles (?graves); places where people
made cooking fires; many decorated and undecorated pottery fragments. There
seem to be residential areas with garbage heaps and areas that seem to have
been kept very clean. Some buildings seem to be precisely alignment and facing
cardinal directions. Explain how you would find out more about this Ancient City
and its people (now no longer there, though there are Bedouin people living
nearby) using:
a) Historical methodology
b) Archaeological methodology
c) Anthropological methodology
3. Review the readings you have done to date. Isolate in these readings a
problem, issue or question important to you. The address this problem, issue or
question using the readings, being as specific as possible.
Good luck, remember the need to rough plan your essay, assemble the facts,
write a coherent argument. Revision always improves an essay. Imagine you are
explaining your argument to someone who knows very little about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 4a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand back tests and pass sign-in sheet aro und. Last day to
Add/drop/registration. Hand out Essay topics for next week. Hand back unclaimed Quiz,
Essay. Hand out next week’s readings.
3. Test feedback - strong and weak points. Stress need to link to readings.
4. Go over course rationale again. Feedback from last week
52
a) Oral histories and what they offer – Bleek & Lloyd OHT on Sorcerors (historical
methodology). CD on migration (historical, anthropological and archaeological – white
stone).
b) First African PhD - pending.
c) Publius Africanus: “There are also claims that a Roman general, Scipio Africanus
invaded and conquered Africa around 205 BC and the continents name was renamed to
honour his ‘achievement’. Historians worldwide refute this myth and explain that Publius
Cornelius Scipio was invited to assume the cognomen Africanus after his success in the
battle for the ancient city and state in northern Africa named Carthage (Tunis). His
renaming to Scipio Africanus is said to be the first recorded instance of the Roman
practice where victors were awarded with titles relating to the region they conquered or
pacified. By the time Scipio Africanus died his full title was Publius Cornelius Scipio
Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus. Numantinus was added after he secured Spain by
besieging and destroying Numantia” (Source: Ligali Web Site and Social Science
Dictionary and David Gordon – African History Month)
5. Lee, David and Sven to apply historic, anthropological and archaeological methods to
sites (David – Thamaga, Botswana, Lee - Great Zimbabwe, Sven – Kilwa).
6. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
7. Questions and video – Consequence in Paradise – primer for next week (what
environment looks like, stone tools, personalities).
8. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Report back to Jody and Nicole re writing & test skills and attendance.
Week 4b
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and admin.
In class
1. Take roll and pass round attendance sheet. Feedback on Friday class.
2. Lee, David to frame Creationism – Evolution and then outline fossil evidence in
support of evolution. Out-of-Africa. Lee on Australopethicines and Piltdown (OHTs) and
David on Homo and tools (OHTs). Stick closely to Connah and Phillipson readings. Lots
of numbers, ages, dates of discovery, find sites. Stress environmental context. Why the
need for origins is so important. What was happening at other places in the world – why
so little fossil evidence there (environment, preservation?).
3. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
4. Questions and video – Consequence in Paradise.
5. Pack up and go.
After class
1. David and Lee to construct test for next week. Short – T/F, multiple choice, 1
word/sentence answers.
2. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
a) Oral histories and what they offer – Bleek & Lloyd OHT on Sorcerors (historical
methodology). CD on migration (historical, anthropological and archaeological – white
stone).
b) First African PhD - pending.
c) Publius Africanus: “There are also claims that a Roman general, Scipio Africanus
invaded and conquered Africa around 205 BC and the continents name was renamed to
honour his ‘achievement’. Historians worldwide refute this myth and explain that Publius
Cornelius Scipio was invited to assume the cognomen Africanus after his success in the
battle for the ancient city and state in northern Africa named Carthage (Tunis). His
renaming to Scipio Africanus is said to be the first recorded instance of the Roman
practice where victors were awarded with titles relating to the region they conquered or
pacified. By the time Scipio Africanus died his full title was Publius Cornelius Scipio
Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus. Numantinus was added after he secured Spain by
besieging and destroying Numantia” (Source: Ligali Web Site and Social Science
Dictionary and David Gordon – African History Month)
5. Lee, David and Sven to apply historic, anthropological and archaeological methods to
sites (David – Thamaga, Botswana, Lee - Great Zimbabwe, Sven – Kilwa).
6. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
7. Questions and video – Consequence in Paradise – primer for next week (what
environment looks like, stone tools, personalities).
8. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Report back to Jody and Nicole re writing & test skills and attendance.
Week 4b
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and admin.
In class
1. Take roll and pass round attendance sheet. Feedback on Friday class.
2. Lee, David to frame Creationism – Evolution and then outline fossil evidence in
support of evolution. Out-of-Africa. Lee on Australopethicines and Piltdown (OHTs) and
David on Homo and tools (OHTs). Stick closely to Connah and Phillipson readings. Lots
of numbers, ages, dates of discovery, find sites. Stress environmental context. Why the
need for origins is so important. What was happening at other places in the world – why
so little fossil evidence there (environment, preservation?).
3. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
4. Questions and video – Consequence in Paradise.
5. Pack up and go.
After class
1. David and Lee to construct test for next week. Short – T/F, multiple choice, 1
word/sentence answers.
2. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
53
5. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
18 & 20 February (moved 20 25 & 27 February because of lockdown)
Lesson aim
1. To go beyond inevitable biological/evolutionary processes and examine cultural,
artistic, scientific and musical innovations originating in Africa.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 2 on 18
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 20
th
.
2. Show that what we may consider modern – art, music, science - have deep and
African roots.
3. Also allow for multiple independent centres of invention to counter Afro-centrism.
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 1-13 of Shillington’s History of Africa; pages 49-61 of Bohannan and Curtin’s
Africa and Africans and Ouzman, Sven. 2002. Render unto Africans what is rightly ours.
The Sunday Independent, July 14:9.
2. OHT visuals of Swartkrans evidence for fire at 400 000 years; Makapan `sculpture’
200 000 year-old central African harpoons; Blombos 70 000 year-old marked ochre;
African rock art, 40 000 year old ostrich eggshell beads; San gong rocks, discussion of
tracking as the first science.
3. Video clips from N/um Tchai and Africa (part 1) videos. Music clips – gong rocks,
Medicine Dances, Imam chanting.
For next week
1. Assign pages 6-36 and 97-122 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent.
2. Assign pages 117-157 of Phillipson’s African Archaeology.
3. Assign pages 14-35 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
4. Assign pages 139-149 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
5. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 2).
Reading load: 125 pages – BUT skim Iliffe and Phillipson readings.
Notes
`Mixed race’ is stronger as more bioresistive options.
African Eve
Rebecca Cann 1987 originated idea Nuclear DNA shared between males and females
but mitochondrial DNA passed from mother-daughter. Africa has greatest genetic
diversity, suggesting longest/oldest human population based on hypothesis that people
get more diverse over time. African samples had ONLY African mtDNA while non-
African populations had a mix with AT LEAST one African mtDNA. Rate of genetic
change/mutation suggests a c. 143 000 – 285 000. This is perhaps the date at which a
common human ancestor migrated out of Africa to rest of world, replacing populations
there either partially or completely. Probably several waves/colonisations. But mtDNA
evidence is highly variable and contestable and only establishes the most recent
5. Origins Africa as home of humanity, art, science and music
18 & 20 February (moved 20 25 & 27 February because of lockdown)
Lesson aim
1. To go beyond inevitable biological/evolutionary processes and examine cultural,
artistic, scientific and musical innovations originating in Africa.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 2 on 18
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 20
th
.
2. Show that what we may consider modern – art, music, science - have deep and
African roots.
3. Also allow for multiple independent centres of invention to counter Afro-centrism.
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 1-13 of Shillington’s History of Africa; pages 49-61 of Bohannan and Curtin’s
Africa and Africans and Ouzman, Sven. 2002. Render unto Africans what is rightly ours.
The Sunday Independent, July 14:9.
2. OHT visuals of Swartkrans evidence for fire at 400 000 years; Makapan `sculpture’
200 000 year-old central African harpoons; Blombos 70 000 year-old marked ochre;
African rock art, 40 000 year old ostrich eggshell beads; San gong rocks, discussion of
tracking as the first science.
3. Video clips from N/um Tchai and Africa (part 1) videos. Music clips – gong rocks,
Medicine Dances, Imam chanting.
For next week
1. Assign pages 6-36 and 97-122 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent.
2. Assign pages 117-157 of Phillipson’s African Archaeology.
3. Assign pages 14-35 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
4. Assign pages 139-149 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
5. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 2).
Reading load: 125 pages – BUT skim Iliffe and Phillipson readings.
Notes
`Mixed race’ is stronger as more bioresistive options.
African Eve
Rebecca Cann 1987 originated idea Nuclear DNA shared between males and females
but mitochondrial DNA passed from mother-daughter. Africa has greatest genetic
diversity, suggesting longest/oldest human population based on hypothesis that people
get more diverse over time. African samples had ONLY African mtDNA while non-
African populations had a mix with AT LEAST one African mtDNA. Rate of genetic
change/mutation suggests a c. 143 000 – 285 000. This is perhaps the date at which a
common human ancestor migrated out of Africa to rest of world, replacing populations
there either partially or completely. Probably several waves/colonisations. But mtDNA
evidence is highly variable and contestable and only establishes the most recent
54
common human ancestor with respect to matrilineal descent. Best deployed as one of a
web of evidential sources that also include: (fossil data and molecular data from
mitochondrial, Y-chromosome, X-linked, and autosomal genes). (Sources: Cann, R.L.
2002. Human evolution: Tangled genetic routes. Nature 416:32–33. Templeton, A.R.
2002. Out of Africa again and again. Nature 416:45–51).
d) Piltdown Fraud – go over expectations vs evidence. Ouzman article for the politics or
origins.
Piltdown
rom Jurmain,Robert, Lynn Kilgore and Wenda Trevathan (eds). 2005. Introduction to
physical anthropology: 254-255. Belmont CA: Thomson Wadsworth &
http://home.tiac.net/~cri_a/piltdown/piltdown.html)
common human ancestor with respect to matrilineal descent. Best deployed as one of a
web of evidential sources that also include: (fossil data and molecular data from
mitochondrial, Y-chromosome, X-linked, and autosomal genes). (Sources: Cann, R.L.
2002. Human evolution: Tangled genetic routes. Nature 416:32–33. Templeton, A.R.
2002. Out of Africa again and again. Nature 416:45–51).
d) Piltdown Fraud – go over expectations vs evidence. Ouzman article for the politics or
origins.
Piltdown
rom Jurmain,Robert, Lynn Kilgore and Wenda Trevathan (eds). 2005. Introduction to
physical anthropology: 254-255. Belmont CA: Thomson Wadsworth &
http://home.tiac.net/~cri_a/piltdown/piltdown.html)
55
1856 – Neanderthalensis discovered.
1859 – On the Origin of Species published.
1871 – Descent of Man published.
1903 – Peking man discovered
1912 – Piltdown I `discovered’ in uncertain circumstances
1915 – Piltdown II found in murky circumstances
1924 – Taung child discovered.
1949 Flourine tests show recent.
1953 – Outed.
In 1912 Charles Dawson discovered the first of two skulls found in the Piltdown quarry in
Sussex, England, skulls of an apparently primitive hominid, an ancestor of man. Piltdown
man, or Eoanthropus dawsoni (Dawsons Dawn Man) to use his scientific name, was a
sensation. Found associated with ancient fauna – mastodon, hippo and rhino,
suggesting early Pleistocene. He was the expected "missing link" a mixture of human
and ape with the noble brow of Homo sapiens and a primitive jaw. Best of all, he was
British! As the years went by and new finds of ancient hominids were made, Piltdown
man became an anomaly that didn't fit in, a creature without a place in the human family
tree. Finally, in 1953, the truth came out. Piltdown man was a hoax. Even at time of
discovery folks were skeptical, but lack of fossil evidence to chart evolutionary process
predisposed people to have a certain view of a `mising’ link that linked apes and
humans. Thus a big brain was expected and that human dentition developed before
human jaw. Kenneth Oakley’s tests showed:
• Piltdown I skull: Medieval, human, ~620 years old; Piltdown II skull: Same source
as Piltdown I skull.
• Piltdown I jawbone: Orangutan jaw, ~500 years old, probably from Sarawak.
• Elephant molar: Genuine fossil, probably from Tunisia; Hippopotamus tooth:
Genuine fossil, probably from Malta or Sicily; Canine tooth: Pleistocene
chimpanzee fossil.
1856 – Neanderthalensis discovered.
1859 – On the Origin of Species published.
1871 – Descent of Man published.
1903 – Peking man discovered
1912 – Piltdown I `discovered’ in uncertain circumstances
1915 – Piltdown II found in murky circumstances
1924 – Taung child discovered.
1949 Flourine tests show recent.
1953 – Outed.
In 1912 Charles Dawson discovered the first of two skulls found in the Piltdown quarry in
Sussex, England, skulls of an apparently primitive hominid, an ancestor of man. Piltdown
man, or Eoanthropus dawsoni (Dawsons Dawn Man) to use his scientific name, was a
sensation. Found associated with ancient fauna – mastodon, hippo and rhino,
suggesting early Pleistocene. He was the expected "missing link" a mixture of human
and ape with the noble brow of Homo sapiens and a primitive jaw. Best of all, he was
British! As the years went by and new finds of ancient hominids were made, Piltdown
man became an anomaly that didn't fit in, a creature without a place in the human family
tree. Finally, in 1953, the truth came out. Piltdown man was a hoax. Even at time of
discovery folks were skeptical, but lack of fossil evidence to chart evolutionary process
predisposed people to have a certain view of a `mising’ link that linked apes and
humans. Thus a big brain was expected and that human dentition developed before
human jaw. Kenneth Oakley’s tests showed:
• Piltdown I skull: Medieval, human, ~620 years old; Piltdown II skull: Same source
as Piltdown I skull.
• Piltdown I jawbone: Orangutan jaw, ~500 years old, probably from Sarawak.
• Elephant molar: Genuine fossil, probably from Tunisia; Hippopotamus tooth:
Genuine fossil, probably from Malta or Sicily; Canine tooth: Pleistocene
chimpanzee fossil.
56
A solution containing iron was used to stain the bones; fossil bones deposited in gravel
pick up iron and manganese. [It is unclear whether the solution also contained
manganese: Millar mentions that manganese was present; Hall, who did the tests for
manganese, says that it was not.] Before staining the bones (except for the jawbone)
were treated with Chromic acid to convert the bone apatite (mineral component) to
gypsum to facilitate the intake of the iron and manganese (?) solution used to stain the
bones. The skull may have also been boiled in an iron sulphate solution. The canine
tooth was painted after staining, probably with Van Dyke brown. The jaw bone molars
were filed to fit. The connection where the jawbone would meet the rest of the skull was
carefully broken so that there would be no evidence of lack of fit. The canine tooth was
filed to show wear (and was patched with chewing gum). It was filled with sand as it
might have been if it had been in the Ouse river bed. Purposeful fraud – by the finder
Dawson (known forger) and by abettors? No-one knows… Arthur Conan Doyle (does
The Lost World describe the hoax)? Embittered spiritualist seeking to discredit
evolution?
Origins
Already talked about the physical evolution of Homo sapiens, but what about culture and
behavior?
Some things we talked about last week:
Tools were probably first used by Homo habilis, maybe earlier (other things use tools,
too).
The first use of fire is really hard to pin down. There's a difference between gathering
natural fire (from a lightning strike or something) and actually being able to produce it on
demand. Evidence for fire prior to 1mya. Kenya--burnt clay associated with stone tools
(1.4 mya). Swartkrans, in S. Af., burnt bone in assoc with stone tools, dated to 1.3-1mya.
Both associated with H. erectus. Not totally convincing. Some evidence that archaic H.
sapiens had fire by about 300kya in China and Europe. The first actual hearths show up
at about 125kya in Southern Africa.
Fire of course is significant evolutionarily:
Cooking--possible dental adaptations (those who had smaller teeth would no longer be
at a disadvantage due to softer food through cooking).
Light--would have affected sleep, and thus activity patterns, neurological and
hormones...
Safety--keeping predators at bay
Technology--used to treat stone for better flaking.
But hard to pin down archaeologically... like tools, fire might predate H. sapiens.
Human behavior(Following Brooks and McBrearty 2000)
So what makes humans human?
The literature converges upon a number of common ingredients thought to characterize
modern human behavior:
_ Increasing artefact diversity.
_ Standardization of artefact types.
A solution containing iron was used to stain the bones; fossil bones deposited in gravel
pick up iron and manganese. [It is unclear whether the solution also contained
manganese: Millar mentions that manganese was present; Hall, who did the tests for
manganese, says that it was not.] Before staining the bones (except for the jawbone)
were treated with Chromic acid to convert the bone apatite (mineral component) to
gypsum to facilitate the intake of the iron and manganese (?) solution used to stain the
bones. The skull may have also been boiled in an iron sulphate solution. The canine
tooth was painted after staining, probably with Van Dyke brown. The jaw bone molars
were filed to fit. The connection where the jawbone would meet the rest of the skull was
carefully broken so that there would be no evidence of lack of fit. The canine tooth was
filed to show wear (and was patched with chewing gum). It was filled with sand as it
might have been if it had been in the Ouse river bed. Purposeful fraud – by the finder
Dawson (known forger) and by abettors? No-one knows… Arthur Conan Doyle (does
The Lost World describe the hoax)? Embittered spiritualist seeking to discredit
evolution?
Origins
Already talked about the physical evolution of Homo sapiens, but what about culture and
behavior?
Some things we talked about last week:
Tools were probably first used by Homo habilis, maybe earlier (other things use tools,
too).
The first use of fire is really hard to pin down. There's a difference between gathering
natural fire (from a lightning strike or something) and actually being able to produce it on
demand. Evidence for fire prior to 1mya. Kenya--burnt clay associated with stone tools
(1.4 mya). Swartkrans, in S. Af., burnt bone in assoc with stone tools, dated to 1.3-1mya.
Both associated with H. erectus. Not totally convincing. Some evidence that archaic H.
sapiens had fire by about 300kya in China and Europe. The first actual hearths show up
at about 125kya in Southern Africa.
Fire of course is significant evolutionarily:
Cooking--possible dental adaptations (those who had smaller teeth would no longer be
at a disadvantage due to softer food through cooking).
Light--would have affected sleep, and thus activity patterns, neurological and
hormones...
Safety--keeping predators at bay
Technology--used to treat stone for better flaking.
But hard to pin down archaeologically... like tools, fire might predate H. sapiens.
Human behavior(Following Brooks and McBrearty 2000)
So what makes humans human?
The literature converges upon a number of common ingredients thought to characterize
modern human behavior:
_ Increasing artefact diversity.
_ Standardization of artefact types.
57
_ Blade technology.
_ Worked bone and other organic materials.
_ Personal ornaments and ‘‘art’’ or images.
_ Structured living spaces.
_ Ritual.
_ Economic intensification, reflected in the
exploitation of aquatic or other resources
that require specialized technology.
_ Enlarged geographic range.
_ Expanded exchange networks.
But this list is just a bunch of traits. What are the deeper processes that these things are
a manifestation of? We might say that modern human behavior is characterized by:
1. Abstract thinking, the ability to act with reference to abstract concepts not limited in
time or space.
2. Planning depth, the ability to formulate strategies based on past experience and to act
upon them in a group context.
3. Behavioral, economic, and technological innovativeness
4. Symbolic behavior, the ability to represent objects, people, and abstract concepts with
arbitrary symbols, vocal or visual, and to reify such symbols in cultural practice.
Traditionally, the origins of these characteristics, and their archaeological manifestations,
were seen to be Europe. This model posited a "Human Revolution" in the European
Upper Paleolithic, about 40-50kya. Linked to a revolution because behaviors show up
late, suddenly, and at the same time as anatomically modern H. sapiens.
But the earliest H. sapiens fossils are actually found in Africa, and are dated to more
than 100kya. And this time lag suggests that African early humans were behaviorally
primitive--acting in the same ways as older hominid species.
African archaeological record shows all the hallmarks of the so-called human revolution,
and earlier than in Europe, beginning about 300kya.
Product of Eurocentric bias. The Upper Paleolithic has some great stuff in Europe, and
there has been a lot of research there, but this focus has obscured the actual process by
which human behavior came about.
Challenges the idea of a "revolution" as such. People borrowing the concept of
punctuated equilibrium from paleontology, but in reality these human traits developed
over a period of 200k years and all over the continent. more gradual and sporadic than
previously thought.
People were living in dispersed, small groups, and so it looks like this was a cultural
rather than neurological process.
Usually, the human revolution was linked to the origin of fully syntactical language, but it
is difficult to figure out the origin of language--it doesn't fossilize, as we talked about last
week. We do however, have physical evidence in other forms....
But dating is difficult for the period in question (300-50kya). C14 is only good to about
40kya, and K/Ar is only good for older periods (500kya or so). So folks rely on
_ Blade technology.
_ Worked bone and other organic materials.
_ Personal ornaments and ‘‘art’’ or images.
_ Structured living spaces.
_ Ritual.
_ Economic intensification, reflected in the
exploitation of aquatic or other resources
that require specialized technology.
_ Enlarged geographic range.
_ Expanded exchange networks.
But this list is just a bunch of traits. What are the deeper processes that these things are
a manifestation of? We might say that modern human behavior is characterized by:
1. Abstract thinking, the ability to act with reference to abstract concepts not limited in
time or space.
2. Planning depth, the ability to formulate strategies based on past experience and to act
upon them in a group context.
3. Behavioral, economic, and technological innovativeness
4. Symbolic behavior, the ability to represent objects, people, and abstract concepts with
arbitrary symbols, vocal or visual, and to reify such symbols in cultural practice.
Traditionally, the origins of these characteristics, and their archaeological manifestations,
were seen to be Europe. This model posited a "Human Revolution" in the European
Upper Paleolithic, about 40-50kya. Linked to a revolution because behaviors show up
late, suddenly, and at the same time as anatomically modern H. sapiens.
But the earliest H. sapiens fossils are actually found in Africa, and are dated to more
than 100kya. And this time lag suggests that African early humans were behaviorally
primitive--acting in the same ways as older hominid species.
African archaeological record shows all the hallmarks of the so-called human revolution,
and earlier than in Europe, beginning about 300kya.
Product of Eurocentric bias. The Upper Paleolithic has some great stuff in Europe, and
there has been a lot of research there, but this focus has obscured the actual process by
which human behavior came about.
Challenges the idea of a "revolution" as such. People borrowing the concept of
punctuated equilibrium from paleontology, but in reality these human traits developed
over a period of 200k years and all over the continent. more gradual and sporadic than
previously thought.
People were living in dispersed, small groups, and so it looks like this was a cultural
rather than neurological process.
Usually, the human revolution was linked to the origin of fully syntactical language, but it
is difficult to figure out the origin of language--it doesn't fossilize, as we talked about last
week. We do however, have physical evidence in other forms....
But dating is difficult for the period in question (300-50kya). C14 is only good to about
40kya, and K/Ar is only good for older periods (500kya or so). So folks rely on
58
stratigraphy (law of superposition again) and other relative dating techniques, as well as
some fancy chemical analyses that are still being developed.
And who are we dealing with here? The first H. sapiens show up at about 200kya (recent
re-evaluations of Ethiopian stuff)... But some of these behaviors were probably already
in existence with earlier and closely related hominids. In fact, Homo helmei may
someday be considered H. sapiens.
Overall, the fossil evidence shows in situ development of H. sapiens, and human
behavior, in Africa.
But how do we get behavior from fossils?
Cranial and post-cranial remains can give insight into stress levels and activity patterns,
but also looking at archaeological evidence associated with early humans.
What we see is that people came up with cultural solutions to their problems: What to
eat, and how not to get eaten.
In terms of technology, early humans started using grinding stones and blades by at
least 280kya. Blades for example are a more efficient use of raw material than the
previous acheulian hand axes, etc. Blades have a greater length of cutting edge per unit
volume of stone.
Also see retouched points by about 235kya. projectile points made hunting less
dangerous--"death from a distance"
In fact, it was long assumed that early humans in Africa didn't actually hunt at all, or that
if they did that they didn't take healthy adults, and that they didn't go after dangerous
species.
This was based analysis of faunal assemblages. They thought that because there were
fewer limb bones, that meant people were scavenging. But people would have perhaps
broken the limbs to get at marrow. And recent reevaluations show that early archs didn't
keep the limb shafts b/c they couldn't ID them.
New evidence suggests that limbs are prevalent, and healthy adults are represented, as
are dangerous things like warthogs, and herding animals like zebra.
Getting back to stone tools, microliths appear earlier in Africa than in Europe. They've
been found at 65kya in Africa, but only 35kya in Europe (italy). These show a modern
approach to technology--retooling, don't have to remake the whole thing.
Like microliths, bone tools occur late. They've often been seen as a hallmark of human
revolution in Europe. But polished bone tools appear earlier in Africa (~60-70kya),
although there is no real reason why so late. Bone points are especially well
documented at Blombos cave in South Africa, and evidence from other sites shows a
continuous development of boneworking tradition.
Materials, particularly for stone tools, were traded over great distances (>300km)--
evidence of planning and scheduling. back to about 150kya.
stratigraphy (law of superposition again) and other relative dating techniques, as well as
some fancy chemical analyses that are still being developed.
And who are we dealing with here? The first H. sapiens show up at about 200kya (recent
re-evaluations of Ethiopian stuff)... But some of these behaviors were probably already
in existence with earlier and closely related hominids. In fact, Homo helmei may
someday be considered H. sapiens.
Overall, the fossil evidence shows in situ development of H. sapiens, and human
behavior, in Africa.
But how do we get behavior from fossils?
Cranial and post-cranial remains can give insight into stress levels and activity patterns,
but also looking at archaeological evidence associated with early humans.
What we see is that people came up with cultural solutions to their problems: What to
eat, and how not to get eaten.
In terms of technology, early humans started using grinding stones and blades by at
least 280kya. Blades for example are a more efficient use of raw material than the
previous acheulian hand axes, etc. Blades have a greater length of cutting edge per unit
volume of stone.
Also see retouched points by about 235kya. projectile points made hunting less
dangerous--"death from a distance"
In fact, it was long assumed that early humans in Africa didn't actually hunt at all, or that
if they did that they didn't take healthy adults, and that they didn't go after dangerous
species.
This was based analysis of faunal assemblages. They thought that because there were
fewer limb bones, that meant people were scavenging. But people would have perhaps
broken the limbs to get at marrow. And recent reevaluations show that early archs didn't
keep the limb shafts b/c they couldn't ID them.
New evidence suggests that limbs are prevalent, and healthy adults are represented, as
are dangerous things like warthogs, and herding animals like zebra.
Getting back to stone tools, microliths appear earlier in Africa than in Europe. They've
been found at 65kya in Africa, but only 35kya in Europe (italy). These show a modern
approach to technology--retooling, don't have to remake the whole thing.
Like microliths, bone tools occur late. They've often been seen as a hallmark of human
revolution in Europe. But polished bone tools appear earlier in Africa (~60-70kya),
although there is no real reason why so late. Bone points are especially well
documented at Blombos cave in South Africa, and evidence from other sites shows a
continuous development of boneworking tradition.
Materials, particularly for stone tools, were traded over great distances (>300km)--
evidence of planning and scheduling. back to about 150kya.
59
Food scarcity can be also avoided through storage and scheduling (seasonal round, etc)
Also through economic adaptations like intensification of habitat exploitation, going after
smaller resources. e.g. we see that the exploitation of shellfish comes in at about
150kya. Shellfish can't be eaten all time, so it appears that people were planning their
settlement in accordance with the seasonal availability of food resources...
This is a uniquely modern behavior.. strategies of risk management that rely on long
distance trade and exchange are the defining features of ethnographically documented
hunter gatherer groups all over the world.
segue into more symbolic stuff....
evidence of red ochre grinding 200kya
notational pieces, notched red ochre as well as bone and eggshell.
Also beads.
And although the quantity and quality of evidence for symbolic behavior is small in
Africa, it is much greater than the European U.P. even though much more research has
gone on there--more sites excavated.
Projectile points can be seen as stylistic.
Overall, the development of so-called human behavior began much earlier than
previously thought, and in Africa as opposed to Europe. This was a slow, sporadic
process that took over 200,000 years, and if considered broadly is still continuing today.
Art, Music, Dance (Styles, Origins, Etc)
Readings: Bohannan + Curtin and Connah)
- “Art”
- Rock art and plastic arts
- Not worshiped
o Symbols of ideas, historical events, myths
- Early bronze sculptures (Bohannan + Curtin)
o (Nigeria) Ife 12
th
c. bronze heads
ƒ classical naturalistic style
ƒ German ethnologist: assumed they were not made by Africans
(Portuguese made them)
ƒ Lost wax casting
ƒ Also in terra cotta
o Benin
ƒ Bronze heads
ƒ Carved elephant tusks
ƒ Bronze plaques (show Portuguese in medieval European armor)
- Last week: Blombos ochre 70+kya, OES beads 40+kya, shell beads, body art
- most heavily studied rock art traditions in southern Africa (oldest, longest span)
and the Sahara
- preservation
- hunter-gatherers, herders, farmers
- documents of lives (difficult to date and read) on stone
- assumption of art for pleasure, hunting magic; complex ideas of a society
- means of communication
Food scarcity can be also avoided through storage and scheduling (seasonal round, etc)
Also through economic adaptations like intensification of habitat exploitation, going after
smaller resources. e.g. we see that the exploitation of shellfish comes in at about
150kya. Shellfish can't be eaten all time, so it appears that people were planning their
settlement in accordance with the seasonal availability of food resources...
This is a uniquely modern behavior.. strategies of risk management that rely on long
distance trade and exchange are the defining features of ethnographically documented
hunter gatherer groups all over the world.
segue into more symbolic stuff....
evidence of red ochre grinding 200kya
notational pieces, notched red ochre as well as bone and eggshell.
Also beads.
And although the quantity and quality of evidence for symbolic behavior is small in
Africa, it is much greater than the European U.P. even though much more research has
gone on there--more sites excavated.
Projectile points can be seen as stylistic.
Overall, the development of so-called human behavior began much earlier than
previously thought, and in Africa as opposed to Europe. This was a slow, sporadic
process that took over 200,000 years, and if considered broadly is still continuing today.
Art, Music, Dance (Styles, Origins, Etc)
Readings: Bohannan + Curtin and Connah)
- “Art”
- Rock art and plastic arts
- Not worshiped
o Symbols of ideas, historical events, myths
- Early bronze sculptures (Bohannan + Curtin)
o (Nigeria) Ife 12
th
c. bronze heads
ƒ classical naturalistic style
ƒ German ethnologist: assumed they were not made by Africans
(Portuguese made them)
ƒ Lost wax casting
ƒ Also in terra cotta
o Benin
ƒ Bronze heads
ƒ Carved elephant tusks
ƒ Bronze plaques (show Portuguese in medieval European armor)
- Last week: Blombos ochre 70+kya, OES beads 40+kya, shell beads, body art
- most heavily studied rock art traditions in southern Africa (oldest, longest span)
and the Sahara
- preservation
- hunter-gatherers, herders, farmers
- documents of lives (difficult to date and read) on stone
- assumption of art for pleasure, hunting magic; complex ideas of a society
- means of communication
60
- source of power (images and place)
- Sahara
o Cooler, moister conditions: 11,000-4500 ya
o Engravings and paintings
o Scenes of animals and everyday life
o Mainly the work of food-producers (herders)
o Practice faded away after ~2000 ya
o Fezzan (southern Lybia) and Tassili-n-Ajjer (southern Algeria)
o Change in subject matter:
ƒ Large, naturalistic engravings of animals (buffalo, rhino,
elephants, hippo, giraffes, ostriches, lions, antelope, cattle,
sheep); humans with animal heads carrying weapons
ƒ Paintings of humans with round featureless heads
ƒ Paintings and engravings of herds of cattle, herdsmen; scenes of
conflict in Tassili-n-Ajjer, hunting, traveling, camping, dancing,
milking; cattle shown with details
ƒ Paintings and engravings of horses, riding and pulling chariots
ƒ Paintings and engravings of camels (drier conditions?)
- Southern Africa
o Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho (Angola?
Malawi?)
o Drakensberg
o Pigments of iron oxide (hematite) and charcoal mixed with melted fat or
blood
o Recent images show men in European clothing riding horses with guns,
cattle and cattle raids, sailing ship
o Apollo 11 cave (Namibia)
ƒ As much as 26,000 ya
ƒ Minimum dates of fallen slabs
o Wild animals, humans, domesticates, anthropomorphic figure s,
handprints, animal paw prints
o Narrative scenes of dancing or hunting
o Variety of colors
o Painting and engraving techniques
o Bleek’s ethnographic info
ƒ Interpretation of life, rituals and beliefs
ƒ Small groups (~25)
ƒ Shamans
• Curers, control game, bring rain
• Trance dance: tremble, sweat, bleed from nose, collapse
o (Bohannan + Curtin) polyrhthms of African dance
ƒ simple rhythms played at once (different
parts of the body take on different rhythms)
ƒ ex. stomping, dance rattles, singing,
clapping
• Sensation of flying or being underwater
• Painters?
• Role of the eland; depicted dying as a metaphor for the
shaman’s dance
• Rain animals
- source of power (images and place)
- Sahara
o Cooler, moister conditions: 11,000-4500 ya
o Engravings and paintings
o Scenes of animals and everyday life
o Mainly the work of food-producers (herders)
o Practice faded away after ~2000 ya
o Fezzan (southern Lybia) and Tassili-n-Ajjer (southern Algeria)
o Change in subject matter:
ƒ Large, naturalistic engravings of animals (buffalo, rhino,
elephants, hippo, giraffes, ostriches, lions, antelope, cattle,
sheep); humans with animal heads carrying weapons
ƒ Paintings of humans with round featureless heads
ƒ Paintings and engravings of herds of cattle, herdsmen; scenes of
conflict in Tassili-n-Ajjer, hunting, traveling, camping, dancing,
milking; cattle shown with details
ƒ Paintings and engravings of horses, riding and pulling chariots
ƒ Paintings and engravings of camels (drier conditions?)
- Southern Africa
o Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho (Angola?
Malawi?)
o Drakensberg
o Pigments of iron oxide (hematite) and charcoal mixed with melted fat or
blood
o Recent images show men in European clothing riding horses with guns,
cattle and cattle raids, sailing ship
o Apollo 11 cave (Namibia)
ƒ As much as 26,000 ya
ƒ Minimum dates of fallen slabs
o Wild animals, humans, domesticates, anthropomorphic figure s,
handprints, animal paw prints
o Narrative scenes of dancing or hunting
o Variety of colors
o Painting and engraving techniques
o Bleek’s ethnographic info
ƒ Interpretation of life, rituals and beliefs
ƒ Small groups (~25)
ƒ Shamans
• Curers, control game, bring rain
• Trance dance: tremble, sweat, bleed from nose, collapse
o (Bohannan + Curtin) polyrhthms of African dance
ƒ simple rhythms played at once (different
parts of the body take on different rhythms)
ƒ ex. stomping, dance rattles, singing,
clapping
• Sensation of flying or being underwater
• Painters?
• Role of the eland; depicted dying as a metaphor for the
shaman’s dance
• Rain animals
61
• Therianthropes/Anthropomorphs
• Natural features of rock
o Doubts about how recent info can be applied to the past
ƒ Response: continuity in subject matter over a long time period
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 5 Test 2 (15 minutes – 20 points)
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) This site has revealed the greatest amount of data on early hominid behavior:
a. Sterkfontein
b. Olduvai Gorge
c. Laetoli
d. Le Moustier
2) Australopithecines lived in:
a. Africa
b. Africa and Asia
c. Africa, Europe and Asia
d. None of the above
3) The `multiregional’ hypothesis of human origins is contrasted with which
hypothesis?
a. `Out of Africa
b. Creationism
c. Mitochondrial `Eve’
d. `Man the Hunter’
4) Australopithecines are best classified as hominids on the basis of:
a. archaeological evidence of tool use
b. cranial and postcranial material which shows that they were bipedal
c. dental material which shows that they mainly ate meat
d. cranial evidence which shows they were large-brained
5) What does current paleoanthropological research on H. ergaster/erectus tell
us?
a. they could not hunt (or scavenge)
• Therianthropes/Anthropomorphs
• Natural features of rock
o Doubts about how recent info can be applied to the past
ƒ Response: continuity in subject matter over a long time period
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 5 Test 2 (15 minutes – 20 points)
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) This site has revealed the greatest amount of data on early hominid behavior:
a. Sterkfontein
b. Olduvai Gorge
c. Laetoli
d. Le Moustier
2) Australopithecines lived in:
a. Africa
b. Africa and Asia
c. Africa, Europe and Asia
d. None of the above
3) The `multiregional’ hypothesis of human origins is contrasted with which
hypothesis?
a. `Out of Africa
b. Creationism
c. Mitochondrial `Eve’
d. `Man the Hunter’
4) Australopithecines are best classified as hominids on the basis of:
a. archaeological evidence of tool use
b. cranial and postcranial material which shows that they were bipedal
c. dental material which shows that they mainly ate meat
d. cranial evidence which shows they were large-brained
5) What does current paleoanthropological research on H. ergaster/erectus tell
us?
a. they could not hunt (or scavenge)
62
b. some individuals were much taller than previous species of
hominids
c. they did not use tools
d. they are only found in Africa
6) H. habilis has been found associated with ______________ tools.
a. Acheulean
b. Levallois
c. Power
d. Oldowan
7) The earliest stone tools are approximately __________ years old.
a. 500,000
b. 7-8 million
c. 2.5 million
d. 10,000
8) In Africa, Neanderthal fossils have been found at:
a. Broken Hill
b. Olduvai Gorge
c. Klasies River Mouth
d. None of these sites
9) Current fossil evidence supports the idea that Homo sapiens first appeared in:
a. Asia
b. South America
c. Africa
d. Middle East
10) In terms of evolution, the word "fittest" in the phrase "survival of the fittest"
means:
a. Best
b. More likely to survive to reproduce
c. More advanced
d. None of the above
True/False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ A hearth provides evidence for controlled use of fire.
_F_ Homo habilis appeared around 1 million years ago.
_F_ Acheulean stone ‘hand-axes’ were created by the robust Australopithecines.
_T_ Homo sapiens are first found in Africa 600,000 to 400,000 years ago.
b. some individuals were much taller than previous species of
hominids
c. they did not use tools
d. they are only found in Africa
6) H. habilis has been found associated with ______________ tools.
a. Acheulean
b. Levallois
c. Power
d. Oldowan
7) The earliest stone tools are approximately __________ years old.
a. 500,000
b. 7-8 million
c. 2.5 million
d. 10,000
8) In Africa, Neanderthal fossils have been found at:
a. Broken Hill
b. Olduvai Gorge
c. Klasies River Mouth
d. None of these sites
9) Current fossil evidence supports the idea that Homo sapiens first appeared in:
a. Asia
b. South America
c. Africa
d. Middle East
10) In terms of evolution, the word "fittest" in the phrase "survival of the fittest"
means:
a. Best
b. More likely to survive to reproduce
c. More advanced
d. None of the above
True/False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ A hearth provides evidence for controlled use of fire.
_F_ Homo habilis appeared around 1 million years ago.
_F_ Acheulean stone ‘hand-axes’ were created by the robust Australopithecines.
_T_ Homo sapiens are first found in Africa 600,000 to 400,000 years ago.
63
_F_ The robust Australopithecines are considered to be direct human ancestors.
Arrange by Age
Arrange the following hominid species in the order of their appearance on Earth
by placing a 1 next to the first (oldest) species to appear through to a 4 for the
last (youngest) species to appear. 2 points per
correct answer
__4__ Homo sapiens __ 1__ Australopithecus afarensis
__3__ Homo ergaster/erectus __ 2__ Homo habilis
Matching
Match the hominid species listed on the left with the numbered phrase (1-6) on
the right that best describes the hominid. Use each phrase only once 3 points.
_2_ Australopithecus boisei 1. Lucy, a 40% complete skeleton found at
Hadar.
_5_ Homo habilis 2. This species was the most robust
Australopithecine
_1_ Australopithecus afarensis 3. The first hominid to migrate out of Africa.
_3_ Homo ergaster/erectus 4. This species’ fossils occur only in
southern Africa.
_4_ Australopithecus africanus 5. This hominid group lived at the same time as
some robust australopithecines but had a
larger braincase.
_6_ Australopithecus aethiopicus 6. This species was probably an intermediate
between gracile and robust Australopithecines.
Bonus questions
_F_ The robust Australopithecines are considered to be direct human ancestors.
Arrange by Age
Arrange the following hominid species in the order of their appearance on Earth
by placing a 1 next to the first (oldest) species to appear through to a 4 for the
last (youngest) species to appear. 2 points per
correct answer
__4__ Homo sapiens __ 1__ Australopithecus afarensis
__3__ Homo ergaster/erectus __ 2__ Homo habilis
Matching
Match the hominid species listed on the left with the numbered phrase (1-6) on
the right that best describes the hominid. Use each phrase only once 3 points.
_2_ Australopithecus boisei 1. Lucy, a 40% complete skeleton found at
Hadar.
_5_ Homo habilis 2. This species was the most robust
Australopithecine
_1_ Australopithecus afarensis 3. The first hominid to migrate out of Africa.
_3_ Homo ergaster/erectus 4. This species’ fossils occur only in
southern Africa.
_4_ Australopithecus africanus 5. This hominid group lived at the same time as
some robust australopithecines but had a
larger braincase.
_6_ Australopithecus aethiopicus 6. This species was probably an intermediate
between gracile and robust Australopithecines.
Bonus questions
64
1 point per correct answer
1) Name an archaeological site where Homo sapiens was found in:
Zambia: ___ Broken Hill; Kalambo Falls_____
South Africa: ___ Elandsfontein, KRM, Border cave, Die Kelders
Ethiopia: ___ Omo-Kibish____________________________
2) Homo ergaster/erectus fossils have no big differences in male and female
body size. Because of this, what type of social group do paleoanthropologists
believe they had?
______________Pair-bonding (not male-male competition or polygyny)____
3) What hominid species utilized the Levallois technique to make stone tools?
____________________Homo sapiens_______________________________
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 6 Writing Assignment 2 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the
beginning of class on 4
th
March. Make sure to link your writing to readings done
in class. Use as many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as
possible. Reference ideas and facts where appropriate and remember that
nothing prevents you from reading ahead in Iliffe or using other books from the
library.
1. All people are concerned with `Origins.’ An origin event can work on different
time scales and landscapes – from the origin of humans in Africa (evolution plus
`Out of Africa’ hypothesis) through to a personal origin (“I was born 43 years ago
in Philadelphia”). What does Africa offer to the world in terms of understanding
human origins? How would you explain to someone unfamiliar with Ancient Africa
how they are linked to Africa? Use as many facts as possible. Describe for the
person how people, animals, landscapes and technologies changed over time
(and continue to change?). (Use, for example, Iliffe pages 6-12; Shillington pages
1-5; Connah pages 1-19, esp last 6 pages; Phillipson pages 12-59 and any other
relevant sources).
2. Human origins (represented by fossil skeletons) are just one of a range of
`firsts’ or origin events that have (and will continue to?) take place in Africa. What
were these other origin events? Where did they occur? When? Why? What is the
physical evidence for these events? Can you think of origin events that must
have happened but that leave little or no physical trace? (Use, for example, Iliffe
1 point per correct answer
1) Name an archaeological site where Homo sapiens was found in:
Zambia: ___ Broken Hill; Kalambo Falls_____
South Africa: ___ Elandsfontein, KRM, Border cave, Die Kelders
Ethiopia: ___ Omo-Kibish____________________________
2) Homo ergaster/erectus fossils have no big differences in male and female
body size. Because of this, what type of social group do paleoanthropologists
believe they had?
______________Pair-bonding (not male-male competition or polygyny)____
3) What hominid species utilized the Levallois technique to make stone tools?
____________________Homo sapiens_______________________________
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 6 Writing Assignment 2 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the
beginning of class on 4
th
March. Make sure to link your writing to readings done
in class. Use as many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as
possible. Reference ideas and facts where appropriate and remember that
nothing prevents you from reading ahead in Iliffe or using other books from the
library.
1. All people are concerned with `Origins.’ An origin event can work on different
time scales and landscapes – from the origin of humans in Africa (evolution plus
`Out of Africa’ hypothesis) through to a personal origin (“I was born 43 years ago
in Philadelphia”). What does Africa offer to the world in terms of understanding
human origins? How would you explain to someone unfamiliar with Ancient Africa
how they are linked to Africa? Use as many facts as possible. Describe for the
person how people, animals, landscapes and technologies changed over time
(and continue to change?). (Use, for example, Iliffe pages 6-12; Shillington pages
1-5; Connah pages 1-19, esp last 6 pages; Phillipson pages 12-59 and any other
relevant sources).
2. Human origins (represented by fossil skeletons) are just one of a range of
`firsts’ or origin events that have (and will continue to?) take place in Africa. What
were these other origin events? Where did they occur? When? Why? What is the
physical evidence for these events? Can you think of origin events that must
have happened but that leave little or no physical trace? (Use, for example, Iliffe
65
pages 6-12; Phillipson 12-59, 115-116; Shillington pages 14-16 and any other
relevant sources).
3. `Tools’ are a key invention that drastically altered the course of human
evolution. Choose, from among others, the following `tools’ – fire, stone, bone,
art, music, agriculture, metal- and describe how and when these came about.
What other animals use tools? Is tool use a distinctive human activity? (see, for
example, Iliffe chapter 3; Connah pages 7-12, Phillipson pages 32-59; 117-157;
Shillington pages 7-13; 29-35 and any other relevant sources)
4. `Art’ is a distinguishing artifact and activity that has deep African roots and
which continues into the present. Compare Southern and North African rock arts
in terms of technique, method of production, age, subject matter, meaning and
preservation. How are they similar? How do they differ? What other art traditions
have there been in Africa? (see Connah pages 27-38; Bohannan and Curtin
pages 50-61 and any other relevant sources).
Good luck, remember first to read the question thoroughly and know what it is
asking you to do. Then read relevant course materials, assemble facts and draft
a plan of how your words will answer the question. Write a first draft and then
write a final draft with a reference list/bibliography.
Always imagine you are explaining your argument to someone who knows very
little about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 5a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Explain and hand out test. 15 mins and take back test.
4. Hand out next week’s readings. Use Connah, Week 4 article as example of good
writing – clear heading, nice intro, states the problem clearly. Succint sentences; good
conclusion. Also Phillipson page 50 and most of Curtin and Bohannan. Alert to use of
`may be’ and `probably’ type language in texts to show contingent knowledge. Essay
topics and unclaimed essays or tests.
5. Alert to possible change – extra week Farming and Cities and Ginsburg lecture.
6. Feedback:
a) David Cohen to donate his extra Physical Anthropology textbook to library.
b) Tigers and the specificity and `accident’ of evolution.
pages 6-12; Phillipson 12-59, 115-116; Shillington pages 14-16 and any other
relevant sources).
3. `Tools’ are a key invention that drastically altered the course of human
evolution. Choose, from among others, the following `tools’ – fire, stone, bone,
art, music, agriculture, metal- and describe how and when these came about.
What other animals use tools? Is tool use a distinctive human activity? (see, for
example, Iliffe chapter 3; Connah pages 7-12, Phillipson pages 32-59; 117-157;
Shillington pages 7-13; 29-35 and any other relevant sources)
4. `Art’ is a distinguishing artifact and activity that has deep African roots and
which continues into the present. Compare Southern and North African rock arts
in terms of technique, method of production, age, subject matter, meaning and
preservation. How are they similar? How do they differ? What other art traditions
have there been in Africa? (see Connah pages 27-38; Bohannan and Curtin
pages 50-61 and any other relevant sources).
Good luck, remember first to read the question thoroughly and know what it is
asking you to do. Then read relevant course materials, assemble facts and draft
a plan of how your words will answer the question. Write a first draft and then
write a final draft with a reference list/bibliography.
Always imagine you are explaining your argument to someone who knows very
little about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 5a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Explain and hand out test. 15 mins and take back test.
4. Hand out next week’s readings. Use Connah, Week 4 article as example of good
writing – clear heading, nice intro, states the problem clearly. Succint sentences; good
conclusion. Also Phillipson page 50 and most of Curtin and Bohannan. Alert to use of
`may be’ and `probably’ type language in texts to show contingent knowledge. Essay
topics and unclaimed essays or tests.
5. Alert to possible change – extra week Farming and Cities and Ginsburg lecture.
6. Feedback:
a) David Cohen to donate his extra Physical Anthropology textbook to library.
b) Tigers and the specificity and `accident’ of evolution.
66
7. Lesson:
a) Situate Evolution and Creationism within broader context of `Origins’.
b) Stress we are dealing with positive rather than negative evidence – can’t argue what
is not there [link to Coincidence video]. Link to Shillington reading. Spatialisation of
difference – hierarchical or context-dependant? Modern diseases better than h-g
lifestyle?
c) Go over `out-of-Africa’ vs `multi-regionalism’ (page 5 Shillington) and evidence for and
against. Bring African Eve in as an independent but problematic, supporting source of
evidence for OOA.
d) Piltdown Fraud – go over expectations vs evidence. Ouzman article for the politics or
origins.
e) Environment – how it is constantly changing but with non-human timescale.
Relationship to Gondwanaland. How environment enables and constrains. Link to Iliffe
and environment. Bipedalism and binocular vision. Coxyx. Laetoli footprints and
accidents of preservation – info on bipedalism.
8. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
9. Video: N/um Chai: Show and discuss `Origins’ of art, fire, tools, music, dance, ritual,
language to set up Lee and David’s Sunday lesson.
10. Admin: check off all drops and who is in (Tunstall?) – cross check with grades.
Leave essays/tests for David & Lee.
11. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Grade essays and tests (David to supply Test master sheet).
2. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 5b
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and admin.
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
3. Lee, David to frame discuss various `firsts’ like Swartkrans evidence for fire at 400
000 years; Makapan `sculpture’ 200 000 year-old central African harpoons; Blombos 70
000 year-old marked ochre; African rock art, 40 000 year old ostrich eggshell beads; San
gong rocks, discussion of tracking as the first science.
4. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
5. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa part 1 to set up next week’s classes on
Farming and cities.
6. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Grade Essays and Tests (David to supply Test master sheet).
2. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
7. Lesson:
a) Situate Evolution and Creationism within broader context of `Origins’.
b) Stress we are dealing with positive rather than negative evidence – can’t argue what
is not there [link to Coincidence video]. Link to Shillington reading. Spatialisation of
difference – hierarchical or context-dependant? Modern diseases better than h-g
lifestyle?
c) Go over `out-of-Africa’ vs `multi-regionalism’ (page 5 Shillington) and evidence for and
against. Bring African Eve in as an independent but problematic, supporting source of
evidence for OOA.
d) Piltdown Fraud – go over expectations vs evidence. Ouzman article for the politics or
origins.
e) Environment – how it is constantly changing but with non-human timescale.
Relationship to Gondwanaland. How environment enables and constrains. Link to Iliffe
and environment. Bipedalism and binocular vision. Coxyx. Laetoli footprints and
accidents of preservation – info on bipedalism.
8. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
9. Video: N/um Chai: Show and discuss `Origins’ of art, fire, tools, music, dance, ritual,
language to set up Lee and David’s Sunday lesson.
10. Admin: check off all drops and who is in (Tunstall?) – cross check with grades.
Leave essays/tests for David & Lee.
11. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Grade essays and tests (David to supply Test master sheet).
2. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 5b
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and admin.
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
3. Lee, David to frame discuss various `firsts’ like Swartkrans evidence for fire at 400
000 years; Makapan `sculpture’ 200 000 year-old central African harpoons; Blombos 70
000 year-old marked ochre; African rock art, 40 000 year old ostrich eggshell beads; San
gong rocks, discussion of tracking as the first science.
4. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
5. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa part 1 to set up next week’s classes on
Farming and cities.
6. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Grade Essays and Tests (David to supply Test master sheet).
2. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
67
6. The rise of farming and cities
25 & 27 February
Lesson aim
1. To trace how and where agriculture came about and how environment, food and
culture influence lifestyle.
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 2 on 25
th
2. Feedback on Test 2 and Essay 1.
3. Consider the differences and similarities between hunting-gathering-fishing;
pastoralism and agriculture. Consider some of the unintended consequences of
agriculture like sedentism, craft specialization, political hierarchy. What were the early
domesticated plants and animals and where did farming first take place in Africa?
4. Consider food taboos and economic rationalism.
5. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
6. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 6-36 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; pages 117-157 of Phillipson’s
African Archaeology; pages 14-35 of Shillington’s History of Africa; & pages 139-149 of
Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans
2. OHT visuals of early centers of agriculture and their associated artifacts.
3. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa (Part 2).
For next week
1. Assign pages 152-164 of Bohannan and Curtins Africa and Africans.
2. Assign pages 69-75, 82-117, 125-130, 157-168 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
3. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 3). No – will be open book.
Reading load: 69 pages.
Notes
Modes of Subsistence and the farming `revolution
“It is nevertheless true that farming has provided the economic basis for most of the
major technological, artistic and socio-political achievements of African culture during the
past 7, 000 years
Phillipson 1993:122.
Key terms
Agriculture The science, art, and business of cultivating soil, producing crops,
and raising livestock; farming
Autochthonous Originating where found; indigenous
Animal husbandry The branch of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of
domestic animals
Farming Holistic term for food production that goes beyond jus t the
economic (Phillipson 119).
Foragers: As per hunter-gatherer. Stresses collected nature of food.
6. The rise of farming and cities
25 & 27 February
Lesson aim
1. To trace how and where agriculture came about and how environment, food and
culture influence lifestyle.
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 2 on 25
th
2. Feedback on Test 2 and Essay 1.
3. Consider the differences and similarities between hunting-gathering-fishing;
pastoralism and agriculture. Consider some of the unintended consequences of
agriculture like sedentism, craft specialization, political hierarchy. What were the early
domesticated plants and animals and where did farming first take place in Africa?
4. Consider food taboos and economic rationalism.
5. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
6. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 6-36 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; pages 117-157 of Phillipson’s
African Archaeology; pages 14-35 of Shillington’s History of Africa; & pages 139-149 of
Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans
2. OHT visuals of early centers of agriculture and their associated artifacts.
3. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa (Part 2).
For next week
1. Assign pages 152-164 of Bohannan and Curtins Africa and Africans.
2. Assign pages 69-75, 82-117, 125-130, 157-168 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
3. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 3). No – will be open book.
Reading load: 69 pages.
Notes
Modes of Subsistence and the farming `revolution
“It is nevertheless true that farming has provided the economic basis for most of the
major technological, artistic and socio-political achievements of African culture during the
past 7, 000 years
Phillipson 1993:122.
Key terms
Agriculture The science, art, and business of cultivating soil, producing crops,
and raising livestock; farming
Autochthonous Originating where found; indigenous
Animal husbandry The branch of agriculture concerned with the care and breeding of
domestic animals
Farming Holistic term for food production that goes beyond jus t the
economic (Phillipson 119).
Foragers: As per hunter-gatherer. Stresses collected nature of food.
68
Gatherer-Hunter- Better than `hunter-gatherer’ on grounds of being more
representative of what is consumed and how collected.
Wide or specialized use of resources. Modern
ethnographic analogues with San suggest 70% plant use.
Small-ish groups 8-25 (p. 9 Iliffe) unless in areas of R-
selected resources (marine and fish and migrating herds; B
and Curtin 140-141). Problems of high infant mortality and
arthritis. Site of Taforalat in Morocco with 200 people
(burial? Over time? Stress need to use other sources). San
isolated population (so dangers of using them as
analogues).
Herding Having domestic animals, but they may not be socially or
economically important (some San livestock-keeping) (Phillipson
119).
Horticulture The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or
ornamental plants.
Neolithic New stone age Neos plus Lithos (Shillington 15). Euro-centric?
Nomadism A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and
move according to the seasons from place to place in search of
food, water, and grazing land
Pastoralism Having domestic animals and adjusting your way of life to theirs;
central importance (Phillipson 119)
Peculation Misappropriation of public property
Primogeniture Being the first-born or eldest child of the same parents
Terminus ante quem Reference points in the dating of a stratigraphic sequence on a
site before which (ante) or after which (post) a context was
formed.
Terminus post quem
Overview central question why adopt farming?
“people have been exclusively foragers for more than 99 per cent of their existence”
(Phillipson 1993:117.
The distinction between hunting and gathering on the one hand and farming on the
other is thus far from distinct (Phillipson 120)
• People as h-g-fishers (Later Stone Age) well aware of plant and animal cycles.
• Broad range of manipulation from none to incipient (weeding, watering, selecting)
to fully invested.
• Iliffe page 17 – agriculture without transformation of wild form to domestic. So not
detectable until well underway.
• Bohannan and Curtin page 140 “There have been many occasions in the history
of human development when cultural steps were taken from which there was no
return” Debate this bold statement. Tools and fire – yes [leading on to iron].
Farming?
• Para 2 on evolution useful to discuss.
• `Revolution’? (Shillington 16) Sporadic, long-term, a supplement to h-g-fishing.
• Also good place to discuss Occam’s Razor as an element of critical thinking
(B&C pages 40-141). Apply to Out-Of-Africa & Multi-Regionalism.
Gatherer-Hunter- Better than `hunter-gatherer’ on grounds of being more
representative of what is consumed and how collected.
Wide or specialized use of resources. Modern
ethnographic analogues with San suggest 70% plant use.
Small-ish groups 8-25 (p. 9 Iliffe) unless in areas of R-
selected resources (marine and fish and migrating herds; B
and Curtin 140-141). Problems of high infant mortality and
arthritis. Site of Taforalat in Morocco with 200 people
(burial? Over time? Stress need to use other sources). San
isolated population (so dangers of using them as
analogues).
Herding Having domestic animals, but they may not be socially or
economically important (some San livestock-keeping) (Phillipson
119).
Horticulture The science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers, or
ornamental plants.
Neolithic New stone age Neos plus Lithos (Shillington 15). Euro-centric?
Nomadism A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and
move according to the seasons from place to place in search of
food, water, and grazing land
Pastoralism Having domestic animals and adjusting your way of life to theirs;
central importance (Phillipson 119)
Peculation Misappropriation of public property
Primogeniture Being the first-born or eldest child of the same parents
Terminus ante quem Reference points in the dating of a stratigraphic sequence on a
site before which (ante) or after which (post) a context was
formed.
Terminus post quem
Overview central question why adopt farming?
“people have been exclusively foragers for more than 99 per cent of their existence”
(Phillipson 1993:117.
The distinction between hunting and gathering on the one hand and farming on the
other is thus far from distinct (Phillipson 120)
• People as h-g-fishers (Later Stone Age) well aware of plant and animal cycles.
• Broad range of manipulation from none to incipient (weeding, watering, selecting)
to fully invested.
• Iliffe page 17 – agriculture without transformation of wild form to domestic. So not
detectable until well underway.
• Bohannan and Curtin page 140 “There have been many occasions in the history
of human development when cultural steps were taken from which there was no
return” Debate this bold statement. Tools and fire – yes [leading on to iron].
Farming?
• Para 2 on evolution useful to discuss.
• `Revolution’? (Shillington 16) Sporadic, long-term, a supplement to h-g-fishing.
• Also good place to discuss Occam’s Razor as an element of critical thinking
(B&C pages 40-141). Apply to Out-Of-Africa & Multi-Regionalism.
69
• Africa perhaps odd-ish because animal husbandry preceded plant domestication;
perhaps because of climatic changes (dryer).
• Farming not just economic – status, stimulants, religious (Phillipson 119).
• One invention or independent centers? Rice, cereals and tubers require very
different care, suggesting independence. (Phillipson 118).
• `Package’ of farming (agriculture/herding or both) and pottery, ground stone,
storage, sedentism? Not necessarily. Not immovable states but mobile
strategies. Sites were seasonal suggesting different subsistence strategies at
different times – such as at Dhar Tichitt in Mauritania – Phillipson 129 and 128
pic of stone walls; also page 157 at Turkana.
• Environmental conditions and population pressure? (Contrast Phillipson 120 with
Shillington’s 14 as bad reasoning.
Environment
• Africa very variable – deserts to rainforests that shift over time. Iliffe more
pessimistic of environment (p. 6).
• 30-14K cool dry macro regime. 12K-7.5K N Africa wet (lake Turkana rises 85 m!;
Iliffe 12-13). 4.5 K desiccation. 2K desiccation spurs Bantu migrations? (Iliffe 12-
15, B&C 142-144)
• Role of malnutrition for early farmers, diseases like TB from animals (Iliffe page
12). Desiccation (4.5 K) opens up woodland and reduces Tsetse fly infestation
(also Shillington 32).
Evidence
Some food plants will by their very nature hardly ever be represented in the
archaeological record, and this leads, as noted above, to undue emphasis often being
given to the better preserved evidence for cereal cultivation. Furthermore, plants
generally will tend to be under-represented in comparison with animals, whose bones
are relatively indestructible (Phillipson 119-120). And attendant gender bias.
Plants
• 3 primary – rice – cereals – vegetatively propagated (Phillipson 118).
• Wheat and barley in N Africa – imported from N (Egypt and western Asia (Talk
Botany of Desire on Apples from Afghanistan Potatoes from Peru)
• Sorghum and millet and African rice in W and sub-Saharan Africa – indigenous
(Phillipson 143-4).
• Also yams.
• Bananas from SW Asia and manioc from Americas imported 2K and 500 years
ago, respectively.
• Ethiopian case of teff (cereal), noog (oil seeds and plant) and ensete (starchy
banana-ish) [role of fat/oil; Shillington 31].
• Also coffee and sesame (Iliffe page 15; B&C page 143).
• Apply `evolution’ in selection for adhesive grains (and thus the problem of
stripping sorghum in the field]. (Phillipson 120 on animal and plant selections –p
docility, size).
Animals:
• Sheep/goat from SW Asia (not Barbary sheep – Phillipson 119). Haua Fteah –
Libya and introduced sheep 7-8K.
• Africa perhaps odd-ish because animal husbandry preceded plant domestication;
perhaps because of climatic changes (dryer).
• Farming not just economic – status, stimulants, religious (Phillipson 119).
• One invention or independent centers? Rice, cereals and tubers require very
different care, suggesting independence. (Phillipson 118).
• `Package’ of farming (agriculture/herding or both) and pottery, ground stone,
storage, sedentism? Not necessarily. Not immovable states but mobile
strategies. Sites were seasonal suggesting different subsistence strategies at
different times – such as at Dhar Tichitt in Mauritania – Phillipson 129 and 128
pic of stone walls; also page 157 at Turkana.
• Environmental conditions and population pressure? (Contrast Phillipson 120 with
Shillington’s 14 as bad reasoning.
Environment
• Africa very variable – deserts to rainforests that shift over time. Iliffe more
pessimistic of environment (p. 6).
• 30-14K cool dry macro regime. 12K-7.5K N Africa wet (lake Turkana rises 85 m!;
Iliffe 12-13). 4.5 K desiccation. 2K desiccation spurs Bantu migrations? (Iliffe 12-
15, B&C 142-144)
• Role of malnutrition for early farmers, diseases like TB from animals (Iliffe page
12). Desiccation (4.5 K) opens up woodland and reduces Tsetse fly infestation
(also Shillington 32).
Evidence
Some food plants will by their very nature hardly ever be represented in the
archaeological record, and this leads, as noted above, to undue emphasis often being
given to the better preserved evidence for cereal cultivation. Furthermore, plants
generally will tend to be under-represented in comparison with animals, whose bones
are relatively indestructible (Phillipson 119-120). And attendant gender bias.
Plants
• 3 primary – rice – cereals – vegetatively propagated (Phillipson 118).
• Wheat and barley in N Africa – imported from N (Egypt and western Asia (Talk
Botany of Desire on Apples from Afghanistan Potatoes from Peru)
• Sorghum and millet and African rice in W and sub-Saharan Africa – indigenous
(Phillipson 143-4).
• Also yams.
• Bananas from SW Asia and manioc from Americas imported 2K and 500 years
ago, respectively.
• Ethiopian case of teff (cereal), noog (oil seeds and plant) and ensete (starchy
banana-ish) [role of fat/oil; Shillington 31].
• Also coffee and sesame (Iliffe page 15; B&C page 143).
• Apply `evolution’ in selection for adhesive grains (and thus the problem of
stripping sorghum in the field]. (Phillipson 120 on animal and plant selections –p
docility, size).
Animals:
• Sheep/goat from SW Asia (not Barbary sheep – Phillipson 119). Haua Fteah –
Libya and introduced sheep 7-8K.
70
• Cattle local.
• Camels from Asia @ 2K and form great symbiosis with date pa lm from
Mesopotamia at 2.5K – both have similar environments. Camel expands human
influence across Sahara barrier from 2.8K. (B&C 148; Phillipson 153). Both
imported and adapted. [Move away from `origins’ to multiple centers of invention
and `crosscurrents’.
• NB of meat or milk, blood, animal products?
Primary Evidence:
• Seeds (dried, waterlogged, charred, impressed - if detailed – rare – what to make
of single sorghum impression from Adrar Bous – Phillipson 125 – how to
explain/explain away a singularity?).
• Pollen
• Bones (animal and human – strontium etc)
• Rock art.
Secondary evidence:
• Storage and its implications a la Testart.
• Pottery (and other containers). What type of container – Braidwood and Hayden
feasting hypothesis.
• Ground stone technology (including sickle sheen – page 30 Shillington, 145
Phillipson; note extensive trade in ground stone artifacts Phillipson 146),
• But bone tools at Daima, Lake Chad (Phillipson 148-149). l
• Linguistics (early non-Bantu loanwords and words for domesticants). Storage
pits, sedentism.
• Rock art “Their paintings are to be found in what are today some of the driest
parts of the Sahara desert where it is difficult to imagine the woodlands and
grasslands of former times” (Shillington 32. [are tethers on giraffe and gazelle
`real’ or wished for observations? – Phillipson 123 and 124 pic) Use halo in
Christian art as example; also their NOT showing much in way of plant food bar
possible `mushrooms’].
• Graves – strontium analyses etc and also grave goods/status differentiation;
intermixture of farmers and g-h-farmers (Shillington 33)]. Iliffe page 14. Phillipson
157 on admixture
• Megalithic funerary monuments )Phillipson 145) may have had astronomical and
this seasonal importance.
Linguistic evidence:
African languages (4 phyla)
a. Afro-Asiatic: Egyptian, Cushitic, Semitic, Omotic, Chad, Berber. Agriculture,
pastoralism and state societies. Red Sea hills/Ethiopia originary area. Old as 15 K.
b. Nilo-Saharan: Songhay, Sahara, Maba, Fur, East Sudanic (Waasai, Dinka, Nuer),
Central Sudanic, Berta Kunama, Koman, Gumuz, Kuliak. Eastern southern Sahara
originary area. At least 12 000 glotto-chronology. Hunter-gatherers; pastoralist and
agriculturist. .Various originary areas – Sudan – Mali with southwards Bantu extension.
Hunter-gatherers, agriculturalist and state societies.
c. Niger-Congo: 1436 languages – largest family in world. Bantu, Mande, Dogon, Krue,
Benue, Congo. Glotto-chronology back to 17 000 years ago but *K breakup into modern
languages. .
• Cattle local.
• Camels from Asia @ 2K and form great symbiosis with date pa lm from
Mesopotamia at 2.5K – both have similar environments. Camel expands human
influence across Sahara barrier from 2.8K. (B&C 148; Phillipson 153). Both
imported and adapted. [Move away from `origins’ to multiple centers of invention
and `crosscurrents’.
• NB of meat or milk, blood, animal products?
Primary Evidence:
• Seeds (dried, waterlogged, charred, impressed - if detailed – rare – what to make
of single sorghum impression from Adrar Bous – Phillipson 125 – how to
explain/explain away a singularity?).
• Pollen
• Bones (animal and human – strontium etc)
• Rock art.
Secondary evidence:
• Storage and its implications a la Testart.
• Pottery (and other containers). What type of container – Braidwood and Hayden
feasting hypothesis.
• Ground stone technology (including sickle sheen – page 30 Shillington, 145
Phillipson; note extensive trade in ground stone artifacts Phillipson 146),
• But bone tools at Daima, Lake Chad (Phillipson 148-149). l
• Linguistics (early non-Bantu loanwords and words for domesticants). Storage
pits, sedentism.
• Rock art “Their paintings are to be found in what are today some of the driest
parts of the Sahara desert where it is difficult to imagine the woodlands and
grasslands of former times” (Shillington 32. [are tethers on giraffe and gazelle
`real’ or wished for observations? – Phillipson 123 and 124 pic) Use halo in
Christian art as example; also their NOT showing much in way of plant food bar
possible `mushrooms’].
• Graves – strontium analyses etc and also grave goods/status differentiation;
intermixture of farmers and g-h-farmers (Shillington 33)]. Iliffe page 14. Phillipson
157 on admixture
• Megalithic funerary monuments )Phillipson 145) may have had astronomical and
this seasonal importance.
Linguistic evidence:
African languages (4 phyla)
a. Afro-Asiatic: Egyptian, Cushitic, Semitic, Omotic, Chad, Berber. Agriculture,
pastoralism and state societies. Red Sea hills/Ethiopia originary area. Old as 15 K.
b. Nilo-Saharan: Songhay, Sahara, Maba, Fur, East Sudanic (Waasai, Dinka, Nuer),
Central Sudanic, Berta Kunama, Koman, Gumuz, Kuliak. Eastern southern Sahara
originary area. At least 12 000 glotto-chronology. Hunter-gatherers; pastoralist and
agriculturist. .Various originary areas – Sudan – Mali with southwards Bantu extension.
Hunter-gatherers, agriculturalist and state societies.
c. Niger-Congo: 1436 languages – largest family in world. Bantu, Mande, Dogon, Krue,
Benue, Congo. Glotto-chronology back to 17 000 years ago but *K breakup into modern
languages. .
71
d. KhoiSan: `Click’ languages with approx. 250 000 speakers. East African origins.
Gatherer-hunters and pastoralists.
• Old words for cattle, crops – pre-Bantu word
Key Sites
Western desert e
• Earliest center – intensification in seed collection from 20K.
• Nabta Playa a 100 m2 on Egypt-Sudan border. Lacustrine deposits of 2 barleys
– Africa’s earliest - , ?sorghum and weeds. Hunting plus cattle. Pottery.
• Link to Kharga Oasis 300 km Pond-basin has 8K cattle bones. 5K sheep/goat
[probs of id but ease of keeping] 6K storage pits. NB of multiple evidential sites
and multiple sites .(Phillipson 122-123).
Nile Valley Fayum Depression
• Next earliest. 18K intensive use of tubers and 15K cereals (Phillipson 117).
• Was a lush and isolated area because of desiccation, forcing people to Nile. Nile
proper 5K –p abrupt transition. . Features of Nile – flood bringing Ethiopian
fertility. Singularity (Shillington 17).
• 8K Upper Nile/Khartoum plant domestication.
• Merimde sites 18 ha, huts, storage pits, workshops, tools, barley, wheat flax,
cattle, sheep, goats, donkey (African), hunting and fishing. Up to 1000 people
with craft specialization (was some in g-h-fisher). All `pre-Dynastic’ (c. 3100 BCE-
332 BCE).
• Hierankopolis as incipient `capital’ with perhaps 5000 people. Copper working
(Phillipson 134-137).
• Continuity and tradition prized – 3000 years. Phillipson page 138 – bias on tombs
rather than ordinary folk. Problem made worse and better by having writing.
• Small state that unified a lot of territory at around 3100 BCE. Use of force..
Lake Turkana:
• Big fishing communities (Shillington pages 30-318K-4K, then drier, gathered wild
grasses and then domestication. Phillipson 151 Nderit ware from herders.
Cameroon:
• Mixed economy 2K – palm nuts, yams, fruits, goats, hunting, fishing. Bantu
origins. Forest margins and clearings. (Shillington 31).
• Nilotic/Cushitic sites suggest different seasonal subsistence strategies (today
farmers do wage and agricultural labour).
Esh Shaheinab
• In Sudan 50 km N of Khartoum has fish paraphernalia, ground stone, pottery,
burnished, 1700 km distant amazonite, goat, cattle, 90% domestic stock remains.
Many grindstones6-7K. Grain impressions. Some hunting.
• Burials – “excellent demonstration of the dangers in drawing detailed conclusions
from the investigation of single sites” (Phillipson 129-131.
• Sites to S show loads of trade. Nubians.
• One raid of 7K people and 200K stock.
Effects and Consequences
d. KhoiSan: `Click’ languages with approx. 250 000 speakers. East African origins.
Gatherer-hunters and pastoralists.
• Old words for cattle, crops – pre-Bantu word
Key Sites
Western desert e
• Earliest center – intensification in seed collection from 20K.
• Nabta Playa a 100 m2 on Egypt-Sudan border. Lacustrine deposits of 2 barleys
– Africa’s earliest - , ?sorghum and weeds. Hunting plus cattle. Pottery.
• Link to Kharga Oasis 300 km Pond-basin has 8K cattle bones. 5K sheep/goat
[probs of id but ease of keeping] 6K storage pits. NB of multiple evidential sites
and multiple sites .(Phillipson 122-123).
Nile Valley Fayum Depression
• Next earliest. 18K intensive use of tubers and 15K cereals (Phillipson 117).
• Was a lush and isolated area because of desiccation, forcing people to Nile. Nile
proper 5K –p abrupt transition. . Features of Nile – flood bringing Ethiopian
fertility. Singularity (Shillington 17).
• 8K Upper Nile/Khartoum plant domestication.
• Merimde sites 18 ha, huts, storage pits, workshops, tools, barley, wheat flax,
cattle, sheep, goats, donkey (African), hunting and fishing. Up to 1000 people
with craft specialization (was some in g-h-fisher). All `pre-Dynastic’ (c. 3100 BCE-
332 BCE).
• Hierankopolis as incipient `capital’ with perhaps 5000 people. Copper working
(Phillipson 134-137).
• Continuity and tradition prized – 3000 years. Phillipson page 138 – bias on tombs
rather than ordinary folk. Problem made worse and better by having writing.
• Small state that unified a lot of territory at around 3100 BCE. Use of force..
Lake Turkana:
• Big fishing communities (Shillington pages 30-318K-4K, then drier, gathered wild
grasses and then domestication. Phillipson 151 Nderit ware from herders.
Cameroon:
• Mixed economy 2K – palm nuts, yams, fruits, goats, hunting, fishing. Bantu
origins. Forest margins and clearings. (Shillington 31).
• Nilotic/Cushitic sites suggest different seasonal subsistence strategies (today
farmers do wage and agricultural labour).
Esh Shaheinab
• In Sudan 50 km N of Khartoum has fish paraphernalia, ground stone, pottery,
burnished, 1700 km distant amazonite, goat, cattle, 90% domestic stock remains.
Many grindstones6-7K. Grain impressions. Some hunting.
• Burials – “excellent demonstration of the dangers in drawing detailed conclusions
from the investigation of single sites” (Phillipson 129-131.
• Sites to S show loads of trade. Nubians.
• One raid of 7K people and 200K stock.
Effects and Consequences
72
• Bantu migrations – page 16 Iliffe. `colonists’. I branch of Niger-Benue group of
Niger-Congo languages. NE Nigeria as homeland on linguistic grounds (B&C
146-147).
• Suggests close-knit macro-family and then rapid expansion.
• Race as relatively recent (B&C 142-143).
• New diseases – TB, famine.
• Monoculture and its problems and potentials – evolutionarily `fit’? (Phillipson 117)
• Population increase – more children, greater per acre yield, sedentism, craft
specialization, surplus. Personal property and rich/poor. (Shillington 14-15)
• Political systems – coercion, armies, administration. Rich-poor (Shillington 15).
But also not inevitable – see Phillipson 122.
• More tools
• People-land relations and spiritual changes.
• Curtin 1974: 43 on tribe.
Tricks
• Explain conventions of drawing pots (e.g., Shillington 32)
• What is artifact on page 147 of Phillipson used for? Page 148 suggests yam
rasp, skin scraper or pottery manufacture.
• Note depth of dig on page 148 Phillipson.
• Enigma of Ethiopia but mention Steven Brandt’s work. Axum to come. Home of
the Afro-Asiatic language family.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 6a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Hand back tests and essays and go over them.
Feedback
Basics
• Write which question you are answering down. Puts marker in bad mood. Shows
lack of method and precision.
• `at least 2 pages’ means no less than 2 pages. More, if germane, is perfectly
acceptable.
• Referencing. Good – very bad. Page numbers. Full reference list. Link list to
essay. We have gone to the trouble of thoroughly explaining referencing; ignore
these instructions at your peril; you will be marked down.
• Bantu migrations – page 16 Iliffe. `colonists’. I branch of Niger-Benue group of
Niger-Congo languages. NE Nigeria as homeland on linguistic grounds (B&C
146-147).
• Suggests close-knit macro-family and then rapid expansion.
• Race as relatively recent (B&C 142-143).
• New diseases – TB, famine.
• Monoculture and its problems and potentials – evolutionarily `fit’? (Phillipson 117)
• Population increase – more children, greater per acre yield, sedentism, craft
specialization, surplus. Personal property and rich/poor. (Shillington 14-15)
• Political systems – coercion, armies, administration. Rich-poor (Shillington 15).
But also not inevitable – see Phillipson 122.
• More tools
• People-land relations and spiritual changes.
• Curtin 1974: 43 on tribe.
Tricks
• Explain conventions of drawing pots (e.g., Shillington 32)
• What is artifact on page 147 of Phillipson used for? Page 148 suggests yam
rasp, skin scraper or pottery manufacture.
• Note depth of dig on page 148 Phillipson.
• Enigma of Ethiopia but mention Steven Brandt’s work. Axum to come. Home of
the Afro-Asiatic language family.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 6a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Hand back tests and essays and go over them.
Feedback
Basics
• Write which question you are answering down. Puts marker in bad mood. Shows
lack of method and precision.
• `at least 2 pages’ means no less than 2 pages. More, if germane, is perfectly
acceptable.
• Referencing. Good – very bad. Page numbers. Full reference list. Link list to
essay. We have gone to the trouble of thoroughly explaining referencing; ignore
these instructions at your peril; you will be marked down.
73
• Careful of cut-n-paste. Develop argument in your mind, rough it out and then
insert the relevant facts. Then revise.
• Respond to the question – what is it asking. Say it out loud. Take a day to think
on it.
• Check quotations, page numbers and facts. Use `Origin Tax’ as example.
Concepts
• Argument: Question 1 – what of non-African evidence e.g., page 11 on Connah.
• Sexism: `Man’ and sexism.
• Definitions - what does `humanity’ mean – hominids? Homo? Homo Saps? Link
to a basic – define the terms. Be precise; so can be precisely inaccurate.
• 2 origin effects. Hominids and H saps.
• Importance of primary texts.
Tips
• Index – useful. Other books. New anthro textbook for laying out species.
4. Hand out next week’s readings. Explain next week’s test as an Open Book and tests 3
weeks’ work.
5. Explain change in syllabus with extra week of Farming and Cities and one less
Slavery and Diaspora. (no extra reading). Importance of using Iliffe as a primary source
and primary sources in general. Explain `skimming’ as clinical and reasoned rather than
sloppy. Ask on 27
th
March as Easter holiday – class.
6. Explain April 1
st
Test will be on 3
rd
to accommodate guest lecture. Explain again
purpose of the videos.
7. Explain 27
th
March (Easter) will be a study hall. Also Study Hall 4
th
/11
th
for make-up
tests and talk on final projects – get everyone to read ahead on syllabus and start
formulating an area of interest. Final will be 5-10 pages with a prior rough draft. .
8. Feedback:
a) mtDNA on pages 8-9 Iliffe.
9. Lesson:
a) Farming: As above – the transition from gathering-hunting-fishing to farming;
consequences intended and non; diseases etc, environment, hard and secondary
evidence; key sites.
d) What was happening elsewhere in the world?
10. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
11. Video: Wonders of the African world parts 3-6.
12. Admin: Check who is auditing.
13. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 6b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
3. Lesson
• Careful of cut-n-paste. Develop argument in your mind, rough it out and then
insert the relevant facts. Then revise.
• Respond to the question – what is it asking. Say it out loud. Take a day to think
on it.
• Check quotations, page numbers and facts. Use `Origin Tax’ as example.
Concepts
• Argument: Question 1 – what of non-African evidence e.g., page 11 on Connah.
• Sexism: `Man’ and sexism.
• Definitions - what does `humanity’ mean – hominids? Homo? Homo Saps? Link
to a basic – define the terms. Be precise; so can be precisely inaccurate.
• 2 origin effects. Hominids and H saps.
• Importance of primary texts.
Tips
• Index – useful. Other books. New anthro textbook for laying out species.
4. Hand out next week’s readings. Explain next week’s test as an Open Book and tests 3
weeks’ work.
5. Explain change in syllabus with extra week of Farming and Cities and one less
Slavery and Diaspora. (no extra reading). Importance of using Iliffe as a primary source
and primary sources in general. Explain `skimming’ as clinical and reasoned rather than
sloppy. Ask on 27
th
March as Easter holiday – class.
6. Explain April 1
st
Test will be on 3
rd
to accommodate guest lecture. Explain again
purpose of the videos.
7. Explain 27
th
March (Easter) will be a study hall. Also Study Hall 4
th
/11
th
for make-up
tests and talk on final projects – get everyone to read ahead on syllabus and start
formulating an area of interest. Final will be 5-10 pages with a prior rough draft. .
8. Feedback:
a) mtDNA on pages 8-9 Iliffe.
9. Lesson:
a) Farming: As above – the transition from gathering-hunting-fishing to farming;
consequences intended and non; diseases etc, environment, hard and secondary
evidence; key sites.
d) What was happening elsewhere in the world?
10. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
11. Video: Wonders of the African world parts 3-6.
12. Admin: Check who is auditing.
13. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 6b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
3. Lesson
74
a) Metals: David to cover metallurgy as another `tool’ `revolution’. . Copper-Bronze-Iron-
Gold. Technical, economic, symbolic aspects.
b) Nile Valley and Egypt: Lee – Egypt and Nile Valley as early farming center that leads
to our first cities. Herodotus, writing. Egypt as Africa, craft specialization, environmental
constraints and enablements.
4. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
5. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa part 2- Mastering a continent.
6. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
2. Set up next week’s test and essay.
a) Metals: David to cover metallurgy as another `tool’ `revolution’. . Copper-Bronze-Iron-
Gold. Technical, economic, symbolic aspects.
b) Nile Valley and Egypt: Lee – Egypt and Nile Valley as early farming center that leads
to our first cities. Herodotus, writing. Egypt as Africa, craft specialization, environmental
constraints and enablements.
4. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
5. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa part 2- Mastering a continent.
6. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
2. Set up next week’s test and essay.
75
7. The rise of farming and cities
4 & 6 March
Lesson aim
1. To show that Africa had well-developed agriculture, cities and `civilisations’
independent of but connected internally and to other continents via trade and conquest.
2. To debunk some myths about `primitive’ Africa and consider what `civilisation’ means.
3. Start to finalise class research topics for final presentations.
Lesson method
1. 15 mins to write test on 4
th
.
2. Review the range of city types and statecraft.
3. Critically consider persistent ideas such as the Queen of Sheba, non-African
authorship of Great Zimbabwe, the White Lady of the Brandberg, Namibia.
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 152-164 of Bohannan and Curtins Africa and Africans & pages 69-75, 82-117,
125-130, 157-168 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
2. OHT visuals of African cities and city states and artefacts.
3. Video clips from Gates’ Wonders of the African world (Parts 1,4,6) and Davidson’s
Africa (Part 3).
For next week
1. Readings – consolidate what already read.
2. Preliminary plan of final research topics due.
5. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 3).
Reading load: 56 pages.
Notes
• Phillipson pages 149 and 150 mentions of Axum and Jenne Jeno.
Opportunity and Constraint the Lake Chad Story (Connah 2004:82-87)
Introduction
• Lake Chad largest African lake north of the equator. Shared today by Cameroon,
Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
• Lake Chad, site of fossil hominid finds also has an 8000 year sequence,
sometimes to the present of incipient farming and farming sites.
• Environment a key constraint as Lake level rises and falls and the area in general
is very hot. Key modes of subsistence are gathering, hunting, fishing and
farming, in oscillating proportions.
• Drying up of the firki – previously a lagoon area, left a rich and dense black clay
that retained water up to 4 months after rains ceased. People sowed sorghum
(masakwa) seed here to harvest deep into dry season. Firki villages can have
3000 years of continual occupation.
7. The rise of farming and cities
4 & 6 March
Lesson aim
1. To show that Africa had well-developed agriculture, cities and `civilisations’
independent of but connected internally and to other continents via trade and conquest.
2. To debunk some myths about `primitive’ Africa and consider what `civilisation’ means.
3. Start to finalise class research topics for final presentations.
Lesson method
1. 15 mins to write test on 4
th
.
2. Review the range of city types and statecraft.
3. Critically consider persistent ideas such as the Queen of Sheba, non-African
authorship of Great Zimbabwe, the White Lady of the Brandberg, Namibia.
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 152-164 of Bohannan and Curtins Africa and Africans & pages 69-75, 82-117,
125-130, 157-168 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
2. OHT visuals of African cities and city states and artefacts.
3. Video clips from Gates’ Wonders of the African world (Parts 1,4,6) and Davidson’s
Africa (Part 3).
For next week
1. Readings – consolidate what already read.
2. Preliminary plan of final research topics due.
5. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 3).
Reading load: 56 pages.
Notes
• Phillipson pages 149 and 150 mentions of Axum and Jenne Jeno.
Opportunity and Constraint the Lake Chad Story (Connah 2004:82-87)
Introduction
• Lake Chad largest African lake north of the equator. Shared today by Cameroon,
Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
• Lake Chad, site of fossil hominid finds also has an 8000 year sequence,
sometimes to the present of incipient farming and farming sites.
• Environment a key constraint as Lake level rises and falls and the area in general
is very hot. Key modes of subsistence are gathering, hunting, fishing and
farming, in oscillating proportions.
• Drying up of the firki – previously a lagoon area, left a rich and dense black clay
that retained water up to 4 months after rains ceased. People sowed sorghum
(masakwa) seed here to harvest deep into dry season. Firki villages can have
3000 years of continual occupation.
76
Environmental history
• 20 000 – 12 000 years ago Lake dried up completely.
• The climate ameliorated and lake refilled – 6500 years ago it was 40 m higher
than today.
• But within this macro-pattern are many short-term oscillations, floodings and
drying up.
Archaeological history
• First good farming evidence is 8.4 m long 8000 year old canoe 5 m below
surface at Dafuna in northern Nigeria.
• At Konduga on Bama Ridge a thousand years later is a stone age, pottery-using
but no animal bones found. This ridge a natural bridge between Lake and
lagoons and alpha point from which over 120 settlements spread out.
• Gajiganna best-known of these sites3800- 2800 years ago. Village with cattle,
goat and sheep.. Also ate fish, mollusks, birds and hunted game. Collected wild
grasses and fruit and began cultivating pearl millet. Distinctive flaked stone
arrowheads, ground stone axes and lower grindstones. Stone was not local so
had to be brought in. Barbed bone harpoons, clay figurines and burials within the
village.
• Daima: one of a suite of sites along southern end of lake. 11 m of archaeological
deposit (great pic page 86). Occupation from 3000 bp until 500 years ago. Cattle,
goats, hunting, fishing. Wild grass and cultivated pearl millet. Ground stone axes
and grindstones on imported stone and many bone tools – including a harpoon
found in a buried person’s body. Fine pottery, clay figurine, wattle-n-daub houses
with floors of broken pottery. At c. 2000 bp iron is introduced as are glass and
carnelian beads. Some pots huge – beer brewing? 400 years ago socket stem
pipes indicate a response to tobacco being introduced from the Americas.
• Borno: Many Lake Chad sites abandoned c. 400 years ago probably because of
expansion of Islamic state of Borno – Kanuri and Shuwa arabs displacing
Kotokos. Borno’s expansion was, in turn, spurred by areas to the north drying
out. Borno a composite state. One group, the Kanuri from east of Lake Chad
brought expertise in trans-Saharan trade and perhaps horses, which gave a
military advantage. Involved in slave trading. Also made fired bricks. Later
firearms and limited literacy. Borno state petered out about 100 years ago.
Development (metal, sites, etc.)
ƒ belief that iron-working technology devised on the Anatolian plateau (Turkey and
Iran) and diffused through Carthaginian settlements (near Tunis) in the north and
along chariot routes across the Sahara, or along trade routes up the Nile Valley
to Merowe (Sudan)
ƒ “Iron Age” was envisioned as a time when Bantu-speaking farmers used iron and
fire to spread south and east, colonizing the southern African savannas
ƒ variety of metals (“Metal Age”): iron, copper, gold (less used until ascribed with
European value)
ƒ overemphasis placed on technology; rather transformations
o the presence of a technology is not necessarily a sign that it was in
general use and central to a system
Environmental history
• 20 000 – 12 000 years ago Lake dried up completely.
• The climate ameliorated and lake refilled – 6500 years ago it was 40 m higher
than today.
• But within this macro-pattern are many short-term oscillations, floodings and
drying up.
Archaeological history
• First good farming evidence is 8.4 m long 8000 year old canoe 5 m below
surface at Dafuna in northern Nigeria.
• At Konduga on Bama Ridge a thousand years later is a stone age, pottery-using
but no animal bones found. This ridge a natural bridge between Lake and
lagoons and alpha point from which over 120 settlements spread out.
• Gajiganna best-known of these sites3800- 2800 years ago. Village with cattle,
goat and sheep.. Also ate fish, mollusks, birds and hunted game. Collected wild
grasses and fruit and began cultivating pearl millet. Distinctive flaked stone
arrowheads, ground stone axes and lower grindstones. Stone was not local so
had to be brought in. Barbed bone harpoons, clay figurines and burials within the
village.
• Daima: one of a suite of sites along southern end of lake. 11 m of archaeological
deposit (great pic page 86). Occupation from 3000 bp until 500 years ago. Cattle,
goats, hunting, fishing. Wild grass and cultivated pearl millet. Ground stone axes
and grindstones on imported stone and many bone tools – including a harpoon
found in a buried person’s body. Fine pottery, clay figurine, wattle-n-daub houses
with floors of broken pottery. At c. 2000 bp iron is introduced as are glass and
carnelian beads. Some pots huge – beer brewing? 400 years ago socket stem
pipes indicate a response to tobacco being introduced from the Americas.
• Borno: Many Lake Chad sites abandoned c. 400 years ago probably because of
expansion of Islamic state of Borno – Kanuri and Shuwa arabs displacing
Kotokos. Borno’s expansion was, in turn, spurred by areas to the north drying
out. Borno a composite state. One group, the Kanuri from east of Lake Chad
brought expertise in trans-Saharan trade and perhaps horses, which gave a
military advantage. Involved in slave trading. Also made fired bricks. Later
firearms and limited literacy. Borno state petered out about 100 years ago.
Development (metal, sites, etc.)
ƒ belief that iron-working technology devised on the Anatolian plateau (Turkey and
Iran) and diffused through Carthaginian settlements (near Tunis) in the north and
along chariot routes across the Sahara, or along trade routes up the Nile Valley
to Merowe (Sudan)
ƒ “Iron Age” was envisioned as a time when Bantu-speaking farmers used iron and
fire to spread south and east, colonizing the southern African savannas
ƒ variety of metals (“Metal Age”): iron, copper, gold (less used until ascribed with
European value)
ƒ overemphasis placed on technology; rather transformations
o the presence of a technology is not necessarily a sign that it was in
general use and central to a system
77
o stone tools remained important
ƒ evidence of use/transformation: slag, vitrified clay, tools, mining
Early evidence for metal-working:
• In Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt region of the Niger Republic. ~3000 BCE-700/500 BC
• sw Mali. 300 CE – 1400 CE
• Egypt
ƒ Personal adornment items of nickel-rich meteoric iron by 4000 BC
ƒ Not true iron metallurgy; working of a naturally produced metal
ƒ General use ~800 BC (Illife: Naukratis c. 620 BC, town founded by
Greek colonists)
ƒ Copper late 5
th
milinnium BC, smelting in the 4
th
Copper
• Originated in Eurasia (7000 – 6000 BC)
• No evidence for a gradual invention in Africa, so it was likely passed from
elsewhere
• Carthaginian settlements or southern Moroccan traders crossing the Sahara
Evidence:
Wide variety of smelting techniques
Akjoujt (Mauritania)
• 850 BC – 300 BC
• small items: arrow tips, personal adornment
ƒ In Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt (Niger Republic)
• 2200 BC – 100 BC
• early date questions diffusionist ideas; African
pyrotechnological knowledge to smelt copper similar to
pottery firing?
Iron
• Developed on Anatolian plateau ~250 BCE and the knowledge diffused outward
• Carthaginian source; but there is a lack of evidence for smelting/production
ƒ Might have taken place at inland sites, and coastal sites have
been examined
ƒ ~800 BC
Evidence:
ƒ Nok Culture (Nigeria)
Furnaces dated to ~750 BC
ƒ Gabon
700 BC – 450 BC
ƒ Jenne-Jeno (Mali)
400 BC
ƒ Urewe culture (eastern Africa)
Early Iron Age
800-900 BC
Production technology/process
• ore extraction, processing features, smelters/forges, equipment, by-
products, metal objects
ƒ furnaces
o stone tools remained important
ƒ evidence of use/transformation: slag, vitrified clay, tools, mining
Early evidence for metal-working:
• In Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt region of the Niger Republic. ~3000 BCE-700/500 BC
• sw Mali. 300 CE – 1400 CE
• Egypt
ƒ Personal adornment items of nickel-rich meteoric iron by 4000 BC
ƒ Not true iron metallurgy; working of a naturally produced metal
ƒ General use ~800 BC (Illife: Naukratis c. 620 BC, town founded by
Greek colonists)
ƒ Copper late 5
th
milinnium BC, smelting in the 4
th
Copper
• Originated in Eurasia (7000 – 6000 BC)
• No evidence for a gradual invention in Africa, so it was likely passed from
elsewhere
• Carthaginian settlements or southern Moroccan traders crossing the Sahara
Evidence:
Wide variety of smelting techniques
Akjoujt (Mauritania)
• 850 BC – 300 BC
• small items: arrow tips, personal adornment
ƒ In Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt (Niger Republic)
• 2200 BC – 100 BC
• early date questions diffusionist ideas; African
pyrotechnological knowledge to smelt copper similar to
pottery firing?
Iron
• Developed on Anatolian plateau ~250 BCE and the knowledge diffused outward
• Carthaginian source; but there is a lack of evidence for smelting/production
ƒ Might have taken place at inland sites, and coastal sites have
been examined
ƒ ~800 BC
Evidence:
ƒ Nok Culture (Nigeria)
Furnaces dated to ~750 BC
ƒ Gabon
700 BC – 450 BC
ƒ Jenne-Jeno (Mali)
400 BC
ƒ Urewe culture (eastern Africa)
Early Iron Age
800-900 BC
Production technology/process
• ore extraction, processing features, smelters/forges, equipment, by-
products, metal objects
ƒ furnaces
78
ƒ “medicine pots”; ritual materials to insure the success of the smelt
basic equipment
• hammer (iron, stone), anvil, tongs, bellows, crucibles, wood
• bloom forgers produced heavier tools (hoes, axes, bells), while those who
forged from performs produced lighter items (knives, jewelry)
Copper
• Copper ore begins as sulfides (copper, iron, sulfur)
ƒ Useful ores are generally near the surface, so no major shaft excavations
were necessary, rather open-pits
ƒ Malachite is the most common (Cu 2 [(OH)2/CO3] ; Copper Carbonate
Hydroxide; copper, oxygen and carbon)
• 57% copper
• furnace temp to 700 – 800 Celsius; carbon in charcoal
combines with oxygen to form carbon monoxide
• oxygen needs require a forced draught
o bellows
• Cu2 [(OH)2/CO3] + 2CO = 3CO2 + H2O + 2Cu
ƒ molten metal is not necessary (melts at 1084 Celsius)
ƒ non-metal fuses together (slag) and floats to the surface
ƒ necessity to maintain temperature and separate slag
o knowledge of production processes via oral traditions and
ethnography
o molds
ƒ heat-resistant stone, clay, templates pressed into soil/sand
ƒ preheated and lined with ash
ƒ ingots
o annealing (alternating between heating and hammering)
o wire drawing
ƒ pulling a thin, hammered copper rod trough a series of holes in
an iron plate (plate manufacture, pulled through with tongs)
o lost-wax casting
ƒ southern Sudan & west Africa; most complex African
metallurgy process
Iron
• Dry-season activity because farming activities were less intensive and rain did
not interfere with charcoal production, transporting ore, lighting the furnace, etc.
• Iron Blooms are the goal
• Heated to at least 1,100 Celsius
o Separated from slag and shaped by annealing (“forging”)
o No melting and casting
Social/Political aspects
- concentration of knowledge, “magical” powers
- sometimes seen as lowly (dangerous), other time essential (political power)
o economic power, along with magical power enabled him to transform
ore to metal responsible for the ambivalent social and political status
- craft specialization? “ownership” of knowledge
o cases where clients provide raw materials
ƒ “medicine pots”; ritual materials to insure the success of the smelt
basic equipment
• hammer (iron, stone), anvil, tongs, bellows, crucibles, wood
• bloom forgers produced heavier tools (hoes, axes, bells), while those who
forged from performs produced lighter items (knives, jewelry)
Copper
• Copper ore begins as sulfides (copper, iron, sulfur)
ƒ Useful ores are generally near the surface, so no major shaft excavations
were necessary, rather open-pits
ƒ Malachite is the most common (Cu 2 [(OH)2/CO3] ; Copper Carbonate
Hydroxide; copper, oxygen and carbon)
• 57% copper
• furnace temp to 700 – 800 Celsius; carbon in charcoal
combines with oxygen to form carbon monoxide
• oxygen needs require a forced draught
o bellows
• Cu2 [(OH)2/CO3] + 2CO = 3CO2 + H2O + 2Cu
ƒ molten metal is not necessary (melts at 1084 Celsius)
ƒ non-metal fuses together (slag) and floats to the surface
ƒ necessity to maintain temperature and separate slag
o knowledge of production processes via oral traditions and
ethnography
o molds
ƒ heat-resistant stone, clay, templates pressed into soil/sand
ƒ preheated and lined with ash
ƒ ingots
o annealing (alternating between heating and hammering)
o wire drawing
ƒ pulling a thin, hammered copper rod trough a series of holes in
an iron plate (plate manufacture, pulled through with tongs)
o lost-wax casting
ƒ southern Sudan & west Africa; most complex African
metallurgy process
Iron
• Dry-season activity because farming activities were less intensive and rain did
not interfere with charcoal production, transporting ore, lighting the furnace, etc.
• Iron Blooms are the goal
• Heated to at least 1,100 Celsius
o Separated from slag and shaped by annealing (“forging”)
o No melting and casting
Social/Political aspects
- concentration of knowledge, “magical” powers
- sometimes seen as lowly (dangerous), other time essential (political power)
o economic power, along with magical power enabled him to transform
ore to metal responsible for the ambivalent social and political status
- craft specialization? “ownership” of knowledge
o cases where clients provide raw materials
79
- rituals, prayers and sacrifices
- significant social and technological energy/time investment
- smithing was a male activity, but women/children played a role in massing
required materials
- apprentices/masters
- family level, village level (Jenne-Jeno)
- Creation myths
o Portray the iron-worker as a divine hero who made civilization
possible
o Dogon (Mali)
ƒ The ancestral blacksmith descends from heaven bringing the
raw materials of civilization (fire, iron, seeds)
ƒ This primordial being (Nommo) “stole a piece of the sun,
carrying it as a lump of red-hot iron down the rainbow to earth”
o Bushong (DRC)
ƒ Woot is the creator, culture hero and father of the first divine
King
ƒ One of the riddles asked of novices during initiation rites is
“Which hoes did Woot forge first?”; the answer, “The feet of
men”
- Cultural acceptance/rejection
- Medium of wealth and social status
o Example of copper as a powerful symbol (redness, luminosity, sound)
ƒ Redness: association with the life-giving power of blood;
association with transition and used in rituals (e.g. Puberty,
marriage)
ƒ Luminosity: shiny surface, often kept polished to reflect
sunlight, aggressiveness, power
ƒ Sound: frequent use for bells and rattles; give instruments
power to summon spirits
- Currency
o Example of the manilla bracelets (West Africa)
ƒ circular metal bar with flaring ends bent into a bracelet-like ring
ƒ mainly used for high-status purchases and a way of
conserving wealth that could be readily converted into goods
o foreign copper coins, including the US penny were exchanged in the
coffee trade with Sao Tomé (19
th
c.)
ANCIENT EGYPT (Following Shilington, mostly):
Farming and its consequences
Looking at the possible consequences of the introduction of farming, looking at Ancient
Egypt as an example.
Agriculture brings important social and technological changes. Requires different social
organization, cooperation, and planning.
One major implication is the production of a food surplus.
- rituals, prayers and sacrifices
- significant social and technological energy/time investment
- smithing was a male activity, but women/children played a role in massing
required materials
- apprentices/masters
- family level, village level (Jenne-Jeno)
- Creation myths
o Portray the iron-worker as a divine hero who made civilization
possible
o Dogon (Mali)
ƒ The ancestral blacksmith descends from heaven bringing the
raw materials of civilization (fire, iron, seeds)
ƒ This primordial being (Nommo) “stole a piece of the sun,
carrying it as a lump of red-hot iron down the rainbow to earth”
o Bushong (DRC)
ƒ Woot is the creator, culture hero and father of the first divine
King
ƒ One of the riddles asked of novices during initiation rites is
“Which hoes did Woot forge first?”; the answer, “The feet of
men”
- Cultural acceptance/rejection
- Medium of wealth and social status
o Example of copper as a powerful symbol (redness, luminosity, sound)
ƒ Redness: association with the life-giving power of blood;
association with transition and used in rituals (e.g. Puberty,
marriage)
ƒ Luminosity: shiny surface, often kept polished to reflect
sunlight, aggressiveness, power
ƒ Sound: frequent use for bells and rattles; give instruments
power to summon spirits
- Currency
o Example of the manilla bracelets (West Africa)
ƒ circular metal bar with flaring ends bent into a bracelet-like ring
ƒ mainly used for high-status purchases and a way of
conserving wealth that could be readily converted into goods
o foreign copper coins, including the US penny were exchanged in the
coffee trade with Sao Tomé (19
th
c.)
ANCIENT EGYPT (Following Shilington, mostly):
Farming and its consequences
Looking at the possible consequences of the introduction of farming, looking at Ancient
Egypt as an example.
Agriculture brings important social and technological changes. Requires different social
organization, cooperation, and planning.
One major implication is the production of a food surplus.
80
Storage: insurance against natural disasters, etc
People can do things other than food production: craft sp ecialists,
administrators...
Inequality: non-producers accumulated goods/power, producers remained poor
Ancient Egypt
As early as 18kya, some communities along the Nile in Upper Egypt were intensively
exploiting wild tubers. By 15,000kya or so, people in the same region were similarly
using wild grains. Yet this did not lead to cultivation or domestication (although the line
is at times blurry).
In northern Africa, farming, as we tend to think of it, developed by around 6,000BC. Yet
in the Nile Valley, agriculture does not appear until the late 5th millennium BC.
Ag. began much earlier in western Sahara. Probably independent development in Nile V.
It is geographic anomaly. The area around it is desert, but it is fertile. White Nile/Blue
Nile. White Nile stead flow all year. Bule Nile brings the Ethiopian soils with the summer
rains. Annual floods bring fertile soil to Nile Valley.
5000-4000BC, the people of the Nile Valley began small farming settlements, based on
floods. Located from Khartoum to Lower Egypt shared many similarities
archaeologically: habitation, exchange patterns, material culture, mortuary customs…
In the Sudanese Nile Valley, farming during this time was intensive and complex.
Cattle, sheep, and goats (more or less all domesticated) and sorghum, finger millet and
panicum were main grains (although its unclear how domesticated they were). Yet these
people were not sedentary. It seems like they probably still practiced as seasonal round.
Still fished, hunted, and gathered.
In Nubia, the A-group peoples had extensive contact and trade with the people of pre-
dynastic Egypt. Sheep and goats were important, some cattle. Wheat and barley.
Although the people of the Egyptian Nile Valley intensively exploited wild foods very
early on, the beginning of farming is during this same, relatively late period. These
Egyptian settlements cultivated barley, wheat, and flax. Cattle, sheep, goats.
Southern Egypt also has some of the earliest evidence of metalworking, from this same
period 5000BC. Copper items, but stone tools continued to be used for a long time.
In Lower Egypt, especially in the Delta and Fayum depression—small farming villages
by about 5000 BC. … same plants and animals, but also pigs and dogs. Plus donkey.
Still hunting and fishing though.
Pre-Dynastic Egypt:
Flourishing of material culture. Refinement of stone tools, copper tools in the
later periods. Basketry, linen, cloth, more elaborate pottery.
3500BC. Hierakonpolis, Nakada, and others became centers of small states. The
region north of the first cataract was consolidated into two kingdoms, Upper and
Lower Egypt.
Storage: insurance against natural disasters, etc
People can do things other than food production: craft sp ecialists,
administrators...
Inequality: non-producers accumulated goods/power, producers remained poor
Ancient Egypt
As early as 18kya, some communities along the Nile in Upper Egypt were intensively
exploiting wild tubers. By 15,000kya or so, people in the same region were similarly
using wild grains. Yet this did not lead to cultivation or domestication (although the line
is at times blurry).
In northern Africa, farming, as we tend to think of it, developed by around 6,000BC. Yet
in the Nile Valley, agriculture does not appear until the late 5th millennium BC.
Ag. began much earlier in western Sahara. Probably independent development in Nile V.
It is geographic anomaly. The area around it is desert, but it is fertile. White Nile/Blue
Nile. White Nile stead flow all year. Bule Nile brings the Ethiopian soils with the summer
rains. Annual floods bring fertile soil to Nile Valley.
5000-4000BC, the people of the Nile Valley began small farming settlements, based on
floods. Located from Khartoum to Lower Egypt shared many similarities
archaeologically: habitation, exchange patterns, material culture, mortuary customs…
In the Sudanese Nile Valley, farming during this time was intensive and complex.
Cattle, sheep, and goats (more or less all domesticated) and sorghum, finger millet and
panicum were main grains (although its unclear how domesticated they were). Yet these
people were not sedentary. It seems like they probably still practiced as seasonal round.
Still fished, hunted, and gathered.
In Nubia, the A-group peoples had extensive contact and trade with the people of pre-
dynastic Egypt. Sheep and goats were important, some cattle. Wheat and barley.
Although the people of the Egyptian Nile Valley intensively exploited wild foods very
early on, the beginning of farming is during this same, relatively late period. These
Egyptian settlements cultivated barley, wheat, and flax. Cattle, sheep, goats.
Southern Egypt also has some of the earliest evidence of metalworking, from this same
period 5000BC. Copper items, but stone tools continued to be used for a long time.
In Lower Egypt, especially in the Delta and Fayum depression—small farming villages
by about 5000 BC. … same plants and animals, but also pigs and dogs. Plus donkey.
Still hunting and fishing though.
Pre-Dynastic Egypt:
Flourishing of material culture. Refinement of stone tools, copper tools in the
later periods. Basketry, linen, cloth, more elaborate pottery.
3500BC. Hierakonpolis, Nakada, and others became centers of small states. The
region north of the first cataract was consolidated into two kingdoms, Upper and
Lower Egypt.
81
3100BC. Narmer (menes), the King of Upper Egypt, conquered the delta
kingdom of Lower Egypt. Unification. Dynastic Period.
3100. first dynasty. Evidence of extensive trade. Innovations in art and
technology. Development of hieroglyphics.
DYNASTIC EGYPT
Dynastic Egypt developed from local, African traditions. Its people were
culturally, linguistically, and genetically Africans, although the influence of and
influence on Ancient Egypt extended into the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Ruled by Pharaohs, who claimed to be "earthly incarnations of their gods" This
idea of divine kingship likely has its origins in Sub-Saharan Africa. Connection
between floods and legitimacy of rulers. Eventually evolved into strong,
centralized gov't ruled by god-like pharaoh.
30 dynasties (3100BC-332BC)
useful chronological framework, but not always so unified or powerful
Three main periods (from Shilington: some discrepancies in the readings…)
Old Kingdom (2685-2200 BC)
Middle Kingdom (2040-1785BC)
New Kingdom (1570-1085BC)
Farming and Egyptian Society
Nearly everyone lived within a few miles of the Nile—that's where the water and
soil were, and that's were the farms were.
Population ranged from between 1-2 million in the Old Kingdom to perhaps as
many as 4.5 million in the New Kingdom.
Health was not great. Many people died before age 15, and those that lived could
look forward to disease and degenerative ailments like arthritis. Effects of ag…
Most people in Ancient Egypt were poor farmers. These peasants produced the
agricultural surplus needed to support the rest of society. 3X domestic req's.
Lived in small houses on mounds above flood plain. Wheat, barley, flax. Some
vegetables. Herded goats and cattle. Fished and hunted.
Ate bread, onions, beer and fish. Little meat in diet—paid in taxes, consumed by
ruling classes. Indeed, the peasants themselves benefited little from the huge
agriculture surpluses that they created. Most was taken as taxes.
The surplus, and the taxes upon it, enabled the pharaoh and family to live in
luxury, support a large priesthood and temples, and trade for goods from outside
Egypt.
In addition to the wealth of the pharaohs, the surplus also supported a state
bureaucracy.
3100BC. Narmer (menes), the King of Upper Egypt, conquered the delta
kingdom of Lower Egypt. Unification. Dynastic Period.
3100. first dynasty. Evidence of extensive trade. Innovations in art and
technology. Development of hieroglyphics.
DYNASTIC EGYPT
Dynastic Egypt developed from local, African traditions. Its people were
culturally, linguistically, and genetically Africans, although the influence of and
influence on Ancient Egypt extended into the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Ruled by Pharaohs, who claimed to be "earthly incarnations of their gods" This
idea of divine kingship likely has its origins in Sub-Saharan Africa. Connection
between floods and legitimacy of rulers. Eventually evolved into strong,
centralized gov't ruled by god-like pharaoh.
30 dynasties (3100BC-332BC)
useful chronological framework, but not always so unified or powerful
Three main periods (from Shilington: some discrepancies in the readings…)
Old Kingdom (2685-2200 BC)
Middle Kingdom (2040-1785BC)
New Kingdom (1570-1085BC)
Farming and Egyptian Society
Nearly everyone lived within a few miles of the Nile—that's where the water and
soil were, and that's were the farms were.
Population ranged from between 1-2 million in the Old Kingdom to perhaps as
many as 4.5 million in the New Kingdom.
Health was not great. Many people died before age 15, and those that lived could
look forward to disease and degenerative ailments like arthritis. Effects of ag…
Most people in Ancient Egypt were poor farmers. These peasants produced the
agricultural surplus needed to support the rest of society. 3X domestic req's.
Lived in small houses on mounds above flood plain. Wheat, barley, flax. Some
vegetables. Herded goats and cattle. Fished and hunted.
Ate bread, onions, beer and fish. Little meat in diet—paid in taxes, consumed by
ruling classes. Indeed, the peasants themselves benefited little from the huge
agriculture surpluses that they created. Most was taken as taxes.
The surplus, and the taxes upon it, enabled the pharaoh and family to live in
luxury, support a large priesthood and temples, and trade for goods from outside
Egypt.
In addition to the wealth of the pharaohs, the surplus also supported a state
bureaucracy.
82
Peasant life was overseen by civil servants, who supervised tomb construction
and later local irrigation projects in the off periods (dry season). They figured and
collected taxes during the agricultural season.
Scribes also important to bureaucracy, and to archaeology. Three scripts:
hieroglyphics, cursive, demotic.
Hieroglyphics: "words of the gods" formal inscriptions, etc
Curisive: simplified. Used in daily life. Aka hieratic.
Demotic: Later (700BC), even simpler than cursive.
was recorded on papyrus (early reed-pulp paper). Math developed from surplus
extraction, and the need for flood timing led to the first 12-month, 365 day
calendar.
Bureaucracy split into forty local districts, each with own governor. They oversaw
the collection of taxes, and the distribution of peasant labor. But pharaoh's power
was still centralized.
First, they were divine kings.
Second, their kingdom was easily accessible. From the first cataract to
the sea, nearly everyone lived on the banks of the Nile,
Third, this population was rural (no fortified cities…)
Religion, art, architecture
Like the civil service bureaucracy, the pharaoh was at the center of a complex
religious system that had implications for what we think of as some of the
greatest achievements of Ancient Egypt: art and architecture
Many gods, each with own temple/shrine.
Some represented natural forces (Re, sun god). Others were animals (crocs,
snakes, hawk, etc).
Also regional deities that harkened back to pre-dynastic times.
Believed in life after death, reflected in concern for burials and grave goods.
Wealthy people and pharaohs were mummified (ie embalmed and wrapped in
linen), and placed in a tomb with whatever they might need for next life.
Pharaohs, had huge pyramids built, which housed a variety of material goods.
Pyramids: third and fourth dynasties of Old Kingdom were the great age of
pyramid building. But later too--70 pyramids over 1500 years.
Great Pyramid (for Cheops) first pharaoh of 4th dynasty—built in 2600 BC.
Largest pyramid. 147 meters high, 2.3 million stone blocks, avg. 2.5 tons each.
In New Kingdom, pharaohs were buried in stone caves that were carved in the
Valley of the Kings, near the New Kingdom capital of Thebes. King Tut, a minor
pharaoh of the 18th dynasty.
Conservatism
Dynastic Egypt lasted for about 3000 years. Pharaohs claimed to be ruling from a
divine lineage that had ruled from the beginning of time. In accordance with to
Peasant life was overseen by civil servants, who supervised tomb construction
and later local irrigation projects in the off periods (dry season). They figured and
collected taxes during the agricultural season.
Scribes also important to bureaucracy, and to archaeology. Three scripts:
hieroglyphics, cursive, demotic.
Hieroglyphics: "words of the gods" formal inscriptions, etc
Curisive: simplified. Used in daily life. Aka hieratic.
Demotic: Later (700BC), even simpler than cursive.
was recorded on papyrus (early reed-pulp paper). Math developed from surplus
extraction, and the need for flood timing led to the first 12-month, 365 day
calendar.
Bureaucracy split into forty local districts, each with own governor. They oversaw
the collection of taxes, and the distribution of peasant labor. But pharaoh's power
was still centralized.
First, they were divine kings.
Second, their kingdom was easily accessible. From the first cataract to
the sea, nearly everyone lived on the banks of the Nile,
Third, this population was rural (no fortified cities…)
Religion, art, architecture
Like the civil service bureaucracy, the pharaoh was at the center of a complex
religious system that had implications for what we think of as some of the
greatest achievements of Ancient Egypt: art and architecture
Many gods, each with own temple/shrine.
Some represented natural forces (Re, sun god). Others were animals (crocs,
snakes, hawk, etc).
Also regional deities that harkened back to pre-dynastic times.
Believed in life after death, reflected in concern for burials and grave goods.
Wealthy people and pharaohs were mummified (ie embalmed and wrapped in
linen), and placed in a tomb with whatever they might need for next life.
Pharaohs, had huge pyramids built, which housed a variety of material goods.
Pyramids: third and fourth dynasties of Old Kingdom were the great age of
pyramid building. But later too--70 pyramids over 1500 years.
Great Pyramid (for Cheops) first pharaoh of 4th dynasty—built in 2600 BC.
Largest pyramid. 147 meters high, 2.3 million stone blocks, avg. 2.5 tons each.
In New Kingdom, pharaohs were buried in stone caves that were carved in the
Valley of the Kings, near the New Kingdom capital of Thebes. King Tut, a minor
pharaoh of the 18th dynasty.
Conservatism
Dynastic Egypt lasted for about 3000 years. Pharaohs claimed to be ruling from a
divine lineage that had ruled from the beginning of time. In accordance with to
83
official ideology, any innovation was presented as part of this tradition. A
restoration of ancient practices…
Strong continuities throughout. Most of the typically "Egyptian" art, architecture,
material culture, and social organization was established in the Old Kingdom.
But…
2200-2160 BC, a temp collapse of the central gov't ended the Old Kingdom. The
strong centralization of gov't was undermined by regional interests to infiltrate
bureaucracy, and cause system to crash. Also, it was during a period of
environmental change, and Saharan pastoralists may have entered the Nile
Valley and caused trouble.
Intermediate Period (2200-2040BC). Lapse in tax collection, decline in trade. Halt
in construction of pyramids suggests that pharaohs' power was less. Conversely,
the burials show more individual wealth—state was taking less in taxes.
Middle Kingdom (2040-1785BC) new rulers from Upper Egypt reunited the
region. Pharaohs got their power back, pyramids got built again, and taxes got
paid. Expansion of irrigation and the conquest of Nubia.
But in 1670, the Hyksos, a group from the Middle East, invaded the delta area.
They had horse-drawn chariots and bronze weapons (Egyptians only had
copper). Theban kings drove out the Hyksos and reunited the kingdom again in
1570.
New Kingdom (1570-1085BC). During this period, Egypt expanded, eventually
becoming an important world power. The pharaoh established a standing army
for the first time, and extended the empire into Palestine and Syria, as well as
into Nubia to the south, as far as the 4th cataract. Trade also flourished,
especially in luxury items and exotic goods.
But around 1100BC, the empire began to crumble. Palestine and Nubia regained
autonomy, and Egypt was attacked from outside. New dynasties were founded in
Egypt by outsiders, only to be overthrown themselves by Egyptians.
Yet this period also had its moments of stability, like the 26th dynasty (664-525
BC).
Dynastic Egypt ended with the Greek conquest of 332BC. This brought Egypt
into Alexander the Great's empire, and Egypt was given to Ptolemy. The
Ptolomaic dynasty ruled until 30BC when Egypt was conquered by Rome. Still,
many of the traditions associated with "Ancient Egypt" lasted until around 300AD.
Connection to Nubia
The region immediately to the south of Ancient Egypt is often called Nubia . Like
Egypt, often thought of as Lower (between 1st and 2nd cataract) Upper Nubia
(south of 2nd cat).
This area had a similar development to that of pre-dynastic Egypt, and about the
same time that the dynasties were starting in Egypt, the A Group peoples were
flourishing.
official ideology, any innovation was presented as part of this tradition. A
restoration of ancient practices…
Strong continuities throughout. Most of the typically "Egyptian" art, architecture,
material culture, and social organization was established in the Old Kingdom.
But…
2200-2160 BC, a temp collapse of the central gov't ended the Old Kingdom. The
strong centralization of gov't was undermined by regional interests to infiltrate
bureaucracy, and cause system to crash. Also, it was during a period of
environmental change, and Saharan pastoralists may have entered the Nile
Valley and caused trouble.
Intermediate Period (2200-2040BC). Lapse in tax collection, decline in trade. Halt
in construction of pyramids suggests that pharaohs' power was less. Conversely,
the burials show more individual wealth—state was taking less in taxes.
Middle Kingdom (2040-1785BC) new rulers from Upper Egypt reunited the
region. Pharaohs got their power back, pyramids got built again, and taxes got
paid. Expansion of irrigation and the conquest of Nubia.
But in 1670, the Hyksos, a group from the Middle East, invaded the delta area.
They had horse-drawn chariots and bronze weapons (Egyptians only had
copper). Theban kings drove out the Hyksos and reunited the kingdom again in
1570.
New Kingdom (1570-1085BC). During this period, Egypt expanded, eventually
becoming an important world power. The pharaoh established a standing army
for the first time, and extended the empire into Palestine and Syria, as well as
into Nubia to the south, as far as the 4th cataract. Trade also flourished,
especially in luxury items and exotic goods.
But around 1100BC, the empire began to crumble. Palestine and Nubia regained
autonomy, and Egypt was attacked from outside. New dynasties were founded in
Egypt by outsiders, only to be overthrown themselves by Egyptians.
Yet this period also had its moments of stability, like the 26th dynasty (664-525
BC).
Dynastic Egypt ended with the Greek conquest of 332BC. This brought Egypt
into Alexander the Great's empire, and Egypt was given to Ptolemy. The
Ptolomaic dynasty ruled until 30BC when Egypt was conquered by Rome. Still,
many of the traditions associated with "Ancient Egypt" lasted until around 300AD.
Connection to Nubia
The region immediately to the south of Ancient Egypt is often called Nubia . Like
Egypt, often thought of as Lower (between 1st and 2nd cataract) Upper Nubia
(south of 2nd cat).
This area had a similar development to that of pre-dynastic Egypt, and about the
same time that the dynasties were starting in Egypt, the A Group peoples were
flourishing.
84
A-group peoples cultivated wheat and barley. Relatively prosperous. But
between 3100 and 2695BC, the A group disappeared, Nubians appear as slaves
in Egypt, and the Egyptians build a town and copper smelting center near the
second cataract.
With the end of the Old Kingdom, however, Egyptians withdrew from Lower
Nubia, and a people known as the C Group begin to be seen in the
archaeological record. Pastoralists, less social stratification.
But the Egyptians again pushed southward in the Middle Kingdom, around
1991BC, establishing forts near the 2nd cataract and began to get gold.
Further south (Upper Nubia), though, was the second earliest African state (after
Egypt). Kush, located just south of the third cataract, was established around
2500BC and had some of the best agricultural land in Nubia.
Kush peaked during Egypt's second intermediate stage (1785-1540ishBC).
Egyptians withdrew from Lower Nubia, and the Kingdom of Kush moved
northward.
Yet again, with the expansion that characterized New Kingdom Egypt, Nubia was
subjected to Egyptian rule. Egyptians got all the way to 5th cataract and ruled
Nubia fro 400 years. During which, Nubians were almost fully assimilated into
Egyptian society. Egyptians left in 1070 at the end of the New Kingdom.
About the same time in Upper Nubia, a new kingdom developed at Napata. In
728 BC, the king of Napata, King Piankhy entered into a conflict in Egypt against
Lybians. He established a line of Nubian Pharoahs that ruled from 715-657BC.
After being driven from Egypt around 656BC, the Nubians were forced to retreat
south of their former capital at Napata. They moved to Meroe, south of the 5th
cataract.
Meroe had more rain and allowed for easier ag and grazing, and the state there
survived for another 1000 years. The kings were wealthy and powerful, and they
had a tradition of pyramid building that lasted until 400AD. But the regional
significance of Meroe declined about that same time, perhaps due to regional
shifts resulting from Roman management of Egypt.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 7 Test 3
15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
A-group peoples cultivated wheat and barley. Relatively prosperous. But
between 3100 and 2695BC, the A group disappeared, Nubians appear as slaves
in Egypt, and the Egyptians build a town and copper smelting center near the
second cataract.
With the end of the Old Kingdom, however, Egyptians withdrew from Lower
Nubia, and a people known as the C Group begin to be seen in the
archaeological record. Pastoralists, less social stratification.
But the Egyptians again pushed southward in the Middle Kingdom, around
1991BC, establishing forts near the 2nd cataract and began to get gold.
Further south (Upper Nubia), though, was the second earliest African state (after
Egypt). Kush, located just south of the third cataract, was established around
2500BC and had some of the best agricultural land in Nubia.
Kush peaked during Egypt's second intermediate stage (1785-1540ishBC).
Egyptians withdrew from Lower Nubia, and the Kingdom of Kush moved
northward.
Yet again, with the expansion that characterized New Kingdom Egypt, Nubia was
subjected to Egyptian rule. Egyptians got all the way to 5th cataract and ruled
Nubia fro 400 years. During which, Nubians were almost fully assimilated into
Egyptian society. Egyptians left in 1070 at the end of the New Kingdom.
About the same time in Upper Nubia, a new kingdom developed at Napata. In
728 BC, the king of Napata, King Piankhy entered into a conflict in Egypt against
Lybians. He established a line of Nubian Pharoahs that ruled from 715-657BC.
After being driven from Egypt around 656BC, the Nubians were forced to retreat
south of their former capital at Napata. They moved to Meroe, south of the 5th
cataract.
Meroe had more rain and allowed for easier ag and grazing, and the state there
survived for another 1000 years. The kings were wealthy and powerful, and they
had a tradition of pyramid building that lasted until 400AD. But the regional
significance of Meroe declined about that same time, perhaps due to regional
shifts resulting from Roman management of Egypt.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 7 Test 3
15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
85
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) Which of the following is a primary source of evidence for farming?
a) Pollen
b) Grain impressions in pottery
c) Rock art
d) All of the above
2) Which of the following is a secondary source of evidence for farming?
a) Permanent settlement
b) Grindstones
c) Pottery
d) All of the above
3) Which came first?
a) Domestic animals (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat)
b) Domestic plants (e.g., millet, sorghum, teff)
c) Domestic animals and domestic plants occurred at the same time.
d) It varied from region-region.
4) When is the earliest evidence of farming in Africa?
a) 15 000 years ago
b) 10 000 years ago
c) 9 000 years ago (Phillipson pp122-123)
d) 5 000 years ago
5) Where do domestic sheep come from?
a) North Africa
b) Ethiopian highlands
c) South-West Asia (Iliffe p.13)
d) Mediterranean
6) The earliest bronze sculpture found in Africa comes from:
a) Nok
b) Igbo Ikwu (B&C p. 155 @ about 1000 years old)
c) Benin
d) Ife
7) The earliest reliable evidence of controlled fire use in hearths is:
a) 1 million years old
b) 300 000 year old
c) 125 000 years old (Sterkfontein)
d) None of the above
8) The main plants farmed in Africa were:
a) Rice
b) Cereals
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) Which of the following is a primary source of evidence for farming?
a) Pollen
b) Grain impressions in pottery
c) Rock art
d) All of the above
2) Which of the following is a secondary source of evidence for farming?
a) Permanent settlement
b) Grindstones
c) Pottery
d) All of the above
3) Which came first?
a) Domestic animals (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat)
b) Domestic plants (e.g., millet, sorghum, teff)
c) Domestic animals and domestic plants occurred at the same time.
d) It varied from region-region.
4) When is the earliest evidence of farming in Africa?
a) 15 000 years ago
b) 10 000 years ago
c) 9 000 years ago (Phillipson pp122-123)
d) 5 000 years ago
5) Where do domestic sheep come from?
a) North Africa
b) Ethiopian highlands
c) South-West Asia (Iliffe p.13)
d) Mediterranean
6) The earliest bronze sculpture found in Africa comes from:
a) Nok
b) Igbo Ikwu (B&C p. 155 @ about 1000 years old)
c) Benin
d) Ife
7) The earliest reliable evidence of controlled fire use in hearths is:
a) 1 million years old
b) 300 000 year old
c) 125 000 years old (Sterkfontein)
d) None of the above
8) The main plants farmed in Africa were:
a) Rice
b) Cereals
86
c) Tubers
d) All of the above
9) How many African language families are there?
a) One
b) Three
c) Four (Iliffe pp10-11)
d) Over 900
10) Which of the following are indigenous African crops/animals?
a) Bananas
b) Sheep
c) Coffee (Iliffe p.15; B&C p.143)
d) Corn (maize)
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ Africa’s oldest known rock art is 26 000 years old.
_T_ Iron-working reached what is today Nigeria 2 600 years ago. (B& C p.149)
_F_ Ensete is an imported banana-like plant cultivated in Ethiopia. (Pson p. 149)
_F_ Dynastic Egypt consisted of 35 Pharonic dynasties lasting 3000 years (30
dynasties Phillipson p. 137)
_T_ Herodotus described the building of Khufu pyramid in Egypt 2500 years ago
(Shillington p.25)
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. Why should the adoption of farming in Africa not be called a `revolution’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Episodic strategy that occurred and recurred many times before becoming
dominant. (Bohannan & Curtin p.141 & Phillipson p.120)
2. Why did certain African societies adopt farming when gathering-hunting-fishing
was so successful and early farmers suffered health problems and were very
dependant on erratic rainfall?
c) Tubers
d) All of the above
9) How many African language families are there?
a) One
b) Three
c) Four (Iliffe pp10-11)
d) Over 900
10) Which of the following are indigenous African crops/animals?
a) Bananas
b) Sheep
c) Coffee (Iliffe p.15; B&C p.143)
d) Corn (maize)
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ Africa’s oldest known rock art is 26 000 years old.
_T_ Iron-working reached what is today Nigeria 2 600 years ago. (B& C p.149)
_F_ Ensete is an imported banana-like plant cultivated in Ethiopia. (Pson p. 149)
_F_ Dynastic Egypt consisted of 35 Pharonic dynasties lasting 3000 years (30
dynasties Phillipson p. 137)
_T_ Herodotus described the building of Khufu pyramid in Egypt 2500 years ago
(Shillington p.25)
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. Why should the adoption of farming in Africa not be called a `revolution’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Episodic strategy that occurred and recurred many times before becoming
dominant. (Bohannan & Curtin p.141 & Phillipson p.120)
2. Why did certain African societies adopt farming when gathering-hunting-fishing
was so successful and early farmers suffered health problems and were very
dependant on erratic rainfall?
87
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. For what percentage of our existence has Homo sapiens been a gatherer-
hunter-fisher?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
99% (Phillipson 117)
4. What evidence of farming was found at Nabta Playa and Fayum Depression?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Nabta Playa or Fayum Depression (Iliffe p.13 & Phillipson p.120)
5. What is the difference between `pastoralism’ and `horticulture’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Herding animals vs planting crops; moving about versus sedentary
(Phillipson p.xx)
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) When was the Bubaline phase of North African rock art and what were its
characteristics?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
8000 5000 years ago. Extinct buffalo depictionsLarge naturalistic
engravings. Deeply cut, even polished. Human figures, some with animal
heads (Connah p.35)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. For what percentage of our existence has Homo sapiens been a gatherer-
hunter-fisher?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
99% (Phillipson 117)
4. What evidence of farming was found at Nabta Playa and Fayum Depression?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Nabta Playa or Fayum Depression (Iliffe p.13 & Phillipson p.120)
5. What is the difference between `pastoralism’ and `horticulture’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Herding animals vs planting crops; moving about versus sedentary
(Phillipson p.xx)
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) When was the Bubaline phase of North African rock art and what were its
characteristics?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
8000 5000 years ago. Extinct buffalo depictionsLarge naturalistic
engravings. Deeply cut, even polished. Human figures, some with animal
heads (Connah p.35)
88
2) When were camels introduced into Africa and from where were they
introduced?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2000 years ago from Asia ((Bohannan & Curtin 148; Phillipson p.153).S)
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 8 Writing Assignment 3 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in by
Sunday March 20
th
. Make sure to present a reasoned argument that is well-
supported by multiple, specific facts that are well-referenced.
1. “It is nevertheless true that farming has provided the economic basis for most
of the major technological, artistic and socio-political achievements of African
culture during the past 7, 000 years (Phillipson 1993:122). Discuss.
2. Their paintings are to be found in what are today some of the driest parts of
the Sahara desert where it is difficult to imagine the woodlands and grasslands of
former times” (Shillington 1995: 32). What were the environmental conditions that
allowed or did not allow farming to develop in certain parts of Africa?
3. `Globalisation’ and world trade are often thought of as modern phenomena but
Africa has multiple instances of long-distance and international trade. Provide
evidence for when, where and why this trade occurred.
4. Why, when and where did certain African societies adopt farming when
gathering-hunting-fishing was so successful and early farmers suffered health
problems and were very dependant on erratic rainfall?
Good luck and remember the three steps to a good essay: 1) Read the question
carefully and answer it specifically 2) Make a plan of your argument 3) Write and
revise, revise, revise.
2) When were camels introduced into Africa and from where were they
introduced?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2000 years ago from Asia ((Bohannan & Curtin 148; Phillipson p.153).S)
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 8 Writing Assignment 3 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in by
Sunday March 20
th
. Make sure to present a reasoned argument that is well-
supported by multiple, specific facts that are well-referenced.
1. “It is nevertheless true that farming has provided the economic basis for most
of the major technological, artistic and socio-political achievements of African
culture during the past 7, 000 years (Phillipson 1993:122). Discuss.
2. Their paintings are to be found in what are today some of the driest parts of
the Sahara desert where it is difficult to imagine the woodlands and grasslands of
former times” (Shillington 1995: 32). What were the environmental conditions that
allowed or did not allow farming to develop in certain parts of Africa?
3. `Globalisation’ and world trade are often thought of as modern phenomena but
Africa has multiple instances of long-distance and international trade. Provide
evidence for when, where and why this trade occurred.
4. Why, when and where did certain African societies adopt farming when
gathering-hunting-fishing was so successful and early farmers suffered health
problems and were very dependant on erratic rainfall?
Good luck and remember the three steps to a good essay: 1) Read the question
carefully and answer it specifically 2) Make a plan of your argument 3) Write and
revise, revise, revise.
89
Always imagine you are explaining yourself to someone who knows very little
about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 7a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Hand out 15 minute open book test. Essay hand-back and discussion.
Feedback
Basics
• Sub-headings help structure some essays.
• Give reader a `road map’ of the argument in the first para.
• Imagine your essay will be read by someone totally unfamiliar with Africa.
• Kuhnian science-as-puzzle-solving – you know the question and the answer(s)
and now you have to convince everyone of the steps in-between.
Concepts
• Make sure you know which is the main question and which are subsidiary details.
• Political rhetoric is fine as long as a balanced and factually supported argument
is presented.
• `Critical’ does not have a negative connotation – means considering a viewpoint,
evidence, statement from all angles.
• May help to write conclusion first. Restate thesis in conclusion.
4. Hand out next week’s readings.
5. Hand out next week’s essay questions (for hand-in by next Sunday).
6. Explain change in syllabus – Ginsburg week stays on `Africa in the Americas’ – Week
10 on Representations skips on to April 8
th
and 10
th
Test 5 on April 3
rd
.
7. Explain 25
th
March will be a Study Hall and 27
th
March (Easter) will be class.
8. Stress outstanding essays lose 5% each class they are late.
9. Stress now is time to isolate a final project.
10. Feedback:
a) Evolution for Butler (Lee).
11. Lesson: Re-iterate Week 6a main points plus case study on Lake Chad Sites
(details above).
12. What was happening elsewhere in the world?
13. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
14. Video: Gates `Wonders of the African World’.
12. Pack up and go.
Always imagine you are explaining yourself to someone who knows very little
about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 7a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Hand out 15 minute open book test. Essay hand-back and discussion.
Feedback
Basics
• Sub-headings help structure some essays.
• Give reader a `road map’ of the argument in the first para.
• Imagine your essay will be read by someone totally unfamiliar with Africa.
• Kuhnian science-as-puzzle-solving – you know the question and the answer(s)
and now you have to convince everyone of the steps in-between.
Concepts
• Make sure you know which is the main question and which are subsidiary details.
• Political rhetoric is fine as long as a balanced and factually supported argument
is presented.
• `Critical’ does not have a negative connotation – means considering a viewpoint,
evidence, statement from all angles.
• May help to write conclusion first. Restate thesis in conclusion.
4. Hand out next week’s readings.
5. Hand out next week’s essay questions (for hand-in by next Sunday).
6. Explain change in syllabus – Ginsburg week stays on `Africa in the Americas’ – Week
10 on Representations skips on to April 8
th
and 10
th
Test 5 on April 3
rd
.
7. Explain 25
th
March will be a Study Hall and 27
th
March (Easter) will be class.
8. Stress outstanding essays lose 5% each class they are late.
9. Stress now is time to isolate a final project.
10. Feedback:
a) Evolution for Butler (Lee).
11. Lesson: Re-iterate Week 6a main points plus case study on Lake Chad Sites
(details above).
12. What was happening elsewhere in the world?
13. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
14. Video: Gates `Wonders of the African World’.
12. Pack up and go.
90
After class
1. Leave readings for Lee and David.
2. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 7b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Do test (canceled Friday because of recount delay)
3. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
4. Lesson
a) Metals: David to cover metallurgy as another `tool’ `revolution’. Copper-Bronze-Iron-
Gold. Technical, economic, symbolic aspects.
b) Igbo Ukwu and Benin: Lee – links to metallurgy, multiple hypotheses for evidence,
environmental constraints (hold over to next week).
5. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
6. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa – Mastering a continent.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
2. Mark tests.
3. Prepare individual `scoresheets’ of year’s marks to hand back with test so students
can see progress.
After class
1. Leave readings for Lee and David.
2. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 7b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Do test (canceled Friday because of recount delay)
3. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
4. Lesson
a) Metals: David to cover metallurgy as another `tool’ `revolution’. Copper-Bronze-Iron-
Gold. Technical, economic, symbolic aspects.
b) Igbo Ukwu and Benin: Lee – links to metallurgy, multiple hypotheses for evidence,
environmental constraints (hold over to next week).
5. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
6. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa – Mastering a continent.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
2. Mark tests.
3. Prepare individual `scoresheets’ of year’s marks to hand back with test so students
can see progress.
91
8. The rise of farming and cities
11 & 13. March
Lesson aim
1. Case studies of prominent African civilisations – Aksum, Timbuktu, Igbo Ukwu, Benin.
2. Finalise class research topics for final presentations.
3. Alert to form of Test 4.
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 3. Feedback on Test 3. Half-term grades handed out with
tests.
2. Present African civilization case studies (Aksum, Timbuktu, Igbo-Ukwu, Benin;
Dogon).
3. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
4. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. All Week 6 and 7 readings.
2. OHT visuals of African cities and city states and artefacts.
3. Video clips from Gates’ Wonders of the African world (Parts 1,4,6) and Davidson’s
Africa (Part 3 – Caravans of gold).
For next week
Core readings
1. Assign pages 123-158 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent.
2. Assign pages 170-180 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
3. Assign pages 179-190 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
4. Preliminary plan of final research topics due.
Reading load: 56 pages.
Supplemental readings
1. Assign pages 123-127 and 187-211 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent.
2. Assign pages 217-238 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
3. Assign pages 289-331 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
4. Assign pages 169-175 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
5. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 4).
Reading load: 95 pages BUT skim Shillington.
Notes
Aksum (Connah 2004:-75; Phillipson 1993:168-172; Iliffe 2004:40-43; newspaper
clippings)
Introduction
• 2000 years ago in north-eastern Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands. City and state
called Aksum (Axum). Stratified with king, elite, priests, scribes – page 69
Connah full list of characteristics. Coins, public monuments. Trading.
International politics. First Christian state from perhaps 1700 years ago via the
trader Meropius’ ward Frumentius, Christian trader on route to India and
8. The rise of farming and cities
11 & 13. March
Lesson aim
1. Case studies of prominent African civilisations – Aksum, Timbuktu, Igbo Ukwu, Benin.
2. Finalise class research topics for final presentations.
3. Alert to form of Test 4.
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 3. Feedback on Test 3. Half-term grades handed out with
tests.
2. Present African civilization case studies (Aksum, Timbuktu, Igbo-Ukwu, Benin;
Dogon).
3. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
4. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. All Week 6 and 7 readings.
2. OHT visuals of African cities and city states and artefacts.
3. Video clips from Gates’ Wonders of the African world (Parts 1,4,6) and Davidson’s
Africa (Part 3 – Caravans of gold).
For next week
Core readings
1. Assign pages 123-158 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent.
2. Assign pages 170-180 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
3. Assign pages 179-190 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
4. Preliminary plan of final research topics due.
Reading load: 56 pages.
Supplemental readings
1. Assign pages 123-127 and 187-211 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent.
2. Assign pages 217-238 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
3. Assign pages 289-331 of Shillington’s History of Africa.
4. Assign pages 169-175 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
5. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 4).
Reading load: 95 pages BUT skim Shillington.
Notes
Aksum (Connah 2004:-75; Phillipson 1993:168-172; Iliffe 2004:40-43; newspaper
clippings)
Introduction
• 2000 years ago in north-eastern Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands. City and state
called Aksum (Axum). Stratified with king, elite, priests, scribes – page 69
Connah full list of characteristics. Coins, public monuments. Trading.
International politics. First Christian state from perhaps 1700 years ago via the
trader Meropius’ ward Frumentius, Christian trader on route to India and
92
captured. Tutored future King Ezana who officially adopted Christianity in 333
CE. Frumentius became first Bishop (power of writing). and lasted 500 years. In
fact, multiple religions existed but Christianity dominant – common in conversion
processes (Sutton Hoo example). (Iliffe 41). 400s CE King Ezana conquered
Meroe.
• Ecologically situated in a range of fertile ecotones. Took advantage of earlier
Ethiopian agriculture of ensete, teff and noog. Also sheep, cattle, goats.
Terracing, irrigation and ploughing. Storable surplus underpinned political power.
• Geographically similarly well-situated to access raw material (gold, ivory, metals,
aromatics, salt, slaves etc) from Nile, Equatorial Africa and Red Sea & Indian
Ocean.
• Queen of Sheba and King Solomon – their offspring founded Ethiopian royal
house at Historical tradition tells us the Imperial Family descends from
Solomon and Sheba (c 960 BCE) with Menelek I , but the same could be
said of several other, extinct, Ethiopian lines. The actual recorded
Solomonaic lineage dates from 1268 CE.
• Came to be home of Coptic church.
Archaeology
• Pre-Aksumite culture with strong Sabaen links (Yemen). Semitic people meeting
Cushitic people. Moon god culture. Yeha – 50 km NE of Axum. Got building
technology and style plus writing from there and then later influenced that area
politically and economically – so Africa’s borders start to blur. Its linkage to
Aksum is unclear because of 2000 year period missing info. Was the Dm’t culture
somewhere prior (Iliffe 40).
• Stelae and stones with Ge’ez script as well as coins. King lists. Stelae marked
notables’ graves and usually plain and rough. But at Aksum were 6 steale
ranging from 24 m high and 150 tonnes to 500 tonnes and 33 m long. Italy took
some, which are now being repatriated (newspaper articles). Stelae showed
multi-storey houses – not necessarily real but an ascent to heaven and people’s
place in the world type of message. Did have towers 2-3 storeys high.
• Also underground or rock-cut graves.
• Importance of studying lower classes’ archaeology and of craft specialists who
built dams, irrigation, made bricks and mortar, worked metal, cold, silver, copper,
bronze and iron. Annealingxx. Ivory, leather and wine.
• Adulis the Aksumite port – Late Classical world wanted African animals,
aromatics, slaves, ivory, gold, obsidian, animals and coming in were textiles, iron,
wine, sugar cane, aromatics, spices. Raw materials for val ue-added
commodities. Had coins minted especially for international trade – Greek
inscriptions and weights & measures base (like Euro). Local coins not gold but
bronze and silver in Ge’ez script. International coins both gold and weight so
double measure of wealth.
• Ended c. 1300 years ago via over-exploitation of resources and Islamic control
over Red Sea trade. Out of collapse came Aksum-Cushite merging, circa 600-
650 CE to form basis of today’s Ethiopian state and religion. Rock-cut churches
of Zagwe dynasty around Lake Tana around 12
th
century CE.
Sources
captured. Tutored future King Ezana who officially adopted Christianity in 333
CE. Frumentius became first Bishop (power of writing). and lasted 500 years. In
fact, multiple religions existed but Christianity dominant – common in conversion
processes (Sutton Hoo example). (Iliffe 41). 400s CE King Ezana conquered
Meroe.
• Ecologically situated in a range of fertile ecotones. Took advantage of earlier
Ethiopian agriculture of ensete, teff and noog. Also sheep, cattle, goats.
Terracing, irrigation and ploughing. Storable surplus underpinned political power.
• Geographically similarly well-situated to access raw material (gold, ivory, metals,
aromatics, salt, slaves etc) from Nile, Equatorial Africa and Red Sea & Indian
Ocean.
• Queen of Sheba and King Solomon – their offspring founded Ethiopian royal
house at Historical tradition tells us the Imperial Family descends from
Solomon and Sheba (c 960 BCE) with Menelek I , but the same could be
said of several other, extinct, Ethiopian lines. The actual recorded
Solomonaic lineage dates from 1268 CE.
• Came to be home of Coptic church.
Archaeology
• Pre-Aksumite culture with strong Sabaen links (Yemen). Semitic people meeting
Cushitic people. Moon god culture. Yeha – 50 km NE of Axum. Got building
technology and style plus writing from there and then later influenced that area
politically and economically – so Africa’s borders start to blur. Its linkage to
Aksum is unclear because of 2000 year period missing info. Was the Dm’t culture
somewhere prior (Iliffe 40).
• Stelae and stones with Ge’ez script as well as coins. King lists. Stelae marked
notables’ graves and usually plain and rough. But at Aksum were 6 steale
ranging from 24 m high and 150 tonnes to 500 tonnes and 33 m long. Italy took
some, which are now being repatriated (newspaper articles). Stelae showed
multi-storey houses – not necessarily real but an ascent to heaven and people’s
place in the world type of message. Did have towers 2-3 storeys high.
• Also underground or rock-cut graves.
• Importance of studying lower classes’ archaeology and of craft specialists who
built dams, irrigation, made bricks and mortar, worked metal, cold, silver, copper,
bronze and iron. Annealingxx. Ivory, leather and wine.
• Adulis the Aksumite port – Late Classical world wanted African animals,
aromatics, slaves, ivory, gold, obsidian, animals and coming in were textiles, iron,
wine, sugar cane, aromatics, spices. Raw materials for val ue-added
commodities. Had coins minted especially for international trade – Greek
inscriptions and weights & measures base (like Euro). Local coins not gold but
bronze and silver in Ge’ez script. International coins both gold and weight so
double measure of wealth.
• Ended c. 1300 years ago via over-exploitation of resources and Islamic control
over Red Sea trade. Out of collapse came Aksum-Cushite merging, circa 600-
650 CE to form basis of today’s Ethiopian state and religion. Rock-cut churches
of Zagwe dynasty around Lake Tana around 12
th
century CE.
Sources
93
• Archaeology (cities, coins); Ge’ez writing – from Himyaritic South Arabian script. ,
Greek and Roman writings – esp Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, chronicling trade
from Alexandria to Indian Ocean. , oral traditions.
Dogon (from: Marlene M. Martin and Robert O. Lagace
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture.7840; University of Iowa
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Dogon.html; Museum of Unnatural History;
Inagina http://archeo.unige.ch/inagina/dogon.gb.html)
Introduction
• The Dogon are an ethnic group located mainly in Mali and also Burkino Fasso,
West Africa. 100 000 - 250 000 strong. .Has plain, cliffs, and plateau.
Concentrated along the 90-mile Cliffs of Bandiagara.
• Dogon language within the Voltaic (or Gur) subfamily of Niger-Congo language
family
• Call themselves Dogon/m (sing. Dogo). Also Habe , Fulbe wo rd for
`stranger/pagan’."
• Hierarchical occupational "castes" - ironworkers in iron, wood, leather, and griots
who are lineage genealogists, musicians, and poets and sorcerers as well. Caste
members live apart from the agriculturalists in special part of, or separate village
• Dogon villages usually in groups of 5 or 6 concentrated around water holes
• Men's society controls the cult of the masks (Awa) and has strict rules and secret
language. Women and children are strictly excluded. Olubaru have life-time duty
of preserving traditions of the masks. Olubaru are initiated in a Sigi ceremony
held each 60 years. The masks perform every year during the 4 weeks which
precede the sowing festival, at the Sigi ceremony.
• Three other principal cults. 1. Lebe agricultural cult 2. Binu totemic. 3. Gina
ancestors cult.
Oral Traditions
• From west bank of Niger River (10th to 13th centuries). Emigrated west to
Burkino Faso. 1490 fled Mossi cavalry and got to Bandiagara cliff. These
ancestors were four brothers, Dyon, Ono, Arou, and Domno. Inhabitants of
different regions claim kinship with one of these four brothers.
• Carbon-14 dating techniques used on excavated remains found in the cliffs
suggest earlier, 10
th
century Toloy people 300-200 BCE and Tellem 1100s-1500s
AD.
• May be of ancient Egyptian descent. Libya - Burkina Faso, Guinea or Mauritania
(different scholarly s; these were the culture of the.
Art
• Masks and wooden figurative art.
• Primary colors red, black, and white in spirals and checkerboard - origin stories.
Iron work
• Now Dogon blacksmiths forge scrap metal
• Last smelting done 199569 kilos iron from 11 blacksmiths.
• Archaeology (cities, coins); Ge’ez writing – from Himyaritic South Arabian script. ,
Greek and Roman writings – esp Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, chronicling trade
from Alexandria to Indian Ocean. , oral traditions.
Dogon (from: Marlene M. Martin and Robert O. Lagace
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture.7840; University of Iowa
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Dogon.html; Museum of Unnatural History;
Inagina http://archeo.unige.ch/inagina/dogon.gb.html)
Introduction
• The Dogon are an ethnic group located mainly in Mali and also Burkino Fasso,
West Africa. 100 000 - 250 000 strong. .Has plain, cliffs, and plateau.
Concentrated along the 90-mile Cliffs of Bandiagara.
• Dogon language within the Voltaic (or Gur) subfamily of Niger-Congo language
family
• Call themselves Dogon/m (sing. Dogo). Also Habe , Fulbe wo rd for
`stranger/pagan’."
• Hierarchical occupational "castes" - ironworkers in iron, wood, leather, and griots
who are lineage genealogists, musicians, and poets and sorcerers as well. Caste
members live apart from the agriculturalists in special part of, or separate village
• Dogon villages usually in groups of 5 or 6 concentrated around water holes
• Men's society controls the cult of the masks (Awa) and has strict rules and secret
language. Women and children are strictly excluded. Olubaru have life-time duty
of preserving traditions of the masks. Olubaru are initiated in a Sigi ceremony
held each 60 years. The masks perform every year during the 4 weeks which
precede the sowing festival, at the Sigi ceremony.
• Three other principal cults. 1. Lebe agricultural cult 2. Binu totemic. 3. Gina
ancestors cult.
Oral Traditions
• From west bank of Niger River (10th to 13th centuries). Emigrated west to
Burkino Faso. 1490 fled Mossi cavalry and got to Bandiagara cliff. These
ancestors were four brothers, Dyon, Ono, Arou, and Domno. Inhabitants of
different regions claim kinship with one of these four brothers.
• Carbon-14 dating techniques used on excavated remains found in the cliffs
suggest earlier, 10
th
century Toloy people 300-200 BCE and Tellem 1100s-1500s
AD.
• May be of ancient Egyptian descent. Libya - Burkina Faso, Guinea or Mauritania
(different scholarly s; these were the culture of the.
Art
• Masks and wooden figurative art.
• Primary colors red, black, and white in spirals and checkerboard - origin stories.
Iron work
• Now Dogon blacksmiths forge scrap metal
• Last smelting done 199569 kilos iron from 11 blacksmiths.
94
Agriculture
• Millet, sorghum, rice, onions, beans, tobacco, and sorrel and arboriculturalists
• Goats and sheep; some cows and poultry. Fishing once a year as collective
venture.
• Export onions which are exported throughout the Sudan region.
Astronomy
1940s/50s anthropologists Griaule and Dieterlen heard Dogon myths of Sirius (8.6 light
years away) and companion star invisible to the human eye. Said Sirius B was small,
heavy and had a 50-year elliptical orbit around Sirius. Orbit is 50.04 +/- 0.09 years and
Sirius B first photographed in 1970, though suspected since 1844
Dogon Sirius B is Po Tolo “small seed star” people from the Sirius system called the
Nommos visited Earth thousands of years ago. The Nommos were ugly, amphibious
beings that resembled mermen and mermaids. They also appea r in Babylonian,
Accadian, and Sumerian myths
Artefacts found describing star system – 400 year old statue 1977 book by Temple `The
Sirius Mystery’. Sirius A is the brightest star in our sky.
Walter Van Beek led anthropologists to Mali. Found no trace of detailed Sirius
knowledge - Griaule claimed 15% of tribe possessed such knowledge::
'though they do speak about sigu tolo
8
they disagree completely with each other as to
which star is meant; for some it is an invisible star that should rise to announce the sigu
[festival], for another it is Venus that, through a different position, appears as sigu tolo.
All agree, however, that they learned about the star from Griaule'
Griaule was an amateur astronomer and took star maps with him on his trips to prompt
the locals to talk about stars. Maybe the Dogon merely answered to please Griaule?
Benin city (Kingdom of Benin)
• Evidence comes from archaeology (Connah), oral traditions and written history
(contact with Portuguese traders from the 16
th
c)
• Southern Nigeria (in the rainforest)
• populated by speakers of a group of closely related languages called Edo
Chronology
• people had been in the area
o as early as 9000 BC
o stone tools and pottery from a rockshelter (Iwo Eleru)
~1000 years ago
o densely forested region was divided into a few fighting chiefdoms
o practicing swidden agriculture so large amounts of land were needed
Agriculture
• Millet, sorghum, rice, onions, beans, tobacco, and sorrel and arboriculturalists
• Goats and sheep; some cows and poultry. Fishing once a year as collective
venture.
• Export onions which are exported throughout the Sudan region.
Astronomy
1940s/50s anthropologists Griaule and Dieterlen heard Dogon myths of Sirius (8.6 light
years away) and companion star invisible to the human eye. Said Sirius B was small,
heavy and had a 50-year elliptical orbit around Sirius. Orbit is 50.04 +/- 0.09 years and
Sirius B first photographed in 1970, though suspected since 1844
Dogon Sirius B is Po Tolo “small seed star” people from the Sirius system called the
Nommos visited Earth thousands of years ago. The Nommos were ugly, amphibious
beings that resembled mermen and mermaids. They also appea r in Babylonian,
Accadian, and Sumerian myths
Artefacts found describing star system – 400 year old statue 1977 book by Temple `The
Sirius Mystery’. Sirius A is the brightest star in our sky.
Walter Van Beek led anthropologists to Mali. Found no trace of detailed Sirius
knowledge - Griaule claimed 15% of tribe possessed such knowledge::
'though they do speak about sigu tolo
8
they disagree completely with each other as to
which star is meant; for some it is an invisible star that should rise to announce the sigu
[festival], for another it is Venus that, through a different position, appears as sigu tolo.
All agree, however, that they learned about the star from Griaule'
Griaule was an amateur astronomer and took star maps with him on his trips to prompt
the locals to talk about stars. Maybe the Dogon merely answered to please Griaule?
Benin city (Kingdom of Benin)
• Evidence comes from archaeology (Connah), oral traditions and written history
(contact with Portuguese traders from the 16
th
c)
• Southern Nigeria (in the rainforest)
• populated by speakers of a group of closely related languages called Edo
Chronology
• people had been in the area
o as early as 9000 BC
o stone tools and pottery from a rockshelter (Iwo Eleru)
~1000 years ago
o densely forested region was divided into a few fighting chiefdoms
o practicing swidden agriculture so large amounts of land were needed
95
o ditch and bank construction
o chiefs came together to consolidate efforts
Founding
o Around 1200/1300 A.D. the chiefs invited a prince from the Yoruba city of
Ife named Oranmiyan to become their leader. He stayed in Benin long
enough to father a child with a daughter of a local chief
o Some historians have suggested that the tale of a marriage between
Oranmiyan and a chiefly family may conceal the unpleasant truth that
Benin was conquered by outsiders who became its rulers
o His son, Eweka I, became the first Oba (king).
o Benin was ruled by the oba, a divine ruler at head of the political system
of titled chiefs
Connections to other kingdoms
o Owo, Ijebu, and Benin (trio of kingdoms located within present-day
southern Nigeria) shared aspects of courtly culture including titles,
ceremonial objects, and art forms
ƒ The states of Owo and Ijebu were composed primarily of Yoruba
peoples, the core populations of the Benin kingdom were
ethnically Edo
ƒ all trace their origins to the ancient city of Ife, the cradle of Yoruba
culture, and claim that their founders were the sons of the Yoruba
deity Odudua, who was the first ruler of that city
Transformation (15
th
century)
• Ewuare; early 1400s and Ozolua (Ewuare’s son); late 1400s
ƒ conquered many towns and villages
ƒ converted the city into the capitol of a kingdom about 120k across
ƒ constructed the palace and city defenses (high walls, deep
trenches)
ƒ converted the government
• opposition to the “uzama” (hereditary chiefs who
participated in the selection of the oba)
• created and appointed “palace chiefs” and “town chiefs”
• system of checks and balances
Arrival of the Portuguese around 1485
o ditch and bank construction
o chiefs came together to consolidate efforts
Founding
o Around 1200/1300 A.D. the chiefs invited a prince from the Yoruba city of
Ife named Oranmiyan to become their leader. He stayed in Benin long
enough to father a child with a daughter of a local chief
o Some historians have suggested that the tale of a marriage between
Oranmiyan and a chiefly family may conceal the unpleasant truth that
Benin was conquered by outsiders who became its rulers
o His son, Eweka I, became the first Oba (king).
o Benin was ruled by the oba, a divine ruler at head of the political system
of titled chiefs
Connections to other kingdoms
o Owo, Ijebu, and Benin (trio of kingdoms located within present-day
southern Nigeria) shared aspects of courtly culture including titles,
ceremonial objects, and art forms
ƒ The states of Owo and Ijebu were composed primarily of Yoruba
peoples, the core populations of the Benin kingdom were
ethnically Edo
ƒ all trace their origins to the ancient city of Ife, the cradle of Yoruba
culture, and claim that their founders were the sons of the Yoruba
deity Odudua, who was the first ruler of that city
Transformation (15
th
century)
• Ewuare; early 1400s and Ozolua (Ewuare’s son); late 1400s
ƒ conquered many towns and villages
ƒ converted the city into the capitol of a kingdom about 120k across
ƒ constructed the palace and city defenses (high walls, deep
trenches)
ƒ converted the government
• opposition to the “uzama” (hereditary chiefs who
participated in the selection of the oba)
• created and appointed “palace chiefs” and “town chiefs”
• system of checks and balances
Arrival of the Portuguese around 1485
96
o created a new era of prosperity and rapid expansion
o Portuguese provided economic and militaristic strength for the kingdom,
acting as a conduit for overseas trade and fighting in military campaigns.
o According to Edo belief, the realms of the living and the dead are
separated by a vast body of water, and Portuguese merchants, who came
from across the Atlantic, were viewed as interlocutors between these two
realms
o Esigie (Ozolua’s son)
ƒ Ruled from 1504 – 1550
ƒ Established close contacts with the Portuguese
Trade
o Royal monopoly over trade in pepper and ivory with the Europeans
(Portuguese, Dutch , French, British)
o Later: palm oil
o Major cloth exporter
o Prohibited the export of male slaves (16
th
-17
th
c)
ƒ Imported slaves purchased by Europeans elsewhere in West
Africa and resold some of them to what is now Ghana
o New sources of copper and brass
Death of Esigie (1550)
o Obas withdrew from politics
- As the influence of the chiefs grew over the centuries, the office of the oba
became increasingly ceremonial
o Oba controlled the creation and ownership of art objects
ƒ In 1914, Oba Eweka II lifted the restrictions on the sale of art
work, and traditional craftsmen began to create for the public as
well.
o court ritual and art focused on what set the oba apart from the chiefs: his
ability to claim divine origins
o hereditary craftsmen that lived in the palace
o carried out for the ruler (the Oba)
Royal art was primarily made of ivory and bronze
ƒ Ivory carving has been part of court life since the early 12th
century
ƒ In the past, all trade in ivory was controlled by the Oba, and any
hunter who killed an elephant was obliged to give one of its tusks
to the palace. In this way the rulers of Benin amassed huge stocks
of ivory
ƒ carved by the hereditary guild of ivory carvers
ƒ ritual importance comes from its color, orhue (chalk), considered
the perfect symbol of purity, prosperity and peace.
Copper/Bronze (copper and tin), Brass (copper, tin, zinc)
ƒ Before the arrival of the Portuguese, supply came from trade with
northern neighbors
ƒ associated brass, which resists corrosion, with the permanence
and continuity of kingship
o created a new era of prosperity and rapid expansion
o Portuguese provided economic and militaristic strength for the kingdom,
acting as a conduit for overseas trade and fighting in military campaigns.
o According to Edo belief, the realms of the living and the dead are
separated by a vast body of water, and Portuguese merchants, who came
from across the Atlantic, were viewed as interlocutors between these two
realms
o Esigie (Ozolua’s son)
ƒ Ruled from 1504 – 1550
ƒ Established close contacts with the Portuguese
Trade
o Royal monopoly over trade in pepper and ivory with the Europeans
(Portuguese, Dutch , French, British)
o Later: palm oil
o Major cloth exporter
o Prohibited the export of male slaves (16
th
-17
th
c)
ƒ Imported slaves purchased by Europeans elsewhere in West
Africa and resold some of them to what is now Ghana
o New sources of copper and brass
Death of Esigie (1550)
o Obas withdrew from politics
- As the influence of the chiefs grew over the centuries, the office of the oba
became increasingly ceremonial
o Oba controlled the creation and ownership of art objects
ƒ In 1914, Oba Eweka II lifted the restrictions on the sale of art
work, and traditional craftsmen began to create for the public as
well.
o court ritual and art focused on what set the oba apart from the chiefs: his
ability to claim divine origins
o hereditary craftsmen that lived in the palace
o carried out for the ruler (the Oba)
Royal art was primarily made of ivory and bronze
ƒ Ivory carving has been part of court life since the early 12th
century
ƒ In the past, all trade in ivory was controlled by the Oba, and any
hunter who killed an elephant was obliged to give one of its tusks
to the palace. In this way the rulers of Benin amassed huge stocks
of ivory
ƒ carved by the hereditary guild of ivory carvers
ƒ ritual importance comes from its color, orhue (chalk), considered
the perfect symbol of purity, prosperity and peace.
Copper/Bronze (copper and tin), Brass (copper, tin, zinc)
ƒ Before the arrival of the Portuguese, supply came from trade with
northern neighbors
ƒ associated brass, which resists corrosion, with the permanence
and continuity of kingship
97
ƒ casting of brass was an art controlled by the oba; anyone found
casting brass without royal permission faced execution.
ƒ court's brass casters learned their art from an Ife master named
Iguegha, who had been sent from Ife around 1400 at the request
of Benin's oba Oguola
o Heads
ƒ Commemorative heads were commissioned by each oba in the
first years of his reign to honor his immediate predecessor.
Although these heads represent specific obas, they are not
portraits in the sense that they capture the individual features of
the kings. Rather, they are idealized depictions that emphasize
the trappings of kingship.
o Wall plaques
ƒ Lined the walls of the royal palace
ƒ depicted obas, chiefs, soldiers, servants, musicians, buildings,
animal sacrifices and Portuguese soldiers with muskets and on
horses served as remembrances of Benin's past and provided
illustrations for Benin's oral historians
Little is known about the kingdom during the 18
th
c.
ƒ Prohibition on slave exports abolished and passed cloth as the
major export
Steady decline in 19
th
c.
o Troubles
ƒ Militaristic Islamic states to the north created a new threat
• Nupe, seized control of Benin’s northern territory
ƒ Yoruba state of Ibadan troubled Benin to the west
ƒ Economy was disrupted in 1807 when the British decided to
abolish the slave trade
o Obas began intensifying ritual human sacrifice as a ritual solution to
challenges to their political authority
o 1857: Massacre of a British consul and his party
ƒ Diplomatic trip to talk to the Oba about ending slavery and
investigate reports of human sacrifice
o In retaliation, the British sent an army (about 1,500 soldiers) to the city
ƒ Found remains of hundreds of men & women sacrificed to gods
along the way
ƒ Many crucified victims and blood stained alters in the city
ƒ forced the Oba into exile and burned the palace
o Oil River protectorate administered the city indirectly through a council of
chiefs
o to further weaken the Oba and to deter additional bloodshed, the British
removed over two thousand objects from the palace. These objects
(including the Oba's primary symbol of power, the stool) were auctioned
off to defray the costs of the military expedition.
The present ruler, Erediauwa I, is the 39th Oba of the dynasty
What the Hell is going on at Igbo-Ukwu?
ƒ casting of brass was an art controlled by the oba; anyone found
casting brass without royal permission faced execution.
ƒ court's brass casters learned their art from an Ife master named
Iguegha, who had been sent from Ife around 1400 at the request
of Benin's oba Oguola
o Heads
ƒ Commemorative heads were commissioned by each oba in the
first years of his reign to honor his immediate predecessor.
Although these heads represent specific obas, they are not
portraits in the sense that they capture the individual features of
the kings. Rather, they are idealized depictions that emphasize
the trappings of kingship.
o Wall plaques
ƒ Lined the walls of the royal palace
ƒ depicted obas, chiefs, soldiers, servants, musicians, buildings,
animal sacrifices and Portuguese soldiers with muskets and on
horses served as remembrances of Benin's past and provided
illustrations for Benin's oral historians
Little is known about the kingdom during the 18
th
c.
ƒ Prohibition on slave exports abolished and passed cloth as the
major export
Steady decline in 19
th
c.
o Troubles
ƒ Militaristic Islamic states to the north created a new threat
• Nupe, seized control of Benin’s northern territory
ƒ Yoruba state of Ibadan troubled Benin to the west
ƒ Economy was disrupted in 1807 when the British decided to
abolish the slave trade
o Obas began intensifying ritual human sacrifice as a ritual solution to
challenges to their political authority
o 1857: Massacre of a British consul and his party
ƒ Diplomatic trip to talk to the Oba about ending slavery and
investigate reports of human sacrifice
o In retaliation, the British sent an army (about 1,500 soldiers) to the city
ƒ Found remains of hundreds of men & women sacrificed to gods
along the way
ƒ Many crucified victims and blood stained alters in the city
ƒ forced the Oba into exile and burned the palace
o Oil River protectorate administered the city indirectly through a council of
chiefs
o to further weaken the Oba and to deter additional bloodshed, the British
removed over two thousand objects from the palace. These objects
(including the Oba's primary symbol of power, the stool) were auctioned
off to defray the costs of the military expedition.
The present ruler, Erediauwa I, is the 39th Oba of the dynasty
What the Hell is going on at Igbo-Ukwu?
98
Background:
1938, a number of bronzes were uncovered during the digging of a cistern.
1959/60, 1964 excavations were conducted in the area and revealed an impressive
number of bronzes (lost wax technique) as well as several whole ceramic vessels,
human remains, and over 165,000 glass and carnelian beads.
Three main areas of excavation (which were all within 100m of each other and were
named after the men whose compounds they were in):
Igbo Isaiah: compound of Isaiah Anozie, who had originally found the bronzes in 1938.
First controlled excavations in 1959/60.
Many bronzes made by the "lost wax" process, including, bronze plaques, bronze shells,
ornaments shaped like elephants, highly decorated bronze bowls, including one that was
in the shape of a calabash, an intricate roped pot and a bronze altar stand (photo pg.
114-115 Connah).
Also iron knives, copper spiral snake ornaments (for the end of a staff), copper chains,
copper handles for calabashes, decorated pottery, and over 63,000 glass & stone
beads.
Probably all laid out on a platform with a roof that collapsed. Shaw has suggested that it
was "a storehouse of regalia." Not known why it was left.
Igbo Richard: Compound of Richard Anozie, relative of Isaiah. Excavated in 1959/60.
Somewhat different artifacts. Three large elephant tusks. Most of the metal items were of
smithed copper rather than cast bronze. These included a crown, a fan holder, chest
plates, anklets, arm bands, and other jewelry, as well as the remains of a stool. 102,000
glass and stone beads.
Two bronze pieces were a hilt that shows a man on a horse or donkey and a cast bronze
leopard skull on a long copper rod.
With these they also found human remains: 1 individual in lower level, 5 more above.
Interpreted as an elite burial chamber. Person probably buried sitting upright on the stool
with all the stuff. Then roof collapsed scattering the artifacts.
Igbo Jonah: Compound of Jonah Anozie, excavated in 1964.
Different than other two deposits. This one was an assortment of materials deposited in
a pit. It appears that it was deposited all at once and that the pit was dug for this
purpose.
Animal bones, only 15 or so beads. Metal artifacts included bronze ornaments and
copper jewelry, also some iron items. This pit mostly held pottery though, which was
highly decorated (snakes and chameleon, other animals) and similar to that found in the
other two areas. Maybe disposal of ritual or ceremonial items that no longer being used
or were too powerful to leave around.
So what is the story here?
Materials:
Most of the copper-like metals found at Igbo-Ukwu were heavily leaded bronze (up to
12% tin and up to 16% lead). But a second group of objects were nearly pure copper.
All of these materials were available locally.
Background:
1938, a number of bronzes were uncovered during the digging of a cistern.
1959/60, 1964 excavations were conducted in the area and revealed an impressive
number of bronzes (lost wax technique) as well as several whole ceramic vessels,
human remains, and over 165,000 glass and carnelian beads.
Three main areas of excavation (which were all within 100m of each other and were
named after the men whose compounds they were in):
Igbo Isaiah: compound of Isaiah Anozie, who had originally found the bronzes in 1938.
First controlled excavations in 1959/60.
Many bronzes made by the "lost wax" process, including, bronze plaques, bronze shells,
ornaments shaped like elephants, highly decorated bronze bowls, including one that was
in the shape of a calabash, an intricate roped pot and a bronze altar stand (photo pg.
114-115 Connah).
Also iron knives, copper spiral snake ornaments (for the end of a staff), copper chains,
copper handles for calabashes, decorated pottery, and over 63,000 glass & stone
beads.
Probably all laid out on a platform with a roof that collapsed. Shaw has suggested that it
was "a storehouse of regalia." Not known why it was left.
Igbo Richard: Compound of Richard Anozie, relative of Isaiah. Excavated in 1959/60.
Somewhat different artifacts. Three large elephant tusks. Most of the metal items were of
smithed copper rather than cast bronze. These included a crown, a fan holder, chest
plates, anklets, arm bands, and other jewelry, as well as the remains of a stool. 102,000
glass and stone beads.
Two bronze pieces were a hilt that shows a man on a horse or donkey and a cast bronze
leopard skull on a long copper rod.
With these they also found human remains: 1 individual in lower level, 5 more above.
Interpreted as an elite burial chamber. Person probably buried sitting upright on the stool
with all the stuff. Then roof collapsed scattering the artifacts.
Igbo Jonah: Compound of Jonah Anozie, excavated in 1964.
Different than other two deposits. This one was an assortment of materials deposited in
a pit. It appears that it was deposited all at once and that the pit was dug for this
purpose.
Animal bones, only 15 or so beads. Metal artifacts included bronze ornaments and
copper jewelry, also some iron items. This pit mostly held pottery though, which was
highly decorated (snakes and chameleon, other animals) and similar to that found in the
other two areas. Maybe disposal of ritual or ceremonial items that no longer being used
or were too powerful to leave around.
So what is the story here?
Materials:
Most of the copper-like metals found at Igbo-Ukwu were heavily leaded bronze (up to
12% tin and up to 16% lead). But a second group of objects were nearly pure copper.
All of these materials were available locally.
99
All of the intricate lost-wax objects were made from the bronze, whereas the pure copper
objects were all smithed (twisting, hammering, engraving). This suggests that the
metallurgists knew what they were doing.
Dating:
Initial controversy regarding dating (cloth with bronzes suggested recent date, but
bronze can preserve cloth)
But radiocarbon dates cluster around 900-1000AD (although all materials from Igbo-
Isaiah were lost).
In terms of the differences between the different deposits, it looks like the pit at Igbo-
Jonah is the oldest.
But based on similarities between the metalwork, pottery, and beads, it is certain that
these three deposits were made by people of the same cultural tradition.
Eze Nri
Yet just what that cultural tradition was remains unknown (no further excavations, so it’s
still not clear if Igbo-Ukwu was a city or a palace, or a priest’s quarter).
Early interpretations suggested that it was the antecedent of the historically and
ethnographically known institution of Eze Nri. In the Igbo language Eze Nri means king,
but it means spiritually as well as political. This institution was still practiced intermittently
in the 20
th
century in the area around Igbo-Ukwu.
Burial practices are very similar to those indicated by the Igbo-Ukwu burial chamber.
Plus, scholars believe that the institution of Eze Nri could be as old as 1000 years, so it
is a good fit with the evidence of Igbo-Ukwu.
But even if Igbo-Ukwu represents in part a burial of an elite person who held a title
similar to that of Eze Nri, we still don’t know much about the social or political realities of
the realm that such a person governed.
Why Igbo-Ukwu?
Scholars have tried to figure out why Igbo-Ukwu developed when and where it did.
Looking at the archaeology, we see:
Artistic virtuosity and technical expertise (metalworking and ceramics)
Mostly non-utilitarian objects
Lots of energy expended in mining and extraction of metals
Glass beads, mostly from Egypt (workshops at Fustat in Old Cairo)
Carnelian (stone) beads could be Indian, but also might be Egyptian or Saharan.
Trade:
This evidence suggests that Igbo-Ukwu, whatever it represents, was involved in regional
trade routes, but are they Nilotic or trans-Saharan in nature? (E-W or N-S, respectively).
Originally, it was thought that Igbo-Ukwu gained its weath by trading Ivory northward.
There were three elephant tusks and bronze elephants found in the burial at Igbo-
Richard.
Region might have had good elephant huntin’ back in those days.
New archaeological work partially supports this idea:
All of the intricate lost-wax objects were made from the bronze, whereas the pure copper
objects were all smithed (twisting, hammering, engraving). This suggests that the
metallurgists knew what they were doing.
Dating:
Initial controversy regarding dating (cloth with bronzes suggested recent date, but
bronze can preserve cloth)
But radiocarbon dates cluster around 900-1000AD (although all materials from Igbo-
Isaiah were lost).
In terms of the differences between the different deposits, it looks like the pit at Igbo-
Jonah is the oldest.
But based on similarities between the metalwork, pottery, and beads, it is certain that
these three deposits were made by people of the same cultural tradition.
Eze Nri
Yet just what that cultural tradition was remains unknown (no further excavations, so it’s
still not clear if Igbo-Ukwu was a city or a palace, or a priest’s quarter).
Early interpretations suggested that it was the antecedent of the historically and
ethnographically known institution of Eze Nri. In the Igbo language Eze Nri means king,
but it means spiritually as well as political. This institution was still practiced intermittently
in the 20
th
century in the area around Igbo-Ukwu.
Burial practices are very similar to those indicated by the Igbo-Ukwu burial chamber.
Plus, scholars believe that the institution of Eze Nri could be as old as 1000 years, so it
is a good fit with the evidence of Igbo-Ukwu.
But even if Igbo-Ukwu represents in part a burial of an elite person who held a title
similar to that of Eze Nri, we still don’t know much about the social or political realities of
the realm that such a person governed.
Why Igbo-Ukwu?
Scholars have tried to figure out why Igbo-Ukwu developed when and where it did.
Looking at the archaeology, we see:
Artistic virtuosity and technical expertise (metalworking and ceramics)
Mostly non-utilitarian objects
Lots of energy expended in mining and extraction of metals
Glass beads, mostly from Egypt (workshops at Fustat in Old Cairo)
Carnelian (stone) beads could be Indian, but also might be Egyptian or Saharan.
Trade:
This evidence suggests that Igbo-Ukwu, whatever it represents, was involved in regional
trade routes, but are they Nilotic or trans-Saharan in nature? (E-W or N-S, respectively).
Originally, it was thought that Igbo-Ukwu gained its weath by trading Ivory northward.
There were three elephant tusks and bronze elephants found in the burial at Igbo-
Richard.
Region might have had good elephant huntin’ back in those days.
New archaeological work partially supports this idea:
100
Gao Beads: Recent excavations at the site of Gao in eastern Mali revealed a number of
beads that are similar to those found at Igbo-Ukwu (southern Nigeria).
But: *These beads date to the 11th-12th centuries AD, so they are a little bit later.
*The beads are from Egypt, so easier route would’ve been up the Nile and
around the southeastern edge of the Saharan to the Lake Chad region, then
down the Benue to Igbo-Ukwu (instead of across the Sahara)
* Trans-Sahara trade networks don’t really get going until after 1000AD, a little
late for Igbo-Ukwu.
* In terms of Ivory, Igbo-Ukwu would not have been the only place to get it.
* Deep into the forest zone--would’ve been places closer to Gao to get ivory.
Alternative model posits East-West trade routes and connection to Nile.
Nubia and Middle Nile were centers of bead use and trade in 1
st
millennium AD.
Similar materials, shapes, and sizes as those found in Igbo-Ukwu.
But what was Igbo-Ukwu exporting? Ivory?
They answer may be in the metallurgy itself--lots of specialized labor, unique in region.
So, the mining, separating, and alloying of the metals found at Igbo-Ukwu may actually
have been a by-product of the commodity being traded, rather than an end in itself.
Tin, for example, may have been in demand in Nubia where bronze working was also
popular, but where tin was not available.
Silver?
The bronzes at Igbo-Ukwu contain trace amounts of silver.
Usually, silver in the ore would be recognized and extracted, but metallurgy specialists
have doubted that the folks at Igbo-Ukwu knew how to get the silver out (it’s difficult).
But what if they did?
Clearly, they had skills, and silver was in demand not just in the Nile Valley, but
throughout the Middle East and Europe, whose trade networks reached into Africa.
More research needed on the bronze & silver objects of Nubia, Meroe, and Mid Nile…
Horse and E-W trade routes
The same guy who supports the silver idea, thinks that the horse figure also indicates
East-West connections.
The hilt (for a staff) showed a horse and rider, but Igbo-Ukwu is not a good environment
for horses due to tsetse flies.
But archaeological evidence of small horses or ponies near lake Chad at same time.
Also ethnographic evidence that people from Igbo area went to the savannah around
Lake Chad to get horses to bring back for ceremonial and funerary purposes.
Also horses were prestigious in Nubia around the same time as Igbo Ukwu.
Yams?
Connah readings suggest that area had high agricultural productivity, and that perhaps
Igbo-Ukwu traded in easily transported food stuffs like Yams.
In this scenario, it would have participated not in trans-continental trade routes, but in the
more localized trade routes of the Niger and Benue Rivers. Localized transactions.
Gao Beads: Recent excavations at the site of Gao in eastern Mali revealed a number of
beads that are similar to those found at Igbo-Ukwu (southern Nigeria).
But: *These beads date to the 11th-12th centuries AD, so they are a little bit later.
*The beads are from Egypt, so easier route would’ve been up the Nile and
around the southeastern edge of the Saharan to the Lake Chad region, then
down the Benue to Igbo-Ukwu (instead of across the Sahara)
* Trans-Sahara trade networks don’t really get going until after 1000AD, a little
late for Igbo-Ukwu.
* In terms of Ivory, Igbo-Ukwu would not have been the only place to get it.
* Deep into the forest zone--would’ve been places closer to Gao to get ivory.
Alternative model posits East-West trade routes and connection to Nile.
Nubia and Middle Nile were centers of bead use and trade in 1
st
millennium AD.
Similar materials, shapes, and sizes as those found in Igbo-Ukwu.
But what was Igbo-Ukwu exporting? Ivory?
They answer may be in the metallurgy itself--lots of specialized labor, unique in region.
So, the mining, separating, and alloying of the metals found at Igbo-Ukwu may actually
have been a by-product of the commodity being traded, rather than an end in itself.
Tin, for example, may have been in demand in Nubia where bronze working was also
popular, but where tin was not available.
Silver?
The bronzes at Igbo-Ukwu contain trace amounts of silver.
Usually, silver in the ore would be recognized and extracted, but metallurgy specialists
have doubted that the folks at Igbo-Ukwu knew how to get the silver out (it’s difficult).
But what if they did?
Clearly, they had skills, and silver was in demand not just in the Nile Valley, but
throughout the Middle East and Europe, whose trade networks reached into Africa.
More research needed on the bronze & silver objects of Nubia, Meroe, and Mid Nile…
Horse and E-W trade routes
The same guy who supports the silver idea, thinks that the horse figure also indicates
East-West connections.
The hilt (for a staff) showed a horse and rider, but Igbo-Ukwu is not a good environment
for horses due to tsetse flies.
But archaeological evidence of small horses or ponies near lake Chad at same time.
Also ethnographic evidence that people from Igbo area went to the savannah around
Lake Chad to get horses to bring back for ceremonial and funerary purposes.
Also horses were prestigious in Nubia around the same time as Igbo Ukwu.
Yams?
Connah readings suggest that area had high agricultural productivity, and that perhaps
Igbo-Ukwu traded in easily transported food stuffs like Yams.
In this scenario, it would have participated not in trans-continental trade routes, but in the
more localized trade routes of the Niger and Benue Rivers. Localized transactions.
101
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 9 Test 4 15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) Which evidence shows that a past African group was working metal?
a) Iron hoes
b) Smelting furnaces
c) Large amounts of charcoal
d) Copper bangles
2) The first evidence for iron smelting in the world comes from:
a) Anatolian Plateau
b) Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt
c) Nok
d) Egypt
3) The divine kings of Benin City were called:
a) Edo
b) Oba
c) Nok
d) Ife
4) Benin City was located in present-day:
a) Republic of Benin
b) Cameroon
c) Southern Nigeria
d) Uganda
5) Which of the following commodities was NOT traded in pre-colonial Africa?
a) Gold
b) Tobacco
c) Ivory
d) Beads
6) Which areas engaged in long distance trade in the years 1000-1500 AD/CE?
a) The eastern coast of Africa
b) West Africa
c) The Nile Valley
d) All of the above
7) What did archaeologists find at the site of Igbo-Ukwu in Nigeria?
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 9 Test 4 15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) Which evidence shows that a past African group was working metal?
a) Iron hoes
b) Smelting furnaces
c) Large amounts of charcoal
d) Copper bangles
2) The first evidence for iron smelting in the world comes from:
a) Anatolian Plateau
b) Gall-Teggida-n-Tesemt
c) Nok
d) Egypt
3) The divine kings of Benin City were called:
a) Edo
b) Oba
c) Nok
d) Ife
4) Benin City was located in present-day:
a) Republic of Benin
b) Cameroon
c) Southern Nigeria
d) Uganda
5) Which of the following commodities was NOT traded in pre-colonial Africa?
a) Gold
b) Tobacco
c) Ivory
d) Beads
6) Which areas engaged in long distance trade in the years 1000-1500 AD/CE?
a) The eastern coast of Africa
b) West Africa
c) The Nile Valley
d) All of the above
7) What did archaeologists find at the site of Igbo-Ukwu in Nigeria?
102
a) A European slave-trading fort
b) Evidence of early farming
c) Ceremonial regalia and a royal burial chamber
d) Evidence of the Ife Kingdom
8) The Kingdom of Aksum adopted Christianity when?
a) 333 AD/CE
b) About 1700 years ago
c) When King Ezana converted
d) All of the above
9) Ancient Nubia is located where in relation to ancient Egypt?
a) North
b) South
c) West
d) East
10) Aksumite coins were inscribed in:
a) Greek
b) Ge’ez
c) Indigenous Ethiopian script
d) All of the above
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ Copper metallurgy was first discovered in Eurasia between 7000 – 6000 BC
_F_ In Africa, techniques for working iron were discovered before copper.
_T_ Lake Chad dried up completely 20 000 – 12 000 years ago.
_T_ Bronze objects from Igbo-Ukwu were made with "lost- wax" technique
_F_ Aksum’s major innovations were obtained from Sabeans in southern Yemen.
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. Other than tools, what are other values of metal in past African societies?
A variety of answers: currency, representations of creation myths, political
power displays, connections to ancestors, etc.
a) A European slave-trading fort
b) Evidence of early farming
c) Ceremonial regalia and a royal burial chamber
d) Evidence of the Ife Kingdom
8) The Kingdom of Aksum adopted Christianity when?
a) 333 AD/CE
b) About 1700 years ago
c) When King Ezana converted
d) All of the above
9) Ancient Nubia is located where in relation to ancient Egypt?
a) North
b) South
c) West
d) East
10) Aksumite coins were inscribed in:
a) Greek
b) Ge’ez
c) Indigenous Ethiopian script
d) All of the above
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ Copper metallurgy was first discovered in Eurasia between 7000 – 6000 BC
_F_ In Africa, techniques for working iron were discovered before copper.
_T_ Lake Chad dried up completely 20 000 – 12 000 years ago.
_T_ Bronze objects from Igbo-Ukwu were made with "lost- wax" technique
_F_ Aksum’s major innovations were obtained from Sabeans in southern Yemen.
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. Other than tools, what are other values of metal in past African societies?
A variety of answers: currency, representations of creation myths, political
power displays, connections to ancestors, etc.
103
2. Why would a group be called “metal consumers” instead of “metal producers”?
A lack of evidence for the group producing metal, but only using it.
3. What is one of the main reasons that historians believe contributed to the fall
of the Kingdom of Benin?
Other groups taking lands, loss to trade monopolies with Europeans,
increasing human sacrifice, selling its inhabitants into slavery, British
abolishment of the slave trade.
4) Igbo-Ukwu was involved in trade networks through which thousands of beads
were acquired. Name one possible commodity that may have been traded out of
Igbo-Ukwu in exchange for these beads.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Silver, tin, ivory, slaves, or yams.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) Why is the Lake Chad site of Daima important? What was found there?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
one of a suite of sites along southern end of lake. 11 m of archaeological deposit.
Occupation from 3000 bp until 500 years ago. Cattle, goats, hunting, fishing. Wild grass
and cultivated pearl millet. Ground stone axes and grindstones on imported stone and
many bone tools – including a harpoon found in a buried person’s body. Fine pottery,
clay figurine, wattle-n-daub houses with floors of broken pottery. At c. 2000 bp iron is
introduced as are glass and carnelian beads. Some pots huge – beer brewing? 400
years ago socket stem pipes indicate a response to tobacco being introduced from the
Americas
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) Why might it have been easier for African peoples to develop copper smelting
techniques instead of iron smelting?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Lower temperature necessary for smelting was about the same as pottery
kilns.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Why would a group be called “metal consumers” instead of “metal producers”?
A lack of evidence for the group producing metal, but only using it.
3. What is one of the main reasons that historians believe contributed to the fall
of the Kingdom of Benin?
Other groups taking lands, loss to trade monopolies with Europeans,
increasing human sacrifice, selling its inhabitants into slavery, British
abolishment of the slave trade.
4) Igbo-Ukwu was involved in trade networks through which thousands of beads
were acquired. Name one possible commodity that may have been traded out of
Igbo-Ukwu in exchange for these beads.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Silver, tin, ivory, slaves, or yams.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) Why is the Lake Chad site of Daima important? What was found there?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
one of a suite of sites along southern end of lake. 11 m of archaeological deposit.
Occupation from 3000 bp until 500 years ago. Cattle, goats, hunting, fishing. Wild grass
and cultivated pearl millet. Ground stone axes and grindstones on imported stone and
many bone tools – including a harpoon found in a buried person’s body. Fine pottery,
clay figurine, wattle-n-daub houses with floors of broken pottery. At c. 2000 bp iron is
introduced as are glass and carnelian beads. Some pots huge – beer brewing? 400
years ago socket stem pipes indicate a response to tobacco being introduced from the
Americas
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) Why might it have been easier for African peoples to develop copper smelting
techniques instead of iron smelting?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Lower temperature necessary for smelting was about the same as pottery
kilns.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
104
2) To the people of the Kingdom of Benin, what was the symbolic significance of
brass?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Brass, which resists corrosion, was associated with the permanence and
continuity of kingship
………………………………………………………………………………………………
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 8a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Test hand back and discussion. Discuss NY Times article on essays in SATs.
4. Feedback
a) Camels: There are six members of the family Camelidae. Two of these are 'true'
camels; one living in Asia and the other in Arabia and North Africa. The other four
members of the family are the South American 'camels', better known to us perhaps, as
llamas, moved from N to S America 2 million years ago. Camel, hoofed ruminant of the
family Camelidae. The family consists of three genera, the true camels of Asia (genus
Camelus); the wild guanaco and the domesticated alpaca and llama, all of South
America (genus Lama); and the vicuña, also of South America (genus Vicugna). The two
species of true camel are the single-humped Arabian camel, or dromedary, Camelus
dromedarius, a domesticated animal used in Arabia and North Africa, and the two-
humped Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus) of central Asia. Strong camels usually carry from
500 to 600 lb (230 to 270 kg) and cover about 30 mi (48 km) a day. Some Bactrian
camels can transport 1,000 lb (450 kg). A light, fleet breed of dromedary is used for
riding and not for bearing heavy loads. The name dromedary was formerly applied to
any swift riding camel. Geologic findings indicate that the camel originated in North
America 40 million years ago during Late Eocene. rotylopus were rabbit-sized with four-
toed feet and low-crowned teeth. The sheep-sized Poebrotherium of Oligocene time (37
to 24 million years ago) was common in open woodlands of what now is South Dakota,
and had already "lost" the lateral toes. During the Miocene (24 to 5 million years ago),
camels increased in size with lengthening necks and limbs, also developing and efficient
pacing gait for traversing the expanding steppe and grassland habitat of the time. In the
Early Pliocene some 5 million years ago, camels spread, eventually reaching South
America and the Old World (via a Bering Isthmus). Some of these camels were gigantic,
like Titanotylopus from Nebraska. Ironically, camels became extinct in their place of
2) To the people of the Kingdom of Benin, what was the symbolic significance of
brass?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Brass, which resists corrosion, was associated with the permanence and
continuity of kingship
………………………………………………………………………………………………
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 8a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies..
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Test hand back and discussion. Discuss NY Times article on essays in SATs.
4. Feedback
a) Camels: There are six members of the family Camelidae. Two of these are 'true'
camels; one living in Asia and the other in Arabia and North Africa. The other four
members of the family are the South American 'camels', better known to us perhaps, as
llamas, moved from N to S America 2 million years ago. Camel, hoofed ruminant of the
family Camelidae. The family consists of three genera, the true camels of Asia (genus
Camelus); the wild guanaco and the domesticated alpaca and llama, all of South
America (genus Lama); and the vicuña, also of South America (genus Vicugna). The two
species of true camel are the single-humped Arabian camel, or dromedary, Camelus
dromedarius, a domesticated animal used in Arabia and North Africa, and the two-
humped Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus) of central Asia. Strong camels usually carry from
500 to 600 lb (230 to 270 kg) and cover about 30 mi (48 km) a day. Some Bactrian
camels can transport 1,000 lb (450 kg). A light, fleet breed of dromedary is used for
riding and not for bearing heavy loads. The name dromedary was formerly applied to
any swift riding camel. Geologic findings indicate that the camel originated in North
America 40 million years ago during Late Eocene. rotylopus were rabbit-sized with four-
toed feet and low-crowned teeth. The sheep-sized Poebrotherium of Oligocene time (37
to 24 million years ago) was common in open woodlands of what now is South Dakota,
and had already "lost" the lateral toes. During the Miocene (24 to 5 million years ago),
camels increased in size with lengthening necks and limbs, also developing and efficient
pacing gait for traversing the expanding steppe and grassland habitat of the time. In the
Early Pliocene some 5 million years ago, camels spread, eventually reaching South
America and the Old World (via a Bering Isthmus). Some of these camels were gigantic,
like Titanotylopus from Nebraska. Ironically, camels became extinct in their place of
105
origin toward the close of the last glaciation. Camels are classified in the phylum
Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Camelidae.
13 million dromedaries alive today, but no wild forms of dromedary. Primary source: C.R.
Harington, Canadian Museum of Nature (also Encarta and Camel.net)
b) Newspaper articles on 7 origin centres for domestic pigs and 4 million year old biped
from
5. Hand out next week’s readings.
6. Explain format of next week’s test (standard format, not open book).
7. Re-iterate change in syllabus – Ginsburg week stays on `Africa in the Americas’ –
Week 10 on Representations skips on to April 8
th
and 10
th
Test 5 on April 3
rd
. Good news
that Essay 4 canceled. Drafts of final projects to us by April 3
rd
.
8. Explain 25
th
March will be a Study Hall and 27
th
March (Easter) will be class. Explain
Sven to do 27 March and 3 April classes. 8
th
April as study hall.
9. Stress outstanding essays lose 5% each class they are late.
10. Stress now is time to isolate a final project.
11. Lesson: Bantu migrations. Aksum. Dogon. .
12. What was happening elsewhere in the world?
a) Pre-Aksumite culture contemporary with Greek Parthenon at 2500 years ago.
13. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
14. Video: Gates `Wonders of the African World’, part 3&4. C6656.
12. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Leave readings for Lee and David.
2. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 8b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Get essays
3. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
Feedback
a) Lee on Butler evolution.
4. Lesson
a) Igbo Ukwu and Benin: Lee – links to metallurgy, multiple hypotheses for evidence,
environmental constraints (hold over to next week).
b) David on Benin and more metals?
5. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
6. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa – Caravans of gold. C2488.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
2. Distribute essays, grade, photocopy.
3. Prepare individual `scoresheets’ of year’s marks to hand back with test so students
can see progress.
origin toward the close of the last glaciation. Camels are classified in the phylum
Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Camelidae.
13 million dromedaries alive today, but no wild forms of dromedary. Primary source: C.R.
Harington, Canadian Museum of Nature (also Encarta and Camel.net)
b) Newspaper articles on 7 origin centres for domestic pigs and 4 million year old biped
from
5. Hand out next week’s readings.
6. Explain format of next week’s test (standard format, not open book).
7. Re-iterate change in syllabus – Ginsburg week stays on `Africa in the Americas’ –
Week 10 on Representations skips on to April 8
th
and 10
th
Test 5 on April 3
rd
. Good news
that Essay 4 canceled. Drafts of final projects to us by April 3
rd
.
8. Explain 25
th
March will be a Study Hall and 27
th
March (Easter) will be class. Explain
Sven to do 27 March and 3 April classes. 8
th
April as study hall.
9. Stress outstanding essays lose 5% each class they are late.
10. Stress now is time to isolate a final project.
11. Lesson: Bantu migrations. Aksum. Dogon. .
12. What was happening elsewhere in the world?
a) Pre-Aksumite culture contemporary with Greek Parthenon at 2500 years ago.
13. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
14. Video: Gates `Wonders of the African World’, part 3&4. C6656.
12. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Leave readings for Lee and David.
2. Lesson notes from all and send out last 3 weeks’ lessons/syllabus.
Week 8b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Get essays
3. Feedback on Friday class (if any, e-mail from Sven).
Feedback
a) Lee on Butler evolution.
4. Lesson
a) Igbo Ukwu and Benin: Lee – links to metallurgy, multiple hypotheses for evidence,
environmental constraints (hold over to next week).
b) David on Benin and more metals?
5. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
6. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa – Caravans of gold. C2488.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Meet to see what was covered and what needs to be covered.
2. Distribute essays, grade, photocopy.
3. Prepare individual `scoresheets’ of year’s marks to hand back with test so students
can see progress.
106
107
9. Africa and the rest slavery, diaspora and colonialism
18 & 20 March
Lesson aim
1. To investigate the slave trade in Africa both internally and after 1498 AD/CE as a
result of European imperialism and to distinguish between `Imp erialism’ and
`Colonialism’ and to understand these terms both in Afro-centric and Euro-centric terms
but how these were accommodated, resisted and transformed in an African context..
2. To understand what the `Black Atlantic’ and `Diaspora’ mean.
Lesson method
1. Hand out Test 4.
2. Hand back Essay 3 and comment on it
3. Through analysing the specifics of indigenous African slavery and the European-
inspired slave trade, to analyse different categories of personhood and freedom.
5. Use case studies – Cape of Good Hope, Slave cities, European imaginings of Africa,
raw materials and markets to contextualise European colonialism. Lovejoy’s `Great
chain of being’ European mindset that leads to` tribe’ vs `tribalism’; `us’ vs `them’.
6. Use the Dahomeny Kingdom, San hunter-gatherers, the Muslim world and the Anglo-
Boer war to highlight episodes of where European colonialism was resisted,
accommodated, transformed.
7. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
8. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 123-158 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; pages 170-180 of
Shillington’s History of Africa; pages 179-190 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and
Africans. Plus supplemental readings
2. OHT visuals of African slave trade.
3. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa (Parts 5 and 6).
For next week
1. Assign pages 5-15 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
2. Assign Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An image of Africa. Research in African Literatures
9(1):2-15.
3. Assign Kusimba, C.M. 1996. Archaeology in African museums. African Archaeological
Review 13:165-170.
4. Assign pages 3-57 of Philip Curtin’s. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and
action 1780-1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
5. Assign Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In:
Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
6. Assign Musonda, Francis. 1996. How accurate are interpretations of African objects in
Western museums? In: Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering
Africas past: 164-169. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
7. Assign Jonathan Curiel’s 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous
American blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa.
San Francisco Chronicle August 15
th
8. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 4).
Reading load: 94 pages BUT skim Curtin.
9. Africa and the rest slavery, diaspora and colonialism
18 & 20 March
Lesson aim
1. To investigate the slave trade in Africa both internally and after 1498 AD/CE as a
result of European imperialism and to distinguish between `Imp erialism’ and
`Colonialism’ and to understand these terms both in Afro-centric and Euro-centric terms
but how these were accommodated, resisted and transformed in an African context..
2. To understand what the `Black Atlantic’ and `Diaspora’ mean.
Lesson method
1. Hand out Test 4.
2. Hand back Essay 3 and comment on it
3. Through analysing the specifics of indigenous African slavery and the European-
inspired slave trade, to analyse different categories of personhood and freedom.
5. Use case studies – Cape of Good Hope, Slave cities, European imaginings of Africa,
raw materials and markets to contextualise European colonialism. Lovejoy’s `Great
chain of being’ European mindset that leads to` tribe’ vs `tribalism’; `us’ vs `them’.
6. Use the Dahomeny Kingdom, San hunter-gatherers, the Muslim world and the Anglo-
Boer war to highlight episodes of where European colonialism was resisted,
accommodated, transformed.
7. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
8. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 123-158 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; pages 170-180 of
Shillington’s History of Africa; pages 179-190 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and
Africans. Plus supplemental readings
2. OHT visuals of African slave trade.
3. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa (Parts 5 and 6).
For next week
1. Assign pages 5-15 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
2. Assign Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An image of Africa. Research in African Literatures
9(1):2-15.
3. Assign Kusimba, C.M. 1996. Archaeology in African museums. African Archaeological
Review 13:165-170.
4. Assign pages 3-57 of Philip Curtin’s. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and
action 1780-1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
5. Assign Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In:
Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
6. Assign Musonda, Francis. 1996. How accurate are interpretations of African objects in
Western museums? In: Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering
Africas past: 164-169. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
7. Assign Jonathan Curiel’s 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous
American blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa.
San Francisco Chronicle August 15
th
8. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 4).
Reading load: 94 pages BUT skim Curtin.
108
Notes
Slavery
“A history of Africa must give central place to the Atlantic slave trade, both for its moral
and emotional significance and for its potential importance in shaping the continents
development”
Iliffe 2004:127
Key dates
Slave trade 1441 with Portuguese (Iliffe page 127) – 1880s
Abolition 1807 (England; Illife 147). Brazil 1850 and Spain 1860.
Key terms what is `slavery and `freedom?
Diaspora The term diaspora (Greek διασπορά, a scattering or sowing of seeds)
is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or
induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other
parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture.
Originally, the term Diaspora (capitalized) was used to refer specifically to the
populations of Jews exiled from Judea in 586 BC by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem AD
135 by the Romans. This term is used interchangeably to refer to the historical
movements of the dispersed ethnic population of Israel, the cultural development of that
population, or the population itself. The probable origin of the word is the Septuagint
version of Deuteronomy 28:25, "thou shalt be a diaspora (Greek for dispersion) in all
kingdoms of the earth". The term has been used in its modern sense since the late
twentieth century. The academic field of diaspora studies was established in the late
twentieth century in regard to the expanded meaning of diaspora. The twentieth century
in particular has seen massive ethnic refugee crises due to war and the rise of
nationalism and racism. The first half of the twentieth century saw the creation of
hundreds of millions of ethnic refugees across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Many
of these refugees who did not die from starvation or war came to the Americas.
Slavery Differing scales from European notions of person as propert y to
lineage slavery in Africa that has sets of obligations and right.
Peonage A modernization of the feudal system was "peonage", where
debtors were bound in servitude to their creditors until their debts
were paid.
Serfdom Also different scales, usually a parasitic symbiosim of peasan ts
locked into unequal labour and surplus relations with
protective/punitive overlords.
Indentured labour Pressed into service to learn trade. Can be to escape poverty.
Apprentices West African smithy example. Labour is owned by a master.
Women Can their reproductive and productive capacities and the uses to
which they are put be considered slavery?
Children Child labour common and often essential/beneficial
Nobles Privileged, but what are their obligations to lower downs?
Notes
Slavery
“A history of Africa must give central place to the Atlantic slave trade, both for its moral
and emotional significance and for its potential importance in shaping the continents
development”
Iliffe 2004:127
Key dates
Slave trade 1441 with Portuguese (Iliffe page 127) – 1880s
Abolition 1807 (England; Illife 147). Brazil 1850 and Spain 1860.
Key terms what is `slavery and `freedom?
Diaspora The term diaspora (Greek διασπορά, a scattering or sowing of seeds)
is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or
induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other
parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture.
Originally, the term Diaspora (capitalized) was used to refer specifically to the
populations of Jews exiled from Judea in 586 BC by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem AD
135 by the Romans. This term is used interchangeably to refer to the historical
movements of the dispersed ethnic population of Israel, the cultural development of that
population, or the population itself. The probable origin of the word is the Septuagint
version of Deuteronomy 28:25, "thou shalt be a diaspora (Greek for dispersion) in all
kingdoms of the earth". The term has been used in its modern sense since the late
twentieth century. The academic field of diaspora studies was established in the late
twentieth century in regard to the expanded meaning of diaspora. The twentieth century
in particular has seen massive ethnic refugee crises due to war and the rise of
nationalism and racism. The first half of the twentieth century saw the creation of
hundreds of millions of ethnic refugees across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Many
of these refugees who did not die from starvation or war came to the Americas.
Slavery Differing scales from European notions of person as propert y to
lineage slavery in Africa that has sets of obligations and right.
Peonage A modernization of the feudal system was "peonage", where
debtors were bound in servitude to their creditors until their debts
were paid.
Serfdom Also different scales, usually a parasitic symbiosim of peasan ts
locked into unequal labour and surplus relations with
protective/punitive overlords.
Indentured labour Pressed into service to learn trade. Can be to escape poverty.
Apprentices West African smithy example. Labour is owned by a master.
Women Can their reproductive and productive capacities and the uses to
which they are put be considered slavery?
Children Child labour common and often essential/beneficial
Nobles Privileged, but what are their obligations to lower downs?
109
Facts below necessitate a `revisionist approach to idea that slavery was not endemic in
Africa, was only caused by Europeans, and that most African slaves ended up in the
USA.
Pre-colonial and pre-Atlantic African slave trade
• Egyptian slavery and N Africa (Iliffe, pages 22 & 26). How were pyramids built?
Combination of outsourced slaves and indentured citizens.
• Agriculture laid the roots of inequality and stratification.
• Religious slavery – Muslim and Christian.
• Saharan slave trade served Middle East and Mediterranean (Iliffe 129).
• Lineage slavery – subordinates of a dominant group in multi-ethnic situations or
conquest.
• African slavery valued women more than men because they were reproductive
and productive.
• Mediterranean slave trade – made up of `Slavs’; other Europeans and some
Africans – to man and oar boats, as labour for mining etc and as domestic
servants (B&C 181).
• Out-groups enslaved but usually had some rights and do not seem ever to have
been `property’ only.
• War regular and often a means to get captives (like MesoAmerica) – not to kill or
destroy. Captives then swell productive ranks of host society (Shillington 175).
Could be ransomed or integrated. 34% of 177 slaves questioned in mid-19
th
century taken in war (Iliffe 133; and 30% kidnapped; enslaved judicial process –
punishment for crime; pay debts) Slavery was a consequence of state expansion
– empires and states `eat’ people. Also for sacrifice with retainer executions to
aggrandize ruler. Kept people in check with fear and even purpose (Iliffe 152). .
• Akan, Ijaw and later Afro-Portuguese groups specialized in slavery.
• These are the commercial networks (for slaves, salt and other goods) already in
place that adapted to Atlantic slave trade.
• Thus Dahomeny (Benin) re-organised as a military, slaving machine.
Atlantic slave trade
• Pre-existing conditions of sugar cane plantations in Mediterranean and then
Principe and Sao Tome.
• 15
th
century beginnings – Portuguese wishing to bypass Muslim North Africa to
get West African gold (especially Akan and Ghanaian `Gold coast’ and,
ultimately, access the Indies and spice islands (Shillington pages 170-171). Akan
bought slaves from Portuguese 10-12K between 1500-1535 in exchange for
gold, to clear forest for fields.
• Western Europe relied on West African fold – up to 25% of Portuguese mint in
1506 (Iliffe 129).
• Elmina (the mine built 1842) – staging post. Similar forts were there on African
sufferance and paid rent, taxes and tributes in return for permission and
protection (think – too 300 years to ship 10 million Africans – how many
Europeans came from Europe to West Africa, where there were 25 million or
more people (Iliffe 137). .
• So why `trade’ – manufactured goods in for slaves out, tho ugh initially
Portuguese had raw material. Got cloth, cowries, guns, copper, iron, alcohol,
tobacco, gunpowder. Apart from guns – consumption goods tied to prestige.
1700s 200 000 guns a year imported.
Facts below necessitate a `revisionist approach to idea that slavery was not endemic in
Africa, was only caused by Europeans, and that most African slaves ended up in the
USA.
Pre-colonial and pre-Atlantic African slave trade
• Egyptian slavery and N Africa (Iliffe, pages 22 & 26). How were pyramids built?
Combination of outsourced slaves and indentured citizens.
• Agriculture laid the roots of inequality and stratification.
• Religious slavery – Muslim and Christian.
• Saharan slave trade served Middle East and Mediterranean (Iliffe 129).
• Lineage slavery – subordinates of a dominant group in multi-ethnic situations or
conquest.
• African slavery valued women more than men because they were reproductive
and productive.
• Mediterranean slave trade – made up of `Slavs’; other Europeans and some
Africans – to man and oar boats, as labour for mining etc and as domestic
servants (B&C 181).
• Out-groups enslaved but usually had some rights and do not seem ever to have
been `property’ only.
• War regular and often a means to get captives (like MesoAmerica) – not to kill or
destroy. Captives then swell productive ranks of host society (Shillington 175).
Could be ransomed or integrated. 34% of 177 slaves questioned in mid-19
th
century taken in war (Iliffe 133; and 30% kidnapped; enslaved judicial process –
punishment for crime; pay debts) Slavery was a consequence of state expansion
– empires and states `eat’ people. Also for sacrifice with retainer executions to
aggrandize ruler. Kept people in check with fear and even purpose (Iliffe 152). .
• Akan, Ijaw and later Afro-Portuguese groups specialized in slavery.
• These are the commercial networks (for slaves, salt and other goods) already in
place that adapted to Atlantic slave trade.
• Thus Dahomeny (Benin) re-organised as a military, slaving machine.
Atlantic slave trade
• Pre-existing conditions of sugar cane plantations in Mediterranean and then
Principe and Sao Tome.
• 15
th
century beginnings – Portuguese wishing to bypass Muslim North Africa to
get West African gold (especially Akan and Ghanaian `Gold coast’ and,
ultimately, access the Indies and spice islands (Shillington pages 170-171). Akan
bought slaves from Portuguese 10-12K between 1500-1535 in exchange for
gold, to clear forest for fields.
• Western Europe relied on West African fold – up to 25% of Portuguese mint in
1506 (Iliffe 129).
• Elmina (the mine built 1842) – staging post. Similar forts were there on African
sufferance and paid rent, taxes and tributes in return for permission and
protection (think – too 300 years to ship 10 million Africans – how many
Europeans came from Europe to West Africa, where there were 25 million or
more people (Iliffe 137). .
• So why `trade’ – manufactured goods in for slaves out, tho ugh initially
Portuguese had raw material. Got cloth, cowries, guns, copper, iron, alcohol,
tobacco, gunpowder. Apart from guns – consumption goods tied to prestige.
1700s 200 000 guns a year imported.
110
• `Costs’ and demographic consequences – loss of population (25 million to 20
million); gender imbalance and age imbalance (fewer 14-35 year olds); loss of
productivity – 600 pounds of sugar for a man (a year’s production – B&C 187).
But also got maize and cassava – crops much more productive than traditional
African crops. New diseases like TB? Smallpox.
• Dignity issue – men and women naked in slave ships.
• Then competition from British, Dutch and French – even Danes (!) (Ireland
example for colonialism) 27 forts built along 220 miles of coast (B&C 183).
• Europeans kept on coast by powerful kingdoms – faced either disease or defeat
if ventured inland
• Factory and Ship trade methods of slaving (Iliffe 134-135)
• Africans only 3
rd
resort after Native Americans (not resistant to European
diseases – up to 90% mortality) and the dregs of Europe (c riminals,
undesirables). Africans skilled in tropical environments and disease resistant.
(B&C 181). Curtin 1974:48: role of disease in Africa, on colonists and on the
Americas.
• Up to 12 million slaves (10 made it 2 died – see Shillington p 174) from 1532 to
1880s with peak in 1700s (55K a year – B&C 185) – 33% to Brazil for sugar and
coffee and minerals; 50% Caribbean for sugar and 6% to USA for sugar and
cotton (B&C 185; Iliffe 130-131). 50% Page 135 Iliffe on how each 100 slaves
lived/died; showing most died in Africa with 5-fold increase in price inland to
coast. . Crossing took 3-6 weeks with 15%-30% mortality. Folks usually lived 3-
10 years, which is why slaves constantly had to be imported until USA
encouraged birth and permanence. Ships 20 m long with 300 slaves (Iliffe 136).
0.4 metres per slave.
• Gotten from Senegal down to Angola – with wildly shifting supply locales as per
local circumstances; later East and central Africa traded to east. Benin Prohibited
the export of male slaves (16
th
-17
th
c). Iliffe page 148 on variability of slave
supply centres. Children easier to export.
• Asante rich in minerals and agriculture (Kumasi capital) and bought guns and
slaves, though when the latter’s price increased, Asante exported them. Asante
gold belonged to state and extracted death duties and used gold to buy what it
needed (Iliffe 143-144).
• Dahomey had no gold efficient state that raided but did not build an empire. Strict
and well-organised.
• Profitable `3 way’ trade Goods-Slaves-Goods.
• Forms of resistance – numerous revolts, murders and `weapons of the weak’.
Running away and forming communities (Europeans struggled to get into interior)
(B&C 180) Kru unwillingness to be slaves (Iliffe 129). 1791 Haiti rebellion (Iliffe
131). Page 136 Iliffe and ship revolts – 20% of voyages. Women killing children
or bearing few children (Iliffe 146). Odwira and Lemba festival and cult (Iliffe 146-
147) as psychological responses (Iliffe 146-147). Witchcraft (Iliffe 152)
• Abolition and blockades – 1635 ship and 160 000 slaves freed. But 1820s and
1830s rivaled 1780s as peak export decades. Spanish-Cuban trade took off.
• Economic shift to exporting agricultural product from West Africa – especially fat
and oil (palm oil for soap and margarine)
• African resistance to ending slavery as alternative fro criminals etc was death.
• Religious aspects – Christianity as a cult or resource and protection against
witchcraft. Syncretism. Iliffe 153-155 on polyglot of African religion.
• `Costs’ and demographic consequences – loss of population (25 million to 20
million); gender imbalance and age imbalance (fewer 14-35 year olds); loss of
productivity – 600 pounds of sugar for a man (a year’s production – B&C 187).
But also got maize and cassava – crops much more productive than traditional
African crops. New diseases like TB? Smallpox.
• Dignity issue – men and women naked in slave ships.
• Then competition from British, Dutch and French – even Danes (!) (Ireland
example for colonialism) 27 forts built along 220 miles of coast (B&C 183).
• Europeans kept on coast by powerful kingdoms – faced either disease or defeat
if ventured inland
• Factory and Ship trade methods of slaving (Iliffe 134-135)
• Africans only 3
rd
resort after Native Americans (not resistant to European
diseases – up to 90% mortality) and the dregs of Europe (c riminals,
undesirables). Africans skilled in tropical environments and disease resistant.
(B&C 181). Curtin 1974:48: role of disease in Africa, on colonists and on the
Americas.
• Up to 12 million slaves (10 made it 2 died – see Shillington p 174) from 1532 to
1880s with peak in 1700s (55K a year – B&C 185) – 33% to Brazil for sugar and
coffee and minerals; 50% Caribbean for sugar and 6% to USA for sugar and
cotton (B&C 185; Iliffe 130-131). 50% Page 135 Iliffe on how each 100 slaves
lived/died; showing most died in Africa with 5-fold increase in price inland to
coast. . Crossing took 3-6 weeks with 15%-30% mortality. Folks usually lived 3-
10 years, which is why slaves constantly had to be imported until USA
encouraged birth and permanence. Ships 20 m long with 300 slaves (Iliffe 136).
0.4 metres per slave.
• Gotten from Senegal down to Angola – with wildly shifting supply locales as per
local circumstances; later East and central Africa traded to east. Benin Prohibited
the export of male slaves (16
th
-17
th
c). Iliffe page 148 on variability of slave
supply centres. Children easier to export.
• Asante rich in minerals and agriculture (Kumasi capital) and bought guns and
slaves, though when the latter’s price increased, Asante exported them. Asante
gold belonged to state and extracted death duties and used gold to buy what it
needed (Iliffe 143-144).
• Dahomey had no gold efficient state that raided but did not build an empire. Strict
and well-organised.
• Profitable `3 way’ trade Goods-Slaves-Goods.
• Forms of resistance – numerous revolts, murders and `weapons of the weak’.
Running away and forming communities (Europeans struggled to get into interior)
(B&C 180) Kru unwillingness to be slaves (Iliffe 129). 1791 Haiti rebellion (Iliffe
131). Page 136 Iliffe and ship revolts – 20% of voyages. Women killing children
or bearing few children (Iliffe 146). Odwira and Lemba festival and cult (Iliffe 146-
147) as psychological responses (Iliffe 146-147). Witchcraft (Iliffe 152)
• Abolition and blockades – 1635 ship and 160 000 slaves freed. But 1820s and
1830s rivaled 1780s as peak export decades. Spanish-Cuban trade took off.
• Economic shift to exporting agricultural product from West Africa – especially fat
and oil (palm oil for soap and margarine)
• African resistance to ending slavery as alternative fro criminals etc was death.
• Religious aspects – Christianity as a cult or resource and protection against
witchcraft. Syncretism. Iliffe 153-155 on polyglot of African religion.
111
• Iliffe 155-156: 1787 Sierra Leone as repository for black poor of London.
Libreville 1849; Liberia 1822 freedmen. Lagos 1861 – all these state formation
from slavery. Yoruba and Amaro Brazilians settled Lagos. . Didn’t go for slavery
but commerce and had higher % of children in school than Britain. . Freetown.
Religious tolerance.
Colonialism
(Principally Iliffe Chapter 9)
Colonialism: This encouraged the theory that Africas first anatomically modern men
were the ancestors of all human beings, expanding from their country to colonise the
rest of the world and supplant other strains such as the Neanderthals” Source: page 17
of Iliffe, John. 1995. Africans the history of a continent. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press (emphasis added).
Key dates
1884: Berlin conference that sets up partition
Key terms
Imperialism Varies, within Europe and then beyond mostly from mid-fi fteenth
century voyages of discovery.
Colonialism 1884 Berlin Convention - 1950s
Post-colonialism dates of 1
st
and last independent African states (winds of change)
and the case of Ethiopia Partition: 1884 Berlin conference
division of European influence in Africa.
Protectorate: A relationship of protection and partial control assumed by a
superior power over a dependent country or region
Chaotic colonialism
• Colonialism not an especially planned process. Got a taste with slave and other
trade, but mostly coastal `lily pad’ bases (e.g., page 139).
“There had been no single motive for European partition. Africa was not central to
European economies: during the 1870s it accounted for little more than 5 per cent of
Britains trade, most of it with Egypt and South Africa” (Iliffe page 192)
• First interests were in `protectorates’ – to have trade influence but not to occupy
lands. Later, imperial and missionising desires led to occupation and the
European `scramble’ that led to a reactive occupation of areas of influence. Main
event the 1884/5 Berlin conference to legitimize King Leopold’s (private) claim
(page 189).
• Importance of labour and taxes – Iliffe page 198.
• Tribe and Tribalism debate.
• Importance of African complicity (Iliffe pages 198-202). Also use of Africans as
secondary colonisers physically and with crops (e.g., cocoa). Importance of
transport cost reductions and linking African countries/products to international
markets.
• Two-party process with government supplying legitimacy, administration,
judiciary, part of an army etc and merchants providing personnel and capital
• Iliffe 155-156: 1787 Sierra Leone as repository for black poor of London.
Libreville 1849; Liberia 1822 freedmen. Lagos 1861 – all these state formation
from slavery. Yoruba and Amaro Brazilians settled Lagos. . Didn’t go for slavery
but commerce and had higher % of children in school than Britain. . Freetown.
Religious tolerance.
Colonialism
(Principally Iliffe Chapter 9)
Colonialism: This encouraged the theory that Africas first anatomically modern men
were the ancestors of all human beings, expanding from their country to colonise the
rest of the world and supplant other strains such as the Neanderthals” Source: page 17
of Iliffe, John. 1995. Africans the history of a continent. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press (emphasis added).
Key dates
1884: Berlin conference that sets up partition
Key terms
Imperialism Varies, within Europe and then beyond mostly from mid-fi fteenth
century voyages of discovery.
Colonialism 1884 Berlin Convention - 1950s
Post-colonialism dates of 1
st
and last independent African states (winds of change)
and the case of Ethiopia Partition: 1884 Berlin conference
division of European influence in Africa.
Protectorate: A relationship of protection and partial control assumed by a
superior power over a dependent country or region
Chaotic colonialism
• Colonialism not an especially planned process. Got a taste with slave and other
trade, but mostly coastal `lily pad’ bases (e.g., page 139).
“There had been no single motive for European partition. Africa was not central to
European economies: during the 1870s it accounted for little more than 5 per cent of
Britains trade, most of it with Egypt and South Africa” (Iliffe page 192)
• First interests were in `protectorates’ – to have trade influence but not to occupy
lands. Later, imperial and missionising desires led to occupation and the
European `scramble’ that led to a reactive occupation of areas of influence. Main
event the 1884/5 Berlin conference to legitimize King Leopold’s (private) claim
(page 189).
• Importance of labour and taxes – Iliffe page 198.
• Tribe and Tribalism debate.
• Importance of African complicity (Iliffe pages 198-202). Also use of Africans as
secondary colonisers physically and with crops (e.g., cocoa). Importance of
transport cost reductions and linking African countries/products to international
markets.
• Two-party process with government supplying legitimacy, administration,
judiciary, part of an army etc and merchants providing personnel and capital
112
• Note importance of European colonial experiments in Ireland and Canaries.
Resistance: Samori Turi in Niger resisted France 30 years (page 190). Stateless
societies and no killer blow to a number of societies – Igbo, Jola and Dinka until 1910s
and 1920s (Iliffe 195). Millenarian movements.
Secondary empires and internals schisms: Britain in South Africa (pages 190-191);
missionary dissent; dregs being sent to colonies. Europeans as allies/resources to settle
old scores or take advantage of weaker neighbours (Iliffe page 194).
Liberia and Ethiopia: Former 1847 independence and latter had 1936-1941 Italian
occupation. Not partitioned. Resource poor?
Technology: Quinine in 1850s – 80% reduction in death rate. 1880s repeating rifles (Iliffe
page 192). Cultural factors – white cloth to show courage (Buganda (Iliffe page 193).
Imbalance lasted less than 60 years.
Disease: And warfare killed 20%-33% in some areas. Smallpox (Iliffe pages 208-211).
VD, sand fly, sleeping sickness.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 9a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies...
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Test hand back and discussion. Discuss NY Times article on slaves.
4. Feedback
a) Essays
• Answer the question
• Environment – how did say desiccation, make farming more likely? Consider that
grasses and tubers (the early crops) are drought resistant and would have been
favoured and collected more in drought. Prolonged drought would make their
collection habitual as well as people trying various intensification strategies such
as weeding, irrigating, transplanting, selecting that could lead to a creeping and
then permanent agriculture. Also desiccation opens up forest to grassland,
removing tsetse fly and making it easier to move animals around.
• Try writing conclusion first. As conclusions are often weak because one is tired
after a lot of writing. Conclusion re-iterates intro often, so makes sense to write it
first.
• Distinguish between `citing’ (an author in support of a general thesis [no page
nos necessary] or a specific one [page nos necessary]) and `quoting’ in which
the text must be reproduced exactly and cited to precise page number.
• Note importance of European colonial experiments in Ireland and Canaries.
Resistance: Samori Turi in Niger resisted France 30 years (page 190). Stateless
societies and no killer blow to a number of societies – Igbo, Jola and Dinka until 1910s
and 1920s (Iliffe 195). Millenarian movements.
Secondary empires and internals schisms: Britain in South Africa (pages 190-191);
missionary dissent; dregs being sent to colonies. Europeans as allies/resources to settle
old scores or take advantage of weaker neighbours (Iliffe page 194).
Liberia and Ethiopia: Former 1847 independence and latter had 1936-1941 Italian
occupation. Not partitioned. Resource poor?
Technology: Quinine in 1850s – 80% reduction in death rate. 1880s repeating rifles (Iliffe
page 192). Cultural factors – white cloth to show courage (Buganda (Iliffe page 193).
Imbalance lasted less than 60 years.
Disease: And warfare killed 20%-33% in some areas. Smallpox (Iliffe pages 208-211).
VD, sand fly, sleeping sickness.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa Course Administration
Week 9a
Before class
Locker 1: Office supplies and extra Admin forms and office supplies...
Locker 2: Our course; Instructions folder; Pre-release Academic Programme and Admin.
In class
1. See library?
2. Take roll, hand out sign in sheet.
3. Test hand back and discussion. Discuss NY Times article on slaves.
4. Feedback
a) Essays
• Answer the question
• Environment – how did say desiccation, make farming more likely? Consider that
grasses and tubers (the early crops) are drought resistant and would have been
favoured and collected more in drought. Prolonged drought would make their
collection habitual as well as people trying various intensification strategies such
as weeding, irrigating, transplanting, selecting that could lead to a creeping and
then permanent agriculture. Also desiccation opens up forest to grassland,
removing tsetse fly and making it easier to move animals around.
• Try writing conclusion first. As conclusions are often weak because one is tired
after a lot of writing. Conclusion re-iterates intro often, so makes sense to write it
first.
• Distinguish between `citing’ (an author in support of a general thesis [no page
nos necessary] or a specific one [page nos necessary]) and `quoting’ in which
the text must be reproduced exactly and cited to precise page number.
113
b) Dynasties: Phillipson page 137: 31 dynasties in ancient Egypt, not 30. But also that
some people recognize a 32nd (Macedonian) and 33rd dynasty (Ptolemaic) during the
Hellenistic Period.
c) Research (done)
ƒ Bishop: evolution and creationism Lee
ƒ Christian: info about all of the Pharaohs Sven
ƒ Willard Weeks: info about Nubia/Nubians Sven
ƒ Noel: Pharaohs of Egypt (concept, divine kingship, etc.) Sven
ƒ Hector: African medicine (plants, healers, practices) David
ƒ Alberto: information about the seats that were used in Egypt to carry around the
Pharaohs Sven
ƒ Abdul: African roots of witchcraft. Sven
ƒ Jahmal: Songhai and Bornem kingdoms. Sven
Research (to do)
ƒ Ish: Info on the pyramids beyond them being a burial chamber. The religious
significances, alignment with stars, global importance.
ƒ Jay: African slave trade (not Atlantic slave trade but various forms of pre-colonial
African slavery
ƒ Hector: Now wants to do role of women in African societies, adding to medicinal
plants that David has gotten him).
ƒ David Cowan: Wants Chapter 4 of Shillington (I had this, but it was recalled)
5. Hand out next week’s readings.
6. Explain Test 5 on Weeks 9 and 10. Chapter 9 of Iliffe and Connah page 190s.
7. Re-iterate change in syllabus – Ginsburg next week (April 1
st
) and Sven on 3
rd
to give
Test 5, collect drafts of final project and class on retentions.
8. Explain 8
th
April will be a Study Hall and last 3 weeks will be David, Lee and Sven.
9. Stress outstanding essays lose 5% each class they are late.
10. Lesson: African slavery and beyond.
12. What was happening elsewhere in the world?
xx
13. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
14. Video: Davidson Part 5/6 first 10 mins then gates Part 5 on Timbuktu. C6657.
12. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Take readings for Lee and David.
2. Grade tests for Sunday handback.
Week 9b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Hand back Test 4 and go over it.
3. Feedback on Friday class if any.
4. Lesson
a) Slavery
b) Colonialism and imperialism:
5. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
b) Dynasties: Phillipson page 137: 31 dynasties in ancient Egypt, not 30. But also that
some people recognize a 32nd (Macedonian) and 33rd dynasty (Ptolemaic) during the
Hellenistic Period.
c) Research (done)
ƒ Bishop: evolution and creationism Lee
ƒ Christian: info about all of the Pharaohs Sven
ƒ Willard Weeks: info about Nubia/Nubians Sven
ƒ Noel: Pharaohs of Egypt (concept, divine kingship, etc.) Sven
ƒ Hector: African medicine (plants, healers, practices) David
ƒ Alberto: information about the seats that were used in Egypt to carry around the
Pharaohs Sven
ƒ Abdul: African roots of witchcraft. Sven
ƒ Jahmal: Songhai and Bornem kingdoms. Sven
Research (to do)
ƒ Ish: Info on the pyramids beyond them being a burial chamber. The religious
significances, alignment with stars, global importance.
ƒ Jay: African slave trade (not Atlantic slave trade but various forms of pre-colonial
African slavery
ƒ Hector: Now wants to do role of women in African societies, adding to medicinal
plants that David has gotten him).
ƒ David Cowan: Wants Chapter 4 of Shillington (I had this, but it was recalled)
5. Hand out next week’s readings.
6. Explain Test 5 on Weeks 9 and 10. Chapter 9 of Iliffe and Connah page 190s.
7. Re-iterate change in syllabus – Ginsburg next week (April 1
st
) and Sven on 3
rd
to give
Test 5, collect drafts of final project and class on retentions.
8. Explain 8
th
April will be a Study Hall and last 3 weeks will be David, Lee and Sven.
9. Stress outstanding essays lose 5% each class they are late.
10. Lesson: African slavery and beyond.
12. What was happening elsewhere in the world?
xx
13. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
14. Video: Davidson Part 5/6 first 10 mins then gates Part 5 on Timbuktu. C6657.
12. Pack up and go.
After class
1. Take readings for Lee and David.
2. Grade tests for Sunday handback.
Week 9b
In class
1. Take roll and sign-in sheet.
2. Hand back Test 4 and go over it.
3. Feedback on Friday class if any.
4. Lesson
a) Slavery
b) Colonialism and imperialism:
5. 18:45 Close B students leave & break.
114
6. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa – Bible and Gun. C2489.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. 3. David and Lee do research for class and put articles on Sven’s desk for Rentia to
pick up and give to class Sunday.
6. Questions and video – Davidson’s Africa – Bible and Gun. C2489.
7. Pack up and go.
After class
1. 3. David and Lee do research for class and put articles on Sven’s desk for Rentia to
pick up and give to class Sunday.
115
10. Africa in the Americas
25 & 27 March
Lesson aim
1. To examine the utility of studying Africa from outside Africa, especially the Americas.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 5 on 3
rd
and 10 mins handback and review on 10
th
.
2. Focus on Plantation and Historic archaeology in the Americas to see how African
slaves used their traditions, customs, skills to make new identities but retain links to their
homelands.
3. Allow 30-40 mins for group work.
4. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Cook, K.1993. Black bones, white science: The battle over New York's African Burial
Ground. Village Voice May 4, 23–27; Larry McKee’s. 1998. Some thoughts on the past,
present, and future of the Archaeology of the African Diaspora. African-American
Archaeology: Newsletter of the African-American Network 21; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s.
1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies in black: art of the Harlem renaissance.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; pages 1-33 of Herskovitz, M.J. 1958. The
myth of the Negro past. Boston, MA: Beacon Press; Maria Franklin’s 2001. The
archaeological dimensions of soul food: interpreting race, culture, and Afro-Virginian
identity. In: Orser, Charles E (ed.). Race and the archaeology of identity: 88-107). Salt
Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press; and Weik, T. 1997. The archaeology of Maroon
societies in the Americas: resistance, cultural continuity, and transformation in the
African diaspora. Historical Archaeology 31(2):81-92.
2. Show Susan Vogel’s Fang an epic journey (8 mins).
For next week
1. Prepare questions on areas where students are unsure.
2. Prepare final group presentations for review.
3. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 5).
Notes
April 1
st
class Rebecca Ginsburg guest lectures:
“I told the class that the former attitude towards African retentions was that there were
none, that many historians believed that the middle passage was so traumatizing that
Africans arrived in the Americas basically as blank slates. Then we discussed as a class
the political and social interests that might have been served by such an approach (e.g.
denying heritage of African-Americans and thereby distinguishing them from whites with
"culture"). I asked them what sort of evidence might counter that theory, and the
students came up with several examples, e.g. music instruments, gestures that
resemble those of West Africans, language retentions. In the second half of the class I
explained that the new approach was to accept retentions, and asked what interests
might be served by this. I also explained some formerly held beliefs about retentions and
10. Africa in the Americas
25 & 27 March
Lesson aim
1. To examine the utility of studying Africa from outside Africa, especially the Americas.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 5 on 3
rd
and 10 mins handback and review on 10
th
.
2. Focus on Plantation and Historic archaeology in the Americas to see how African
slaves used their traditions, customs, skills to make new identities but retain links to their
homelands.
3. Allow 30-40 mins for group work.
4. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Cook, K.1993. Black bones, white science: The battle over New York's African Burial
Ground. Village Voice May 4, 23–27; Larry McKee’s. 1998. Some thoughts on the past,
present, and future of the Archaeology of the African Diaspora. African-American
Archaeology: Newsletter of the African-American Network 21; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s.
1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies in black: art of the Harlem renaissance.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; pages 1-33 of Herskovitz, M.J. 1958. The
myth of the Negro past. Boston, MA: Beacon Press; Maria Franklin’s 2001. The
archaeological dimensions of soul food: interpreting race, culture, and Afro-Virginian
identity. In: Orser, Charles E (ed.). Race and the archaeology of identity: 88-107). Salt
Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press; and Weik, T. 1997. The archaeology of Maroon
societies in the Americas: resistance, cultural continuity, and transformation in the
African diaspora. Historical Archaeology 31(2):81-92.
2. Show Susan Vogel’s Fang an epic journey (8 mins).
For next week
1. Prepare questions on areas where students are unsure.
2. Prepare final group presentations for review.
3. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 5).
Notes
April 1
st
class Rebecca Ginsburg guest lectures:
“I told the class that the former attitude towards African retentions was that there were
none, that many historians believed that the middle passage was so traumatizing that
Africans arrived in the Americas basically as blank slates. Then we discussed as a class
the political and social interests that might have been served by such an approach (e.g.
denying heritage of African-Americans and thereby distinguishing them from whites with
"culture"). I asked them what sort of evidence might counter that theory, and the
students came up with several examples, e.g. music instruments, gestures that
resemble those of West Africans, language retentions. In the second half of the class I
explained that the new approach was to accept retentions, and asked what interests
might be served by this. I also explained some formerly held beliefs about retentions and
116
how those have been rebutted (e.g. that existed primarily in performing arts like music
and dance, that depended entirely on demographics). I explained that the retention of
African practices and beliefs depended on a constellation of factors, including black-
white ratios in particular areas, planter attitudes, length of time away from Africa, age
(1/3/ of Africans brought over as children), labor context in US, and area from in West
Africa. I emphasized that slaves did not all come from the same place and that West
Africa is home to many, many traditions, beliefs, practices, etc. Then I gave a couple of
examples of how slaves coming from a particular region in Africa were in a position in
the US to retain certain aspects of their former practices: Senegambians planting rice in
SC, Igbo being more prone to suicide, and--my longest example, illustrated with
overheads--of the shotgun house evolving from Yoruba precedents, reproduced and
then altered through conditions in Haiti and then transplanted in the early 19th c in US,
where it arrived in its present form.
how those have been rebutted (e.g. that existed primarily in performing arts like music
and dance, that depended entirely on demographics). I explained that the retention of
African practices and beliefs depended on a constellation of factors, including black-
white ratios in particular areas, planter attitudes, length of time away from Africa, age
(1/3/ of Africans brought over as children), labor context in US, and area from in West
Africa. I emphasized that slaves did not all come from the same place and that West
Africa is home to many, many traditions, beliefs, practices, etc. Then I gave a couple of
examples of how slaves coming from a particular region in Africa were in a position in
the US to retain certain aspects of their former practices: Senegambians planting rice in
SC, Igbo being more prone to suicide, and--my longest example, illustrated with
overheads--of the shotgun house evolving from Yoruba precedents, reproduced and
then altered through conditions in Haiti and then transplanted in the early 19th c in US,
where it arrived in its present form.
117
11. Representations museums, literature, music, art
1 & 3 April
Lesson aim
1. Investigate how non-Africans represented Africa and Africans.
2. Investigate how Africans represented themselves and the areas beyond Africa.
3. Consider the day-day practices by which African representations are generated –
museums, popular culture, art and music
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 4 on 25
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 27
th
.
2. Discuss the anthropological `gaze’ and James Clifford’s 1988 formulation of the
`reverse gaze’ in discussing Negritude.
3. Consider the `nature-culture’ and `noble savage’, `ignoble savage’ stereotypes and
how archaeology and history both support and challenge these stereotypes.
4. Discuss how rationally and to a variety of audiences to present evidence to counter
negative stereotypes and offer a range of viable alternatives. Museum displays, movies,
comics, advertising, news stories, literature (`Heart of darkness’).
5. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
6. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 5-15 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans; Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An
image of Africa. Research in African Literatures 9(1):2-15; Kusimba, C.M. 1996.
Archaeology in African museums. African Archaeological Review 13:165-170; Jonathan
Curiel’s 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous American blues singers
reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa. San Francisco Chronicle
August 15
th;
; Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In:
Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press; Musonda, Francis. 1996. How accurate are
interpretations of African objects in Western museums? In: Peter R. Schmidt and
Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 164-169. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s. 1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies in
black: art of the Harlem renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. and
pages 3-57 of Philip Curtin’s. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and action 1780-
1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
2. OHT visuals of representations of Africa and African representations of Africans and
non-Africans (esp. from Julius Lips).
3. Video clips from Ota Benga: a Pygmy in America and The life and times of Sara
Baartman: The Hottentot Venus; The gods must be crazy, Africa screams and
Baboona.
4. Comics – both negative (Tintin goes to Congo) and positive (Senegalese comics).
Show a selection of advertisements and news stories that portray Africa present and
past in different lights.
For next week
1. Assign Cook, K.1993. Black bones, white science: The battle over New York's African
Burial Ground. Village Voice May 4, 23–27.
11. Representations museums, literature, music, art
1 & 3 April
Lesson aim
1. Investigate how non-Africans represented Africa and Africans.
2. Investigate how Africans represented themselves and the areas beyond Africa.
3. Consider the day-day practices by which African representations are generated –
museums, popular culture, art and music
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 4 on 25
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 27
th
.
2. Discuss the anthropological `gaze’ and James Clifford’s 1988 formulation of the
`reverse gaze’ in discussing Negritude.
3. Consider the `nature-culture’ and `noble savage’, `ignoble savage’ stereotypes and
how archaeology and history both support and challenge these stereotypes.
4. Discuss how rationally and to a variety of audiences to present evidence to counter
negative stereotypes and offer a range of viable alternatives. Museum displays, movies,
comics, advertising, news stories, literature (`Heart of darkness’).
5. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
6. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 5-15 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans; Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An
image of Africa. Research in African Literatures 9(1):2-15; Kusimba, C.M. 1996.
Archaeology in African museums. African Archaeological Review 13:165-170; Jonathan
Curiel’s 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous American blues singers
reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa. San Francisco Chronicle
August 15
th;
; Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In:
Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press; Musonda, Francis. 1996. How accurate are
interpretations of African objects in Western museums? In: Peter R. Schmidt and
Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 164-169. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.; Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s. 1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies in
black: art of the Harlem renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. and
pages 3-57 of Philip Curtin’s. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and action 1780-
1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
2. OHT visuals of representations of Africa and African representations of Africans and
non-Africans (esp. from Julius Lips).
3. Video clips from Ota Benga: a Pygmy in America and The life and times of Sara
Baartman: The Hottentot Venus; The gods must be crazy, Africa screams and
Baboona.
4. Comics – both negative (Tintin goes to Congo) and positive (Senegalese comics).
Show a selection of advertisements and news stories that portray Africa present and
past in different lights.
For next week
1. Assign Cook, K.1993. Black bones, white science: The battle over New York's African
Burial Ground. Village Voice May 4, 23–27.
118
2. Assign Larry McKee’s. 1998. Some thoughts on the past, present, and future of the
Archaeology of the African Diaspora. African-American Archaeology: Newsletter of the
African-American Network 21.
3. Assign pages from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s. 1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies
in black: art of the Harlem renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
4. Assign pages 1-33 of Herskovitz, M.J. 1958. The myth of the Negro past. Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
5. Assign Maria Franklin’s 2001. The archaeological dimensions of soul food:
interpreting race, culture, and Afro-Virginian identity. In: Orser, Charles E (ed.). Race
and the archaeology of identity: 88-107. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press.
6. Assign Weik, T. 1997. The archaeology of Maroon societies in the Americas:
resistance, cultural continuity, and transformation in the African diaspora. Historical
Archaeology 31(2):81-92.
7. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 5).
Reading load: 75 pages.
Notes
Marked and unmarked speech `American’ as norm, hiding whiteness.
How particular instances come to stand for universal.
Africa as lagging – but what of recent early finds – art, harpoons, beads, cattle etc.
Problem of tropics.
Acceptance of whole schema and fitting Africa into it.
Actors vs Witnesses.
Henry Louis Gates’ `Wonders of the Africa World’ – Coloured-Negro-Black-African-
American-Neo-Nubian
Alert class to Rebecca Ginsburg guesting on April 1
st
.
Sun City and the Palace of the Lost City
(see Hall 1995 & Hall and Bombardella 2005).
Background
The Sun City resort – one of the 1
st
Disney or Las Vegas style “destination resorts” in
South Africa.
Located in northern South Africa. Opened in 1992.
Designed in CA, and built at a cost of about $300 million (at the time, one of the most
expensive resorts ever built).
Large theme resort, that includes:
2 world class golf courses
Multiple hotels
Water park
2. Assign Larry McKee’s. 1998. Some thoughts on the past, present, and future of the
Archaeology of the African Diaspora. African-American Archaeology: Newsletter of the
African-American Network 21.
3. Assign pages from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s. 1997. Harlem on our minds. Rhapsodies
in black: art of the Harlem renaissance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
4. Assign pages 1-33 of Herskovitz, M.J. 1958. The myth of the Negro past. Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
5. Assign Maria Franklin’s 2001. The archaeological dimensions of soul food:
interpreting race, culture, and Afro-Virginian identity. In: Orser, Charles E (ed.). Race
and the archaeology of identity: 88-107. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press.
6. Assign Weik, T. 1997. The archaeology of Maroon societies in the Americas:
resistance, cultural continuity, and transformation in the African diaspora. Historical
Archaeology 31(2):81-92.
7. Hand out questions for next week’s test (Test 5).
Reading load: 75 pages.
Notes
Marked and unmarked speech `American’ as norm, hiding whiteness.
How particular instances come to stand for universal.
Africa as lagging – but what of recent early finds – art, harpoons, beads, cattle etc.
Problem of tropics.
Acceptance of whole schema and fitting Africa into it.
Actors vs Witnesses.
Henry Louis Gates’ `Wonders of the Africa World’ – Coloured-Negro-Black-African-
American-Neo-Nubian
Alert class to Rebecca Ginsburg guesting on April 1
st
.
Sun City and the Palace of the Lost City
(see Hall 1995 & Hall and Bombardella 2005).
Background
The Sun City resort – one of the 1
st
Disney or Las Vegas style “destination resorts” in
South Africa.
Located in northern South Africa. Opened in 1992.
Designed in CA, and built at a cost of about $300 million (at the time, one of the most
expensive resorts ever built).
Large theme resort, that includes:
2 world class golf courses
Multiple hotels
Water park
119
Casino
Etc.
Developed around the theme of the “Lost City,” which is built into nearly all of the
attractions.
A nomadic tribe left northern Africa some thousands of years ago. They sought a
new place to settle, eventually coming to the secluded valley that now holds the
resort. They constructed a rich civilization, but eventually all was lost in a
devastating earthquake. The city lay in ruins until an explorer discovered the Lost
City in the 20
th
century. With the aid of modern technology the city was rebuilt to
match its former grandness.
The resort attempts to portray this supposed legend as fact, to create ambience. This
occurs on their website and in other promotional material.
For example, in referring to the Palace of the Lost City (one of the four hotels) their
website suggests that the hotel is “fabled to be the royal residence of an ancient king.”
In the video, keep on the lookout for other ways the developers have tried to create a
feeling of ancient Africa.
Show Gates clip.
Discussion
Connection to myths surrounding Great Zimbabwe. Myths created by early explorers
and perpetuated by Cecil Rhodes and colonial governments to justify their possession of
the region.
Tripartite structure: Creation, Destruction, Discovery.
In terms of Sun City, this breaks down into:
1. The Lost Age: earthly paradise, benign patriarchy (powerful king, but everyone
lived well), and enormous wealth through mining
2. Dark Disaster: earthquake (not invading hordes as in other myths)
3. Enchanted Ruin: with time, the city is forgotten and becomes myth rediscovered
by a heroic explorer.
That’s the romanticized view of African history they want you to buy into, complete with
“European dreams of African possession and conquest.”
Here, the ideology of colonialism was still at work, perpetuating a master narrative that
denies the existence of a worthwhile African history. This narrative, and Sun City itself
have deep roots in the popular mythology about Africa that as developed in Europe and
the West. It is even affecting the representation of African history in Africa itself.
But what was happening politically when this place was built in the early 1990s?
Nelson Mandela was released in early 1990, after 27 years in prison, and Apartheid was
overturned in that same year. In 1994, Mandela was elected president of South Africa in
that country’s first democratic elections.
Casino
Etc.
Developed around the theme of the “Lost City,” which is built into nearly all of the
attractions.
A nomadic tribe left northern Africa some thousands of years ago. They sought a
new place to settle, eventually coming to the secluded valley that now holds the
resort. They constructed a rich civilization, but eventually all was lost in a
devastating earthquake. The city lay in ruins until an explorer discovered the Lost
City in the 20
th
century. With the aid of modern technology the city was rebuilt to
match its former grandness.
The resort attempts to portray this supposed legend as fact, to create ambience. This
occurs on their website and in other promotional material.
For example, in referring to the Palace of the Lost City (one of the four hotels) their
website suggests that the hotel is “fabled to be the royal residence of an ancient king.”
In the video, keep on the lookout for other ways the developers have tried to create a
feeling of ancient Africa.
Show Gates clip.
Discussion
Connection to myths surrounding Great Zimbabwe. Myths created by early explorers
and perpetuated by Cecil Rhodes and colonial governments to justify their possession of
the region.
Tripartite structure: Creation, Destruction, Discovery.
In terms of Sun City, this breaks down into:
1. The Lost Age: earthly paradise, benign patriarchy (powerful king, but everyone
lived well), and enormous wealth through mining
2. Dark Disaster: earthquake (not invading hordes as in other myths)
3. Enchanted Ruin: with time, the city is forgotten and becomes myth rediscovered
by a heroic explorer.
That’s the romanticized view of African history they want you to buy into, complete with
“European dreams of African possession and conquest.”
Here, the ideology of colonialism was still at work, perpetuating a master narrative that
denies the existence of a worthwhile African history. This narrative, and Sun City itself
have deep roots in the popular mythology about Africa that as developed in Europe and
the West. It is even affecting the representation of African history in Africa itself.
But what was happening politically when this place was built in the early 1990s?
Nelson Mandela was released in early 1990, after 27 years in prison, and Apartheid was
overturned in that same year. In 1994, Mandela was elected president of South Africa in
that country’s first democratic elections.
120
This resort was supposed to part of the new, post-apartheid South Africa, but why then
is it participating in and furthering one of the oldest myths of colonialism?
Heritage:
“One way of understanding ‘heritage’ is as the mobilization of culture in the service of the
present. Heritage works with the diverse remnants of the past: artifacts, buildings,
cityscapes, landscapes, documents, literature, oral traditions, memories. These are
things that have been passed down the generations, and the awareness of them makes
tangible associations in the present, whether by ethnicity, class, geographical region,
language, gender, race, or other category. And, in working within the present, heritage
makes claims on the future, for example, by making a claim for land, furthering a
nationalist agenda or promoting future language rights. As such, heritage gives form to
the public sphere. As a mobilization of culture, heritage is a manifestation of power” (Hall
and Bombardella 2005:6)
So basically, the past is all around us, but the question is: who gets to use that past, and
for what?
http://home.datacomm.ch/r.vontobel/images/more_pics/Africa.jpg
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 10 Test 5 15 minutes – 20 points
This resort was supposed to part of the new, post-apartheid South Africa, but why then
is it participating in and furthering one of the oldest myths of colonialism?
Heritage:
“One way of understanding ‘heritage’ is as the mobilization of culture in the service of the
present. Heritage works with the diverse remnants of the past: artifacts, buildings,
cityscapes, landscapes, documents, literature, oral traditions, memories. These are
things that have been passed down the generations, and the awareness of them makes
tangible associations in the present, whether by ethnicity, class, geographical region,
language, gender, race, or other category. And, in working within the present, heritage
makes claims on the future, for example, by making a claim for land, furthering a
nationalist agenda or promoting future language rights. As such, heritage gives form to
the public sphere. As a mobilization of culture, heritage is a manifestation of power” (Hall
and Bombardella 2005:6)
So basically, the past is all around us, but the question is: who gets to use that past, and
for what?
http://home.datacomm.ch/r.vontobel/images/more_pics/Africa.jpg
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 10 Test 5 15 minutes – 20 points
121
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. What were the demographic consequences of African slavery?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Population decline (25 million to 20 million in West Africa and declined from 30% - 10% of the worlds population); fewer males,
loss of productivity. Role of introduced crops and disease from outside Africa (Iliffe pages 137-139; B&C 188-190)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Name the areas African slaves were taken to in the New World and the crops
they had to work in those areas.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sugar and coffee in Brazil and Caribbean, tobacco and cotton in North
America. (Shillington page 177-178)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. What does `colonialism’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Any of a living organism moving into a previously pristine or a new
habitat through to specific examples from Out-of-Africa to 19
th
century
European colonialism.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Name three principal countries or kingdoms from which African slaves were
exported:
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Many here, mostly W Africa Iliffe page 128
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) If Africa was considered to be `backward’ by Europe, why bother colonizing it?
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. What were the demographic consequences of African slavery?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Population decline (25 million to 20 million in West Africa and declined from 30% - 10% of the worlds population); fewer males,
loss of productivity. Role of introduced crops and disease from outside Africa (Iliffe pages 137-139; B&C 188-190)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Name the areas African slaves were taken to in the New World and the crops
they had to work in those areas.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sugar and coffee in Brazil and Caribbean, tobacco and cotton in North
America. (Shillington page 177-178)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. What does `colonialism’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Any of a living organism moving into a previously pristine or a new
habitat through to specific examples from Out-of-Africa to 19
th
century
European colonialism.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Name three principal countries or kingdoms from which African slaves were
exported:
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Many here, mostly W Africa Iliffe page 128
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) If Africa was considered to be `backward’ by Europe, why bother colonizing it?
122
………………………………………………
Combination of extracting raw materials, creating new markets,
missionising zeal, aggrandizement of small countries.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) The main period of African liberation from European colonisation was:
a) 1890s
b) 1940s
c) 1950s
d) Has not yet happened
2) The following European powers were involved in the colonisation of Africa:
a) Belgium
b) Russia
c) Ireland
d) All of the above
3) Which of the following were involved in selling slaves:
a) Portuguese
b) Akan
c) British
d) All of the above
4) African slaves to Europe in the 14
th
and 15
th
centuries were needed to:
a) Be domestic servants
b) Be oarsmen on naval craft
c) Concentrate people for new enterprises
d) All of the above (B&C page 181)
5) Most African slaves were taken to:
a) Brazil
b) Caribbean (Shillington page 177)
c) North America
d) Haiti
6) How many slaves are estimated to have been exported from Africa?
a) Just less than 12 million (Iliffe page 131)
b) 8 million – 10 million
c) Unknown
d) 3 800 per year from 1450-900
………………………………………………
Combination of extracting raw materials, creating new markets,
missionising zeal, aggrandizement of small countries.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) The main period of African liberation from European colonisation was:
a) 1890s
b) 1940s
c) 1950s
d) Has not yet happened
2) The following European powers were involved in the colonisation of Africa:
a) Belgium
b) Russia
c) Ireland
d) All of the above
3) Which of the following were involved in selling slaves:
a) Portuguese
b) Akan
c) British
d) All of the above
4) African slaves to Europe in the 14
th
and 15
th
centuries were needed to:
a) Be domestic servants
b) Be oarsmen on naval craft
c) Concentrate people for new enterprises
d) All of the above (B&C page 181)
5) Most African slaves were taken to:
a) Brazil
b) Caribbean (Shillington page 177)
c) North America
d) Haiti
6) How many slaves are estimated to have been exported from Africa?
a) Just less than 12 million (Iliffe page 131)
b) 8 million – 10 million
c) Unknown
d) 3 800 per year from 1450-900
123
7) The Dutch settled at the Cape of Good hope:
a) 350 years ago (Connah page 170)
b) 500 years ago
c) Start of the 17
th
century
d) They did not settle there
8) The country we now call Namibia was colonised by:
a) Belgium
b) England
c) Germany (Shillington page 327)
d) None of the above
9) The Atlantic slave trade began in:
a) 1506
b) The seventeenth century
c) 1441 (Iliffe page 127
d) 1700
10) The Atlantic slave trade was formally abolished in:
a) 1787
b) 1807 (Iliffe page 147)
c) 1820
d) 1822
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_F _ Slavery was introduced to Africa by European colonists and traders
_T_ Liberia was colonized by black freedmen from the USA from 1822 onward
_T _ In Berlin in 1884 European powers met to divide Africa among themselves
_T _ Ethiopia was the only African state to remain uncolonised by Europe
_F (500 years ago, page 169 Connah) _ The Ghanaian castle of Elmina was
built by the Portuguese 350 years ago.
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) What does `diaspora’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
7) The Dutch settled at the Cape of Good hope:
a) 350 years ago (Connah page 170)
b) 500 years ago
c) Start of the 17
th
century
d) They did not settle there
8) The country we now call Namibia was colonised by:
a) Belgium
b) England
c) Germany (Shillington page 327)
d) None of the above
9) The Atlantic slave trade began in:
a) 1506
b) The seventeenth century
c) 1441 (Iliffe page 127
d) 1700
10) The Atlantic slave trade was formally abolished in:
a) 1787
b) 1807 (Iliffe page 147)
c) 1820
d) 1822
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_F _ Slavery was introduced to Africa by European colonists and traders
_T_ Liberia was colonized by black freedmen from the USA from 1822 onward
_T _ In Berlin in 1884 European powers met to divide Africa among themselves
_T _ Ethiopia was the only African state to remain uncolonised by Europe
_F (500 years ago, page 169 Connah) _ The Ghanaian castle of Elmina was
built by the Portuguese 350 years ago.
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) What does `diaspora’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
124
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Name at least three ways in which Africans successfully resisted European
slavery and colonialism
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Name at least three ways in which Africans successfully resisted European
slavery and colonialism
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
125
12. Consolidation questions and preparation for final
presentations
8 & 10 April
Lesson aim
1. To consolidate knowledge gained to this point.
2. Intensive work with groups on their presentations.
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 5 on 8
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 10
th
.
2. Q & A session.
3. Sven, David and Lee spend time with groups on presentations.
Lesson resources
1. Instructors present a sample of mock presentations.
For next week
1. Work on final presentations.
Notes
12. Consolidation questions and preparation for final
presentations
8 & 10 April
Lesson aim
1. To consolidate knowledge gained to this point.
2. Intensive work with groups on their presentations.
Lesson method
1. Collect Writing Assignment 5 on 8
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 10
th
.
2. Q & A session.
3. Sven, David and Lee spend time with groups on presentations.
Lesson resources
1. Instructors present a sample of mock presentations.
For next week
1. Work on final presentations.
Notes
126
13. Presentations and Evaluation what worked and what didnt
15 & 17 April
Lesson aim
1. For class members to present their preceding 6 weeks’ group work on a defined topic
for the rest of the class.
2. For students and instructors to discuss what parts of the course worked, where there
were gaps and areas for improvement.
Lesson method
1. Each group will get 15-20 minutes to clearly present on a topic relating to African
history that has been pre-discussed with the instructors.
2. The rest of the class asks questions of each group’s presentation.
3. Students fill in evaluation forms on course content, instructors’ performance and
suggestions for improvements.
Lesson resources
1. Audio-visual equipment as required.
2. Evaluation forms for students.
Notes:
xxFeedback to/from students? Follow-up?
Presentation order
Friday
Bishop Butler
Mike Carter
David Cowan
Evans
Darnell Hill
Paul Jordan
Hector Oropeza
Abdul Stewart
Ish Turner
Jahmal Wallace
Sunday
Desmond Crockett
Leonard Frazier
Steve Higueret
Alberto Losno
Jay Ly
Lamarr Mainor
Olish Tunstall
Noel Valdivia
Willard Weeks
Christian Willis
13. Presentations and Evaluation what worked and what didnt
15 & 17 April
Lesson aim
1. For class members to present their preceding 6 weeks’ group work on a defined topic
for the rest of the class.
2. For students and instructors to discuss what parts of the course worked, where there
were gaps and areas for improvement.
Lesson method
1. Each group will get 15-20 minutes to clearly present on a topic relating to African
history that has been pre-discussed with the instructors.
2. The rest of the class asks questions of each group’s presentation.
3. Students fill in evaluation forms on course content, instructors’ performance and
suggestions for improvements.
Lesson resources
1. Audio-visual equipment as required.
2. Evaluation forms for students.
Notes:
xxFeedback to/from students? Follow-up?
Presentation order
Friday
Bishop Butler
Mike Carter
David Cowan
Evans
Darnell Hill
Paul Jordan
Hector Oropeza
Abdul Stewart
Ish Turner
Jahmal Wallace
Sunday
Desmond Crockett
Leonard Frazier
Steve Higueret
Alberto Losno
Jay Ly
Lamarr Mainor
Olish Tunstall
Noel Valdivia
Willard Weeks
Christian Willis
127
128
14. Final grading
Final Grades to Patten PUP by 24
th
April.
Receive course evaluations from Jody/Nicole.
Notes
Feedback to/from students? Follow-up?
14. Final grading
Final Grades to Patten PUP by 24
th
April.
Receive course evaluations from Jody/Nicole.
Notes
Feedback to/from students? Follow-up?
129
130
Tests and Essays
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 1 Writing Assignment:
One hand-written page on the subject:
What is Africa?
To be handed in next Friday (01/28) in class.
This assignment will be graded but will not count towards the final grade.
Tests and Essays
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 1 Writing Assignment:
One hand-written page on the subject:
What is Africa?
To be handed in next Friday (01/28) in class.
This assignment will be graded but will not count towards the final grade.
131
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Africa Map Quiz (25 minutes)
Name:……………………………………………………………………………….
On the blank Africa outline map in front of you, please correctly fill in the following:
Countries (fill in 10 of the 15 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Botswana Egypt Ethiopia
Democratic Republic of Congo Ghana Kenya
Liberia Libya Madagascar
Morocco Senegal South Africa
Sudan Tanzania Zimbabwe
Capital cities (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Addis Ababa Antananarivo Cairo
Dakar Gaborone Khartoum
Kinshasa Luanda Lusaka
Tunis
Physical features (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Atlantic Ocean Drakensberg Equator
Great Rift Valley Indian Ocean Kilimanjaro
North Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn
Red Sea
Bonus section (1 point for each correct answer)
Atlas mountains Chad Lake Victoria
Sahara Windhoek Yamoussoukro
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Africa Map Quiz (25 minutes)
Name:……………………………………………………………………………….
On the blank Africa outline map in front of you, please correctly fill in the following:
Countries (fill in 10 of the 15 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Botswana Egypt Ethiopia
Democratic Republic of Congo Ghana Kenya
Liberia Libya Madagascar
Morocco Senegal South Africa
Sudan Tanzania Zimbabwe
Capital cities (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Addis Ababa Antananarivo Cairo
Dakar Gaborone Khartoum
Kinshasa Luanda Lusaka
Tunis
Physical features (fill in 5 of the 10 listed options – 1 point for each correct answer)
Atlantic Ocean Drakensberg Equator
Great Rift Valley Indian Ocean Kilimanjaro
North Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn
Red Sea
Bonus section (1 point for each correct answer)
Atlas mountains Chad Lake Victoria
Sahara Windhoek Yamoussoukro
132
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 3 Test 1 (25 minutes – 20 points)
Longer answers (3 points each)
1. Are old historic documents reliable? Why? Why not? Are modern historic documents
reliable? Why? Why not? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Imagine you are a Social Anthropologist from Stanford going to study the Masaai in
Kenya. What techniques would you use to get information? Which of these techniques
would be `etic’ and which would be `emic’? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Why might "ancient history" be a better term than "prehistory" for the study of past
African societies? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Short answers (1 point each)
4. List one possible origin of the word `Africa’ and what it means 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Who was Herodotus? (say more than he was `the father of history’) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. According to Iliffe (Chap 2), how many African language families are there? (Not how
many individual languages, but how many broader language families) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What is `demography’ 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 3 Test 1 (25 minutes – 20 points)
Longer answers (3 points each)
1. Are old historic documents reliable? Why? Why not? Are modern historic documents
reliable? Why? Why not? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Imagine you are a Social Anthropologist from Stanford going to study the Masaai in
Kenya. What techniques would you use to get information? Which of these techniques
would be `etic’ and which would be `emic’? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Why might "ancient history" be a better term than "prehistory" for the study of past
African societies? 3 points
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Short answers (1 point each)
4. List one possible origin of the word `Africa’ and what it means 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Who was Herodotus? (say more than he was `the father of history’) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. According to Iliffe (Chap 2), how many African language families are there? (Not how
many individual languages, but how many broader language families) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. What is `demography’ 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
133
8. According to Philip Curtin, what percentage of African slaves were brought to the
USA? (Hint: it is less than you think) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. What does `Anthropology’ mean? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Name three sources of bias that can influence an ethnography? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Which of the following types of evidence are used by archaeologists to understand
the past? Circle one correct answer.
a) written texts b) oral traditions c) linguistics d) all of the above 1 point
12. True or False – Normally, archaeological materials nearest to the surface are
younger) than materials found further underground. 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. Many objects used in the past are not found in archaeological sites because they
deteriorate over time. Which archaeological materials do you think are best preserved in
African sites? Circle one correct answer.
a) wood implements b) skeletons c) stone tools d) food remains 1 point
14. What is the difference between an `emic’ and an `etic’ perspective? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bonus section (each 1 point)
15. Name the principle that states layers underneath are older than layers on top.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. Name three archaeological dating techniques.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. What are the approximate date ranges for a) the slave trade and b) colonialism?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. According to Philip Curtin, what percentage of African slaves were brought to the
USA? (Hint: it is less than you think) 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. What does `Anthropology’ mean? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Name three sources of bias that can influence an ethnography? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Which of the following types of evidence are used by archaeologists to understand
the past? Circle one correct answer.
a) written texts b) oral traditions c) linguistics d) all of the above 1 point
12. True or False – Normally, archaeological materials nearest to the surface are
younger) than materials found further underground. 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13. Many objects used in the past are not found in archaeological sites because they
deteriorate over time. Which archaeological materials do you think are best preserved in
African sites? Circle one correct answer.
a) wood implements b) skeletons c) stone tools d) food remains 1 point
14. What is the difference between an `emic’ and an `etic’ perspective? 1 point
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bonus section (each 1 point)
15. Name the principle that states layers underneath are older than layers on top.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. Name three archaeological dating techniques.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. What are the approximate date ranges for a) the slave trade and b) colonialism?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
134
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 4 Writing Assignment 1 (20 points)
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the
beginning of class on 18
th
February. Make sure to link your writing to readings
done in class. Use as many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as
possible. Reference ideas and facts where appropriate.
1. `Out of Africa.’ It has been suggested that Africa is, in an evolutionary
paradigm, the cradle or birthplace of humanity. Using especially the Connah
(pages 1-19) and Phillipson (pages 12-59) readings, argue why Africa may or
may not be humanity’s original home. Use as much hard evidence as possible.
State both why your argument works and why the opposing argument does not
work.
2. It is 1995. You have just discovered the architectural remains of an ancient
Islamic city in North Africa. Eroding out of the sand are clay tablets with
punctuate marks on them; there are stone piles (?graves); places where people
made cooking fires; many decorated and undecorated pottery fragments. There
seem to be residential areas with garbage heaps and areas that seem to have
been kept very clean. Some buildings seem to be precisely alignment and facing
cardinal directions. Explain how you would find out more about this Ancient City
and its people (now no longer there, though there are Bedouin people living
nearby) using:
a) Historical methodology
b) Archaeological methodology
c) Anthropological methodology
3. Review the readings you have done to date. Isolate in these readings a
problem, issue or question important to you. The address this problem, issue or
question using the readings, being as specific as possible.
Good luck, remember the need to rough plan your essay, assemble the facts,
write a coherent argument. Revision always improves an essay. Imagine you are
explaining your argument to someone who knows very little about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 4 Writing Assignment 1 (20 points)
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the
beginning of class on 18
th
February. Make sure to link your writing to readings
done in class. Use as many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as
possible. Reference ideas and facts where appropriate.
1. `Out of Africa.’ It has been suggested that Africa is, in an evolutionary
paradigm, the cradle or birthplace of humanity. Using especially the Connah
(pages 1-19) and Phillipson (pages 12-59) readings, argue why Africa may or
may not be humanity’s original home. Use as much hard evidence as possible.
State both why your argument works and why the opposing argument does not
work.
2. It is 1995. You have just discovered the architectural remains of an ancient
Islamic city in North Africa. Eroding out of the sand are clay tablets with
punctuate marks on them; there are stone piles (?graves); places where people
made cooking fires; many decorated and undecorated pottery fragments. There
seem to be residential areas with garbage heaps and areas that seem to have
been kept very clean. Some buildings seem to be precisely alignment and facing
cardinal directions. Explain how you would find out more about this Ancient City
and its people (now no longer there, though there are Bedouin people living
nearby) using:
a) Historical methodology
b) Archaeological methodology
c) Anthropological methodology
3. Review the readings you have done to date. Isolate in these readings a
problem, issue or question important to you. The address this problem, issue or
question using the readings, being as specific as possible.
Good luck, remember the need to rough plan your essay, assemble the facts,
write a coherent argument. Revision always improves an essay. Imagine you are
explaining your argument to someone who knows very little about Africa.
135
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 5 Test 2 (15 minutes – 20 points)
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) This site has revealed the greatest amount of data on early hominid behavior:
e. Sterkfontein
f. Olduvai Gorge
e. Laetoli
f. Le Moustier
2) Australopithecines lived in:
c. Africa
d. Africa and Asia
g. Africa, Europe and Asia
h. None of the above
3) The `multiregional’ hypothesis of human origins is contrasted with which
hypothesis?
e. `Out of Africa
f. Creationism
g. Mitochondrial `Eve’
h. `Man the Hunter’
4) Australopithecines are best classified as hominids on the basis of:
e. archaeological evidence of tool use
f. cranial and postcranial material which shows that they were bipedal
g. dental material which shows that they mainly ate meat
h. cranial evidence which shows they were large-brained
5) What does current paleoanthropological research on H. ergaster/erectus tell
us?
e. they could not hunt (or scavenge)
f. some individuals were much taller than previous species of
hominids
g. they did not use tools
h. they are only found in Africa
6) H. habilis has been found associated with ______________ tools.
e. Acheulean
f. Levallois
g. Power
h. Oldowan
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 5 Test 2 (15 minutes – 20 points)
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) This site has revealed the greatest amount of data on early hominid behavior:
e. Sterkfontein
f. Olduvai Gorge
e. Laetoli
f. Le Moustier
2) Australopithecines lived in:
c. Africa
d. Africa and Asia
g. Africa, Europe and Asia
h. None of the above
3) The `multiregional’ hypothesis of human origins is contrasted with which
hypothesis?
e. `Out of Africa
f. Creationism
g. Mitochondrial `Eve’
h. `Man the Hunter’
4) Australopithecines are best classified as hominids on the basis of:
e. archaeological evidence of tool use
f. cranial and postcranial material which shows that they were bipedal
g. dental material which shows that they mainly ate meat
h. cranial evidence which shows they were large-brained
5) What does current paleoanthropological research on H. ergaster/erectus tell
us?
e. they could not hunt (or scavenge)
f. some individuals were much taller than previous species of
hominids
g. they did not use tools
h. they are only found in Africa
6) H. habilis has been found associated with ______________ tools.
e. Acheulean
f. Levallois
g. Power
h. Oldowan
136
7) The earliest stone tools are approximately __________ years old.
e. 500,000
f. 7-8 million
g. 2.5 million
h. 10,000
8) In Africa, Neanderthal fossils have been found at:
e. Broken Hill
f. Olduvai Gorge
g. Klasies River Mouth
h. None of these sites
9) Current fossil evidence supports the idea that Homo sapiens first appeared in:
e. Asia
f. South America
g. Africa
h. Middle East
10) In terms of evolution, the word "fittest" in the phrase "survival of the fittest"
means:
e. Best
f. More likely to survive to reproduce
g. More advanced
h. None of the above
True/False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ A hearth provides evidence for controlled use of fire.
_F_ Homo habilis appeared around 1 million years ago.
_F_ Acheulean stone ‘hand-axes’ were created by the robust Australopithecines.
_T_ Homo sapiens are first found in Africa 600,000 to 400,000 years ago.
_F_ The robust Australopithecines are considered to be direct human ancestors.
Arrange by Age
Arrange the following hominid species in the order of their appearance on Earth
by placing a 1 next to the first (oldest) species to appear through to a 4 for the
last (youngest) species to appear. 2 points per
correct answer
__4__ Homo sapiens __ 1__ Australopithecus afarensis
7) The earliest stone tools are approximately __________ years old.
e. 500,000
f. 7-8 million
g. 2.5 million
h. 10,000
8) In Africa, Neanderthal fossils have been found at:
e. Broken Hill
f. Olduvai Gorge
g. Klasies River Mouth
h. None of these sites
9) Current fossil evidence supports the idea that Homo sapiens first appeared in:
e. Asia
f. South America
g. Africa
h. Middle East
10) In terms of evolution, the word "fittest" in the phrase "survival of the fittest"
means:
e. Best
f. More likely to survive to reproduce
g. More advanced
h. None of the above
True/False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ A hearth provides evidence for controlled use of fire.
_F_ Homo habilis appeared around 1 million years ago.
_F_ Acheulean stone ‘hand-axes’ were created by the robust Australopithecines.
_T_ Homo sapiens are first found in Africa 600,000 to 400,000 years ago.
_F_ The robust Australopithecines are considered to be direct human ancestors.
Arrange by Age
Arrange the following hominid species in the order of their appearance on Earth
by placing a 1 next to the first (oldest) species to appear through to a 4 for the
last (youngest) species to appear. 2 points per
correct answer
__4__ Homo sapiens __ 1__ Australopithecus afarensis
137
__3__ Homo ergaster/erectus __ 2__ Homo habilis
Matching
Match the hominid species listed on the left with the numbered phrase (1-6) on
the right that best describes the hominid. Use each phrase only once 3 points.
_2_ Australopithecus boisei 1. Lucy, a 40% complete skeleton found at
Hadar.
_5_ Homo habilis 2. This species was the most robust
Australopithecine
_1_ Australopithecus afarensis 3. The first hominid to migrate out of Africa.
_3_ Homo ergaster/erectus 4. This species’ fossils occur only in southern
Africa.
_4_ Australopithecus africanus 5. This hominid group lived at the same time as
some robust australopithecines but had a
larger braincase.
_6_ Australopithecus aethiopicus 6. This species was probably an intermediate
between gracile and robust Australopithecines.
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) Name an archaeological site where Homo sapiens was found in:
Zambia: ___ Broken Hill; Kalambo Falls_____
South Africa: ___ Elandsfontein, KRM, Border cave, Die Kelders
Ethiopia: ___ Omo-Kibish____________________________
2) Homo ergaster/erectus fossils have no big differences in male and female
body size. Because of this, what type of social group do paleoanthropologists
believe they had?
______________Pair-bonding (not male-male competition or polygyny)____
3) What hominid species utilized the Levallois technique to make stone tools?
____________________Homo sapiens_______________________________
__3__ Homo ergaster/erectus __ 2__ Homo habilis
Matching
Match the hominid species listed on the left with the numbered phrase (1-6) on
the right that best describes the hominid. Use each phrase only once 3 points.
_2_ Australopithecus boisei 1. Lucy, a 40% complete skeleton found at
Hadar.
_5_ Homo habilis 2. This species was the most robust
Australopithecine
_1_ Australopithecus afarensis 3. The first hominid to migrate out of Africa.
_3_ Homo ergaster/erectus 4. This species’ fossils occur only in southern
Africa.
_4_ Australopithecus africanus 5. This hominid group lived at the same time as
some robust australopithecines but had a
larger braincase.
_6_ Australopithecus aethiopicus 6. This species was probably an intermediate
between gracile and robust Australopithecines.
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) Name an archaeological site where Homo sapiens was found in:
Zambia: ___ Broken Hill; Kalambo Falls_____
South Africa: ___ Elandsfontein, KRM, Border cave, Die Kelders
Ethiopia: ___ Omo-Kibish____________________________
2) Homo ergaster/erectus fossils have no big differences in male and female
body size. Because of this, what type of social group do paleoanthropologists
believe they had?
______________Pair-bonding (not male-male competition or polygyny)____
3) What hominid species utilized the Levallois technique to make stone tools?
____________________Homo sapiens_______________________________
138
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 6 Writing Assignment 2 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the beginning
of class on 4
th
March. Make sure to link your writing to readings done in class. Use as
many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as possible. Reference ideas
and facts where appropriate. Remember that nothing prevents you from reading ahead
in Iliffe or using other books from the library.
1. All people are concerned with `Origins.’ An origin event can work on different
time scales and landscapes – from the origin of humans in Africa (evolution plus
`Out of Africa’ hypothesis) through to a personal origin (“I was born 43 years ago
in Philadelphia”). What does Africa offer to the world in terms of understanding
human origins? How would you explain to someone unfamiliar with Ancient Africa
how they are linked to Africa? Use as many facts as possible. Describe for the
person how people, animals, landscapes and technologies changed over time
(and continue to change?). (Use, for example, Iliffe pages 6-12; Shillington pages
1-5; Connah pages 1-19, esp last 6 pages; Phillipson pages 12-59 and any other
relevant sources).
2. Human origins (represented by fossil skeletons) are just one of a range of
`firsts’ or origin events that have (and will continue to?) take place in Africa. What
were these other origin events? Where did they occur? When? Why? What is the
physical evidence for these events? Can you think of origin events that must
have happened but that leave little or no physical trace? (Use, for example, Iliffe
pages 6-12; Phillipson 12-59, 115-116; Shillington pages 14-16 and any other
relevant sources).
3. `Tools’ are a key invention that drastically altered the course of human
evolution. Choose, from among others, the following `tools’ – fire, stone, bone,
art, music, agriculture, metal- and describe how and when these came about.
What other animals use tools? Is tool use a distinctive human activity? (see, for
example, Iliffe chapter 3; Connah pages 7-12, Phillipson pages 32-59; 117-157;
Shillington pages 7-13; 29-35 and any other relevant sources)
4. `Art’ is a distinguishing artifact and activity that has deep African roots and
which continues into the present. Compare Southern and North African rock arts
in terms of technique, method of production, age, subject matter, meaning and
preservation. How are they similar? How do they differ? What other art traditions
have there been in Africa? (see Connah pages 27-38; Bohannan and Curtin
pages 50-61 and any other relevant sources).
Good luck, remember first to read the question thoroughly and know what it is asking
you to do. Then read relevant course materials, assemble facts and draft a plan of how
your words will answer the question. Write a first draft and then write a final draft with a
reference list/bibliography. Always imagine you are explaining your argument to
someone who knows very little about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 6 Writing Assignment 2 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in at the beginning
of class on 4
th
March. Make sure to link your writing to readings done in class. Use as
many specific examples, place names, facts and figures as possible. Reference ideas
and facts where appropriate. Remember that nothing prevents you from reading ahead
in Iliffe or using other books from the library.
1. All people are concerned with `Origins.’ An origin event can work on different
time scales and landscapes – from the origin of humans in Africa (evolution plus
`Out of Africa’ hypothesis) through to a personal origin (“I was born 43 years ago
in Philadelphia”). What does Africa offer to the world in terms of understanding
human origins? How would you explain to someone unfamiliar with Ancient Africa
how they are linked to Africa? Use as many facts as possible. Describe for the
person how people, animals, landscapes and technologies changed over time
(and continue to change?). (Use, for example, Iliffe pages 6-12; Shillington pages
1-5; Connah pages 1-19, esp last 6 pages; Phillipson pages 12-59 and any other
relevant sources).
2. Human origins (represented by fossil skeletons) are just one of a range of
`firsts’ or origin events that have (and will continue to?) take place in Africa. What
were these other origin events? Where did they occur? When? Why? What is the
physical evidence for these events? Can you think of origin events that must
have happened but that leave little or no physical trace? (Use, for example, Iliffe
pages 6-12; Phillipson 12-59, 115-116; Shillington pages 14-16 and any other
relevant sources).
3. `Tools’ are a key invention that drastically altered the course of human
evolution. Choose, from among others, the following `tools’ – fire, stone, bone,
art, music, agriculture, metal- and describe how and when these came about.
What other animals use tools? Is tool use a distinctive human activity? (see, for
example, Iliffe chapter 3; Connah pages 7-12, Phillipson pages 32-59; 117-157;
Shillington pages 7-13; 29-35 and any other relevant sources)
4. `Art’ is a distinguishing artifact and activity that has deep African roots and
which continues into the present. Compare Southern and North African rock arts
in terms of technique, method of production, age, subject matter, meaning and
preservation. How are they similar? How do they differ? What other art traditions
have there been in Africa? (see Connah pages 27-38; Bohannan and Curtin
pages 50-61 and any other relevant sources).
Good luck, remember first to read the question thoroughly and know what it is asking
you to do. Then read relevant course materials, assemble facts and draft a plan of how
your words will answer the question. Write a first draft and then write a final draft with a
reference list/bibliography. Always imagine you are explaining your argument to
someone who knows very little about Africa.
139
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 7 Test 3
15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) Which of the following is a primary source of evidence for farming?
a) Pollen
b) Grain impressions in pottery
c) Rock art
d) All of the above
2) Which of the following is a secondary source of evidence for farming?
a) Permanent settlement
b) Grindstones
c) Pottery
d) All of the above
3) Which came first?
a) Domestic animals (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat)
b) Domestic plants (e.g., millet, sorghum, teff)
c) Domestic animals and domestic plants occurred at the same time.
d) It varied from region-region.
4) When is the earliest evidence of farming in Africa?
a) 15 000 years ago
b) 10 000 years ago
c) 9 000 years ago (Phillipson pp122-123)
d) 5 000 years ago
5) Where do domestic sheep come from?
a) North Africa
b) Ethiopian highlands
c) South-West Asia (Iliffe p.13)
d) Mediterranean
6) The earliest bronze sculpture found in Africa comes from:
a) Nok
b) Igbo Ikwu (B&C p. 155 @ about 1000 years old)
c) Benin
d) Ife
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 7 Test 3
15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) Which of the following is a primary source of evidence for farming?
a) Pollen
b) Grain impressions in pottery
c) Rock art
d) All of the above
2) Which of the following is a secondary source of evidence for farming?
a) Permanent settlement
b) Grindstones
c) Pottery
d) All of the above
3) Which came first?
a) Domestic animals (e.g., cattle, sheep, goat)
b) Domestic plants (e.g., millet, sorghum, teff)
c) Domestic animals and domestic plants occurred at the same time.
d) It varied from region-region.
4) When is the earliest evidence of farming in Africa?
a) 15 000 years ago
b) 10 000 years ago
c) 9 000 years ago (Phillipson pp122-123)
d) 5 000 years ago
5) Where do domestic sheep come from?
a) North Africa
b) Ethiopian highlands
c) South-West Asia (Iliffe p.13)
d) Mediterranean
6) The earliest bronze sculpture found in Africa comes from:
a) Nok
b) Igbo Ikwu (B&C p. 155 @ about 1000 years old)
c) Benin
d) Ife
140
7) The earliest reliable evidence of controlled fire use in hearths is:
a) 1 million years old
b) 300 000 year old
c) 125 000 years old (Sterkfontein)
d) None of the above
8) The main plants farmed in Africa were:
a) Rice
b) Cereals
c) Tubers
d) All of the above
9) How many African language families are there?
a) One
b) Three
c) Four (Iliffe pp10-11)
d) Over 900
10) Which of the following are indigenous African crops/animals?
a) Bananas
b) Sheep
c) Coffee (Iliffe p.15; B&C p.143)
d) Corn (maize)
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ Africa’s oldest known rock art is 26 000 years old.
_T_ Iron-working reached what is today Nigeria 2 600 years ago. (B& C p.149)
_F_ Ensete is an imported banana-like plant cultivated in Ethiopia. (Pson p. 149)
_F_ Dynastic Egypt consisted of 35 Pharonic dynasties lasting 3000 years (30
dynasties Phillipson p. 137)
_T_ Herodotus described the building of Khufu pyramid in Egypt 2500 years ago
(Shillington p.25)
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. Why should the adoption of farming in Africa not be called a `revolution’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Episodic strategy that occurred and recurred many times before becoming
dominant. (Bohannan & Curtin p.141 & Phillipson p.120)
7) The earliest reliable evidence of controlled fire use in hearths is:
a) 1 million years old
b) 300 000 year old
c) 125 000 years old (Sterkfontein)
d) None of the above
8) The main plants farmed in Africa were:
a) Rice
b) Cereals
c) Tubers
d) All of the above
9) How many African language families are there?
a) One
b) Three
c) Four (Iliffe pp10-11)
d) Over 900
10) Which of the following are indigenous African crops/animals?
a) Bananas
b) Sheep
c) Coffee (Iliffe p.15; B&C p.143)
d) Corn (maize)
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T_ Africa’s oldest known rock art is 26 000 years old.
_T_ Iron-working reached what is today Nigeria 2 600 years ago. (B& C p.149)
_F_ Ensete is an imported banana-like plant cultivated in Ethiopia. (Pson p. 149)
_F_ Dynastic Egypt consisted of 35 Pharonic dynasties lasting 3000 years (30
dynasties Phillipson p. 137)
_T_ Herodotus described the building of Khufu pyramid in Egypt 2500 years ago
(Shillington p.25)
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. Why should the adoption of farming in Africa not be called a `revolution’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Episodic strategy that occurred and recurred many times before becoming
dominant. (Bohannan & Curtin p.141 & Phillipson p.120)
141
2. Why did certain African societies adopt farming when gathering-hunting-fishing
was so successful and early farmers suffered health problems and were very
dependant on erratic rainfall?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. For what percentage of our existence has Homo sapiens been a gatherer-
hunter-fisher?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
99% (Phillipson 117)
4. What evidence of farming was found at Nabta Playa and Fayum Depression?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Nabta Playa or Fayum Depression (Iliffe p.13 & Phillipson p.120)
5. What is the difference between `pastoralism’ and `horticulture’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Herding animals vs planting crops; moving about versus sedentary
(Phillipson p.xx)
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) When was the Bubaline phase of North African rock art and what were its
characteristics?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
8000 5000 years ago. Extinct buffalo depictionsLarge naturalistic
engravings. Deeply cut, even polished. Human figures, some with animal
heads (Connah p.35)
2) When were camels introduced into Africa and from where were they
introduced?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2000 years ago from Asia (Bohannan & Curtin 148; Phillipson p.153).S)
2. Why did certain African societies adopt farming when gathering-hunting-fishing
was so successful and early farmers suffered health problems and were very
dependant on erratic rainfall?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. For what percentage of our existence has Homo sapiens been a gatherer-
hunter-fisher?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
99% (Phillipson 117)
4. What evidence of farming was found at Nabta Playa and Fayum Depression?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Nabta Playa or Fayum Depression (Iliffe p.13 & Phillipson p.120)
5. What is the difference between `pastoralism’ and `horticulture’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Herding animals vs planting crops; moving about versus sedentary
(Phillipson p.xx)
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) When was the Bubaline phase of North African rock art and what were its
characteristics?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
8000 5000 years ago. Extinct buffalo depictionsLarge naturalistic
engravings. Deeply cut, even polished. Human figures, some with animal
heads (Connah p.35)
2) When were camels introduced into Africa and from where were they
introduced?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2000 years ago from Asia (Bohannan & Curtin 148; Phillipson p.153).S)
142
143
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 8 Writing Assignment 3 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in by
Sunday March 20
th
. Make sure to present a reasoned argument that is well-
supported by multiple, specific facts that are well-referenced.
1. “It is nevertheless true that farming has provided the economic basis for most
of the major technological, artistic and socio-political achievements of African
culture during the past 7, 000 years (Phillipson 1993:122). Discuss.
2. Their paintings are to be found in what are today some of the driest parts of
the Sahara desert where it is difficult to imagine the woodlands and grasslands of
former times” (Shillington 1995: 32). What were the environmental conditions that
allowed or did not allow farming to develop in certain parts of Africa?
3. `Globalisation’ and world trade are often thought of as modern phenomena but
Africa has multiple instances of long-distance and international trade. Provide
evidence for when, where and why this trade occurred.
4. Why, when and where did certain African societies adopt farming when
gathering-hunting-fishing was so successful and early farmers suffered health
problems and were very dependant on erratic rainfall?
Good luck and remember the three steps to a good essay: 1) Read the question
carefully and answer it specifically 2) Make a plan of your argument 3) Write and
revise, revise, revise.
Always imagine you are explaining yourself to someone who knows very little
about Africa.
HIS 227 Ancient World History - Africa
Week 8 Writing Assignment 3 20 points
Write at least 2 pages on one of the following topics and hand in by
Sunday March 20
th
. Make sure to present a reasoned argument that is well-
supported by multiple, specific facts that are well-referenced.
1. “It is nevertheless true that farming has provided the economic basis for most
of the major technological, artistic and socio-political achievements of African
culture during the past 7, 000 years (Phillipson 1993:122). Discuss.
2. Their paintings are to be found in what are today some of the driest parts of
the Sahara desert where it is difficult to imagine the woodlands and grasslands of
former times” (Shillington 1995: 32). What were the environmental conditions that
allowed or did not allow farming to develop in certain parts of Africa?
3. `Globalisation’ and world trade are often thought of as modern phenomena but
Africa has multiple instances of long-distance and international trade. Provide
evidence for when, where and why this trade occurred.
4. Why, when and where did certain African societies adopt farming when
gathering-hunting-fishing was so successful and early farmers suffered health
problems and were very dependant on erratic rainfall?
Good luck and remember the three steps to a good essay: 1) Read the question
carefully and answer it specifically 2) Make a plan of your argument 3) Write and
revise, revise, revise.
Always imagine you are explaining yourself to someone who knows very little
about Africa.
144
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 10 Test 5 15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. What were the demographic consequences of African slavery?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Population decline (25 million to 20 million in West Africa and declined from 30% -
10% of the worlds population); fewer males, loss of productivity. Role of
introduced crops and disease from outside Africa (Iliffe pages 137-139; B&C 188-
190)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Name the areas African slaves were taken to in the New World and the crops
they had to work in those areas.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sugar and coffee in Brazil and Caribbean, tobacco and cotton in North America.
(Shillington page 177-178)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. What does `colonialism’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Any of a living organism moving into a previously pristine or a new habitat
through to specific examples from Out-of-Africa to 19
th
century European
colonialism.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Name three principal countries or kingdoms from which African slaves were
exported:
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Many here, mostly W Africa Iliffe page 128
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) If Africa was considered to be `backward’ by Europe, why bother colonizing it?
………………………………………………
Combination of extracting raw materials, creating new markets, missionising
zeal, aggrandizement of small countries.
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 10 Test 5 15 minutes – 20 points
Name
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. What were the demographic consequences of African slavery?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Population decline (25 million to 20 million in West Africa and declined from 30% -
10% of the worlds population); fewer males, loss of productivity. Role of
introduced crops and disease from outside Africa (Iliffe pages 137-139; B&C 188-
190)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Name the areas African slaves were taken to in the New World and the crops
they had to work in those areas.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sugar and coffee in Brazil and Caribbean, tobacco and cotton in North America.
(Shillington page 177-178)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. What does `colonialism’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Any of a living organism moving into a previously pristine or a new habitat
through to specific examples from Out-of-Africa to 19
th
century European
colonialism.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Name three principal countries or kingdoms from which African slaves were
exported:
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Many here, mostly W Africa Iliffe page 128
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) If Africa was considered to be `backward’ by Europe, why bother colonizing it?
………………………………………………
Combination of extracting raw materials, creating new markets, missionising
zeal, aggrandizement of small countries.
145
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) The main period of African liberation from European colonisation was:
a) 1890s
b) 1940s
c) 1950s
d) Has not yet happened
2) The following European powers were involved in the colonisation of Africa:
a) Belgium
b) Russia
c) Ireland
d) All of the above
3) Which of the following were involved in selling slaves:
a) Portuguese
b) Akan
c) British
d) All of the above
4) African slaves to Europe in the 14
th
and 15
th
centuries were needed to:
a) Be domestic servants
b) Be oarsmen on naval craft
c) Concentrate people for new enterprises
d) All of the above (B&C page 181)
5) Most African slaves were taken to:
a) Brazil
b) Caribbean (Shillington page 177)
c) North America
d) Haiti
6) How many slaves are estimated to have been exported from Africa?
a) Just less than 12 million (Iliffe page 131)
b) 8 million – 10 million
c) Unknown
d) 3 800 per year from 1450-900
7) The Dutch settled at the Cape of Good hope:
a) 350 years ago (Connah page 170)
b) 500 years ago
c) Start of the 17
th
century
d) They did not settle there
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) The main period of African liberation from European colonisation was:
a) 1890s
b) 1940s
c) 1950s
d) Has not yet happened
2) The following European powers were involved in the colonisation of Africa:
a) Belgium
b) Russia
c) Ireland
d) All of the above
3) Which of the following were involved in selling slaves:
a) Portuguese
b) Akan
c) British
d) All of the above
4) African slaves to Europe in the 14
th
and 15
th
centuries were needed to:
a) Be domestic servants
b) Be oarsmen on naval craft
c) Concentrate people for new enterprises
d) All of the above (B&C page 181)
5) Most African slaves were taken to:
a) Brazil
b) Caribbean (Shillington page 177)
c) North America
d) Haiti
6) How many slaves are estimated to have been exported from Africa?
a) Just less than 12 million (Iliffe page 131)
b) 8 million – 10 million
c) Unknown
d) 3 800 per year from 1450-900
7) The Dutch settled at the Cape of Good hope:
a) 350 years ago (Connah page 170)
b) 500 years ago
c) Start of the 17
th
century
d) They did not settle there
146
8) The country we now call Namibia was colonised by:
a) Belgium
b) England
c) Germany (Shillington page 327)
d) None of the above
9) The Atlantic slave trade began in:
a) 1506
b) The seventeenth century
c) 1441 (Iliffe page 127
d) 1700
10) The Atlantic slave trade was formally abolished in:
a) 1787
b) 1807 (Iliffe page 147)
c) 1820
d) 1822
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_F _ Slavery was introduced to Africa by European colonists and traders
_T_ Liberia was colonized by black freedmen from the USA from 1822 onward
_T _ In Berlin in 1884 European powers met to divide Africa among themselves
_T _ Ethiopia was the only African state to remain uncolonised by Europe
_F (500 years ago, page 169 Connah) _ The Ghanaian castle of Elmina was
built by the Portuguese 350 years ago.
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) What does `diaspora’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Name at least three ways in which Africans successfully resisted European
slavery and colonialism
………………………………………………………………………………………………
8) The country we now call Namibia was colonised by:
a) Belgium
b) England
c) Germany (Shillington page 327)
d) None of the above
9) The Atlantic slave trade began in:
a) 1506
b) The seventeenth century
c) 1441 (Iliffe page 127
d) 1700
10) The Atlantic slave trade was formally abolished in:
a) 1787
b) 1807 (Iliffe page 147)
c) 1820
d) 1822
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_F _ Slavery was introduced to Africa by European colonists and traders
_T_ Liberia was colonized by black freedmen from the USA from 1822 onward
_T _ In Berlin in 1884 European powers met to divide Africa among themselves
_T _ Ethiopia was the only African state to remain uncolonised by Europe
_F (500 years ago, page 169 Connah) _ The Ghanaian castle of Elmina was
built by the Portuguese 350 years ago.
Bonus questions
1 point per correct answer
1) What does `diaspora’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Name at least three ways in which Africans successfully resisted European
slavery and colonialism
………………………………………………………………………………………………
147
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 10 Test 5 (Alternate) 15 minutes – 20 points
Name ……………………………Ish Turner……………………………
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. What forms of slavery existed in Africa prior to the Atlantic slave trade?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Egyptian slavery and N Africa (Iliffe, pages 22 & 26). Muslim and Christian Slaving.
Mediterranean slave trade (Iliffe 128 & 129)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Who, other than Africans, were used as labour in the New World between
1500 – 1820?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Native Americans (succumbed to disease); Europeans (criminals, rebels etc).
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. How did slaves resist their enslavers?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Rebellion, weapons of the weak, childbirth (infanticide, fewer births) running
away.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Where, when and why did European powers decide to colonise Africa?
………………………………………………………………………………………… ……
Berlin. 1884. Protect economic interest (can also accept civilizing/missionising
urges, though these really come later)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
HIS 227 Ancient World History Africa
Week 10 Test 5 (Alternate) 15 minutes – 20 points
Name ……………………………Ish Turner……………………………
Short Answers
1 point per correct answer
1. What forms of slavery existed in Africa prior to the Atlantic slave trade?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Egyptian slavery and N Africa (Iliffe, pages 22 & 26). Muslim and Christian Slaving.
Mediterranean slave trade (Iliffe 128 & 129)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Who, other than Africans, were used as labour in the New World between
1500 – 1820?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Native Americans (succumbed to disease); Europeans (criminals, rebels etc).
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. How did slaves resist their enslavers?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Rebellion, weapons of the weak, childbirth (infanticide, fewer births) running
away.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
4) Where, when and why did European powers decide to colonise Africa?
………………………………………………………………………………………… ……
Berlin. 1884. Protect economic interest (can also accept civilizing/missionising
urges, though these really come later)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
148
5) What technological advances permitted Europeans to move from the coastal
regions into the African interior?
………………………………………………
1850 Quinine effective against malaria. 1880s repeating rifle/machine gun.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) The formal period of European colonization of Africa was:
a) 1884-1960 (Iliffe 189)
b) 1884-1950
c) 11807-1960
d) 1807-1950
2) Liberia was a state created in response to slavery and its abolition in:
a) 1820
b) 1867
c) 1847 (Iliffe 155)
d) 1912
3) Which African disease most affected European colonists?
a) Sleeping sickness
b) Venereal disease
c) Smallpox
d) Malaria
4) Which period saw the most slaves transported from Africa to the Americas:
a) 1450-1600
b) 1601-1700
c) 1701-1800 (Iliffe 131)
d) 1801-1900
5) Most African slaves to the New World came from:
a) North Africa
b) East Africa
c) West Africa
d) Ghana
6) Which African kingdoms were involved in the Atlantic slave trade?
a) Akan
b) Asante
c) Benin
d) All of the above (Iliffe chapter 7)
5) What technological advances permitted Europeans to move from the coastal
regions into the African interior?
………………………………………………
1850 Quinine effective against malaria. 1880s repeating rifle/machine gun.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer 1 point per correct answer
1) The formal period of European colonization of Africa was:
a) 1884-1960 (Iliffe 189)
b) 1884-1950
c) 11807-1960
d) 1807-1950
2) Liberia was a state created in response to slavery and its abolition in:
a) 1820
b) 1867
c) 1847 (Iliffe 155)
d) 1912
3) Which African disease most affected European colonists?
a) Sleeping sickness
b) Venereal disease
c) Smallpox
d) Malaria
4) Which period saw the most slaves transported from Africa to the Americas:
a) 1450-1600
b) 1601-1700
c) 1701-1800 (Iliffe 131)
d) 1801-1900
5) Most African slaves to the New World came from:
a) North Africa
b) East Africa
c) West Africa
d) Ghana
6) Which African kingdoms were involved in the Atlantic slave trade?
a) Akan
b) Asante
c) Benin
d) All of the above (Iliffe chapter 7)
149
7) The Portuguese for of Elmina in Ghana was built in:
a) 1482 (Iliffe 129, Cnnah 169)
b) 1542
c) 1682
d) Elmina is not in Ghana
8) Cameroon was colonized by:
a) Britain
b) France
c) Germany (B&C 223)
d) None of the above
9) The average size of an Atlantic slave trade ship was:
a) 20 m (Iliffe 136)
b) 30 m
c) 50 m
d) More than 80 m
10) Initial European interest in Africa was because of:
a) Gold
b) Slaves
c) Palm oil
d) To civilize/missionise what they perceived as a `backward’ continent
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T _ The South African Boer Republics were a secondary empire created by
European colonialism (B&C 219)
_T_ The 1884 Berlin conference was convened primarily to protect King Leopold
of Belgium’s personal business interests in the Congo (Iliffe 189)
_T _ After 1807 the British navy freed over 160 000 slaves from illegal slave ship
(Iliffe 148)
_T _ Slavery was a traditional African practice implicated in state formation. (Iliffe
129)
_F Cecil John Rhodes succeeded in colonizing African countries from `Cape to
Cairo’ (B&C 223)
Bonus questions
7) The Portuguese for of Elmina in Ghana was built in:
a) 1482 (Iliffe 129, Cnnah 169)
b) 1542
c) 1682
d) Elmina is not in Ghana
8) Cameroon was colonized by:
a) Britain
b) France
c) Germany (B&C 223)
d) None of the above
9) The average size of an Atlantic slave trade ship was:
a) 20 m (Iliffe 136)
b) 30 m
c) 50 m
d) More than 80 m
10) Initial European interest in Africa was because of:
a) Gold
b) Slaves
c) Palm oil
d) To civilize/missionise what they perceived as a `backward’ continent
True or False
1 point per correct answer
_T _ The South African Boer Republics were a secondary empire created by
European colonialism (B&C 219)
_T_ The 1884 Berlin conference was convened primarily to protect King Leopold
of Belgium’s personal business interests in the Congo (Iliffe 189)
_T _ After 1807 the British navy freed over 160 000 slaves from illegal slave ship
(Iliffe 148)
_T _ Slavery was a traditional African practice implicated in state formation. (Iliffe
129)
_F Cecil John Rhodes succeeded in colonizing African countries from `Cape to
Cairo’ (B&C 223)
Bonus questions
150
1 point per correct answer
1) What does `imperialism’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) What was `partition’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
1 point per correct answer
1) What does `imperialism’ mean?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) What was `partition’?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
151
152
Questions for Jody
1. How is the class evaluated?
2. What has the San Quentin library got?
Other
1. First 3 weeks and last 2 weeks team teach each lesson. In-between Sven does
Fridays, Lee and David Sundays.
2. Guest lecturer for April 1
st
and perhaps April 3
rd
.
3. We will need to meet week-week to see how it is all going – days, times?
4. Make master photocopy pile of all readings
5. Make copies of all assignments.
6. Get Susan Vogel’s S Fang
7. Schedule sheet for class prep (checking out vids, making ppts)
8. Grading sheet (with who grades what)
9. More African authors.
10. Gilroy?
11. All god’s children need traveling shoes?
12. Egypt? – contact Andrew Reid.
13. Lindfors book to cross-link with Benga and Baartman movies.
14. Gender?
Additional References
African Unification Front policy on heritage and ancient a rtifacts.
http://www.africanfront.com/heritage.php African Unification Front policy on heritage and
ancient artifacts. http://www.africanfront.com/heritage.php
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1992. In my father's house: Africa in the philosophy of culture.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1993. Europe upside down: fallacies of the New Afrocentrism.
The Times Literary Supplement 2-12. pp. 24-25.
Appiah, Kwame Anthony and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (eds.). 1999. Africana: the
encyclopedia of the African and African American experience. New York : Basic Civitas
Books
Barnard, Alan. 2003. !Ke e: /xarra //ke (people who are different come together):
Khoisan imagery in the reconstruction of South African national identity. In: Diverse
people unite: two lectures on Khoisan imagery and the state. Edinburgh: Centre for
African Studies Occasional Paper 94:6-48.
Bohannan, Laura. 1952. A genealogical charter. Africa 22:301-315.
Bohannan, Laura. 1966. Shakespeare in the bush. Natural History 75(7):28-33.
Boynton, Graham. 1997. The search for authenticity. The Nation 265(10):18.
Questions for Jody
1. How is the class evaluated?
2. What has the San Quentin library got?
Other
1. First 3 weeks and last 2 weeks team teach each lesson. In-between Sven does
Fridays, Lee and David Sundays.
2. Guest lecturer for April 1
st
and perhaps April 3
rd
.
3. We will need to meet week-week to see how it is all going – days, times?
4. Make master photocopy pile of all readings
5. Make copies of all assignments.
6. Get Susan Vogel’s S Fang
7. Schedule sheet for class prep (checking out vids, making ppts)
8. Grading sheet (with who grades what)
9. More African authors.
10. Gilroy?
11. All god’s children need traveling shoes?
12. Egypt? – contact Andrew Reid.
13. Lindfors book to cross-link with Benga and Baartman movies.
14. Gender?
Additional References
African Unification Front policy on heritage and ancient a rtifacts.
http://www.africanfront.com/heritage.php African Unification Front policy on heritage and
ancient artifacts. http://www.africanfront.com/heritage.php
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1992. In my father's house: Africa in the philosophy of culture.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1993. Europe upside down: fallacies of the New Afrocentrism.
The Times Literary Supplement 2-12. pp. 24-25.
Appiah, Kwame Anthony and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (eds.). 1999. Africana: the
encyclopedia of the African and African American experience. New York : Basic Civitas
Books
Barnard, Alan. 2003. !Ke e: /xarra //ke (people who are different come together):
Khoisan imagery in the reconstruction of South African national identity. In: Diverse
people unite: two lectures on Khoisan imagery and the state. Edinburgh: Centre for
African Studies Occasional Paper 94:6-48.
Bohannan, Laura. 1952. A genealogical charter. Africa 22:301-315.
Bohannan, Laura. 1966. Shakespeare in the bush. Natural History 75(7):28-33.
Boynton, Graham. 1997. The search for authenticity. The Nation 265(10):18.
153
Caldwell, John C. and Pat Caldwell. 1996. The African AIDS epidemic. Scientific
American 274(3):62-68.
Charles, Marilynne. 1994. An open wound. West Africa 4004:1138-1138.
Connah, Graham. 1998. Static image: dynamic reality. In: Connah, Graham (ed.).
Transformations in Africa: essays on Africas later past:. 1-13. London: Leicester
University Press.
Curtin, Philip, D. 1997. Africa remembered: narratives by West Africans from the era of
the slave trade. xx: Waveland Press.
Davidson, Basil (ed.. 1991. African civilization revisited: from antiquity to modern times.
Xx: Africa World Press, 1991.
Diop, Cheikh A. 1997 [1974]. The meaning of our work. In Roy R. Grinker and
Christopher B. Steiner (eds.). Perspectives on Africa: a reader in culture, history and
representation:724-727. Cambridge (MA): Blackwell.
du Plessis, Max. 2003. Historical injustice and international law: an exploratory
discussion of reparations for slavery. Human Rights Quarterly 25(3):624-59.
Gilbert, Erik and Jonathan Reynolds. 2004. Africa in world history: from prehistory to the
present. Xx: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Hilliard, Constance B. (ed.). 1998. Intellectual traditions of pre-colonial Africa. Xx:
McGraw Hill.
Kaplan, Robert D. 1994. The coming anarchy. Atlantic Monthly 273(2):44-76.
Karp, Ivan. 1995. African systems of thought. In Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick O'Meara
(eds.). Africa (3rd edition):211-222. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University Press. 211-
222.
Keim, Curtin A. 1995. Africa and Europe before 1900. In Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick
O'Meara (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):115-134. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University
Press.
Keller, Edmond J. 1995. Decolonization, independence, and the failure of politics. In
Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick O'Meara (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):156-171. Bloomington
(IND): Indiana University Press.
Lamphear, John and Toyin Falola. 1995. Aspects of early African history. In Martin,
Phyllis M and Patrick O'Meara (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):73-96. Bloomington (IND):
Indiana University Press.
Lane, Paul. 2001. African archaeology today. Antiquity 75:793-796.
Leedy, Todd. 1999. The reparations debate: issues and ideas. African Studies Quarterly
Online 2(4) www.africa.ufl.edu.
Caldwell, John C. and Pat Caldwell. 1996. The African AIDS epidemic. Scientific
American 274(3):62-68.
Charles, Marilynne. 1994. An open wound. West Africa 4004:1138-1138.
Connah, Graham. 1998. Static image: dynamic reality. In: Connah, Graham (ed.).
Transformations in Africa: essays on Africas later past:. 1-13. London: Leicester
University Press.
Curtin, Philip, D. 1997. Africa remembered: narratives by West Africans from the era of
the slave trade. xx: Waveland Press.
Davidson, Basil (ed.. 1991. African civilization revisited: from antiquity to modern times.
Xx: Africa World Press, 1991.
Diop, Cheikh A. 1997 [1974]. The meaning of our work. In Roy R. Grinker and
Christopher B. Steiner (eds.). Perspectives on Africa: a reader in culture, history and
representation:724-727. Cambridge (MA): Blackwell.
du Plessis, Max. 2003. Historical injustice and international law: an exploratory
discussion of reparations for slavery. Human Rights Quarterly 25(3):624-59.
Gilbert, Erik and Jonathan Reynolds. 2004. Africa in world history: from prehistory to the
present. Xx: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Hilliard, Constance B. (ed.). 1998. Intellectual traditions of pre-colonial Africa. Xx:
McGraw Hill.
Kaplan, Robert D. 1994. The coming anarchy. Atlantic Monthly 273(2):44-76.
Karp, Ivan. 1995. African systems of thought. In Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick O'Meara
(eds.). Africa (3rd edition):211-222. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University Press. 211-
222.
Keim, Curtin A. 1995. Africa and Europe before 1900. In Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick
O'Meara (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):115-134. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University
Press.
Keller, Edmond J. 1995. Decolonization, independence, and the failure of politics. In
Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick O'Meara (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):156-171. Bloomington
(IND): Indiana University Press.
Lamphear, John and Toyin Falola. 1995. Aspects of early African history. In Martin,
Phyllis M and Patrick O'Meara (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):73-96. Bloomington (IND):
Indiana University Press.
Lane, Paul. 2001. African archaeology today. Antiquity 75:793-796.
Leedy, Todd. 1999. The reparations debate: issues and ideas. African Studies Quarterly
Online 2(4) www.africa.ufl.edu.
154
Lips, Julius. 1966 [1937]. The savage hits back. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books.
McCall, John C. 1995. Social organization in Africa. In Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick
O'Meara, (eds.) Africa (3rd edition):175-189. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University
Press.
McNulty, Michael L. 1995. The contemporary map of Africa. In Martin, Phyllis, M and
Patrick O'Meara. (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):10-45. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University
Press.
Magubane, Bernard. 1987. The significance of Ethiopia in Afro-American consciousness.
Xx. The ties that bind: African-American consciousness of Africa:139-178. xx: Africa
World Press.
Martin, Phyllis M. and Patrick O'Meara. 1995. Africa (3rd edition). Bloomington (IND):
Indiana University Press.
Mazrui, Ali. 1996. Global Africa: from abolitionists to reparationists. In: Abdul-Raheem,
Tajudeen (ed.). Pan-Africanism: politics, economy and social change in the twenty-first
century:123-141. xx: New York University xx.
Mazrui, Ali. 1999. From slave ship to space ship: Africa between marginalization and
globalization. African Studies Quarterly Online 2(4) www.africa.ufl.edu
Ranger, Terence, O. 1976. Towards a useable past. In Christopher Fyfe (ed.). African
studies since 1945:17-30. xx: Longman.
Southall, Aidan W. 1970. The illusion of Tribe. In Gutkind, Peter C (ed.). The passing of
tribal man in Africa: 28-50. London: E.J. Brill.
Wadley, Lyn. 2000. South African archaeology, gender and the African renaissance.
South African Historical Journal 43:81-95.
Wolf, Eric R. 1982. Europe and the people without history. Berkeley (CA): University of
California Press.
Additional internet resources
Chennells, Roger. 200xx. Roundtable comment on biodiversity at Conference on
Biodiversity, Biotechnology and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge. The Center for
Interdisciplinary Studies and the Institute for Global Legal Studies, Washington
University School of Law, The Biology Department of Washington University, The
Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center, The Missouri Botanical Garden. Washington
University, St Louis, USA. April 4-6.
http://law.wustl.edu/centeris/pastevents/biodivagendasp03video.html
Maps – www.maps.com/reference/phypol/atlas/political &
www.faqs.org/docs/factbook/reference_maps/africa.html
Lips, Julius. 1966 [1937]. The savage hits back. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books.
McCall, John C. 1995. Social organization in Africa. In Martin, Phyllis, M and Patrick
O'Meara, (eds.) Africa (3rd edition):175-189. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University
Press.
McNulty, Michael L. 1995. The contemporary map of Africa. In Martin, Phyllis, M and
Patrick O'Meara. (eds.). Africa (3rd edition):10-45. Bloomington (IND): Indiana University
Press.
Magubane, Bernard. 1987. The significance of Ethiopia in Afro-American consciousness.
Xx. The ties that bind: African-American consciousness of Africa:139-178. xx: Africa
World Press.
Martin, Phyllis M. and Patrick O'Meara. 1995. Africa (3rd edition). Bloomington (IND):
Indiana University Press.
Mazrui, Ali. 1996. Global Africa: from abolitionists to reparationists. In: Abdul-Raheem,
Tajudeen (ed.). Pan-Africanism: politics, economy and social change in the twenty-first
century:123-141. xx: New York University xx.
Mazrui, Ali. 1999. From slave ship to space ship: Africa between marginalization and
globalization. African Studies Quarterly Online 2(4) www.africa.ufl.edu
Ranger, Terence, O. 1976. Towards a useable past. In Christopher Fyfe (ed.). African
studies since 1945:17-30. xx: Longman.
Southall, Aidan W. 1970. The illusion of Tribe. In Gutkind, Peter C (ed.). The passing of
tribal man in Africa: 28-50. London: E.J. Brill.
Wadley, Lyn. 2000. South African archaeology, gender and the African renaissance.
South African Historical Journal 43:81-95.
Wolf, Eric R. 1982. Europe and the people without history. Berkeley (CA): University of
California Press.
Additional internet resources
Chennells, Roger. 200xx. Roundtable comment on biodiversity at Conference on
Biodiversity, Biotechnology and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge. The Center for
Interdisciplinary Studies and the Institute for Global Legal Studies, Washington
University School of Law, The Biology Department of Washington University, The
Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center, The Missouri Botanical Garden. Washington
University, St Louis, USA. April 4-6.
http://law.wustl.edu/centeris/pastevents/biodivagendasp03video.html
Maps – www.maps.com/reference/phypol/atlas/political &
www.faqs.org/docs/factbook/reference_maps/africa.html
155
Additional video material
Baboona (Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson's Baboona: An Aerial Epic Over Africa
Early 20th century naturalists and explorers, Martin and Osa Johnson journey across
Africa in 1935 in two amphibious airplanes, encountering and filming African natives and
many forms of wildlife including lions, rhino, elephants, and especially a large population
of baboons. A prime example of the type of popular, wildly exploitative travel film made
in the US between 1920 and 1950. 73 min.
Champagne Safari
This archival rarity presents the extravagant safari through Africa taken by actress Rita
Hayworth and her husband Aly Kahn, in the early 1950's. Traveling by private plane,
jeep, limousine and rickshaw, the celebrated couple stops in Tanganyika, Uganda,
Kenya and the Belgian Congo among other locales. The film, a fascinating record of
neo-colonialism and gaudy excess, offers a rare glimpse into two worlds: old time
Hollywood and colonial Africa. 1952. 60 min.
Sankofa. (1993)
Directed by Haile Gerima. Sankofa is an Akan word that means, "We must go back and
reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to
be who we are today." Written, directed and produced by Ethiopian-born filmmaker Haile
Gerima, SANKOFA is a powerful film about Maafa-the African holocaust. Done from an
African/African-American perspective, this story is a vastly different one from the
generally distorted representations of African people that Hollywood gives us. This
revolutionary feature film connects enslaved black people with their African past and
culture. It empowers Black people on the screen by showing how African peoples' desire
for freedom made them resist, fight back, and conspire against their enslavers,
overseers and collective past through the vision on Mona, who visits her ancestral
experience on a new world plantation as Shola. We share the life she endures as a
slave and experiences her growing consciousness and transformation [description from
web site]. 1993. 125 min.
Additional lesson plans
History in Africa today
Less on aim:
1. To examine the position of the past in the present via its relation to: the looting and
repatriation of cultural and intellectual property; HIV/AIDS; museums, oral histories, state
symbols and individual and national identity.
Lesson method:
1. Spend first 30 mins of each lesson checking on final group presentation plans.
2. Examine a range of `traditional’ sites and structures where contemporary concerns
are being played out.
Additional video material
Baboona (Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson's Baboona: An Aerial Epic Over Africa
Early 20th century naturalists and explorers, Martin and Osa Johnson journey across
Africa in 1935 in two amphibious airplanes, encountering and filming African natives and
many forms of wildlife including lions, rhino, elephants, and especially a large population
of baboons. A prime example of the type of popular, wildly exploitative travel film made
in the US between 1920 and 1950. 73 min.
Champagne Safari
This archival rarity presents the extravagant safari through Africa taken by actress Rita
Hayworth and her husband Aly Kahn, in the early 1950's. Traveling by private plane,
jeep, limousine and rickshaw, the celebrated couple stops in Tanganyika, Uganda,
Kenya and the Belgian Congo among other locales. The film, a fascinating record of
neo-colonialism and gaudy excess, offers a rare glimpse into two worlds: old time
Hollywood and colonial Africa. 1952. 60 min.
Sankofa. (1993)
Directed by Haile Gerima. Sankofa is an Akan word that means, "We must go back and
reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to
be who we are today." Written, directed and produced by Ethiopian-born filmmaker Haile
Gerima, SANKOFA is a powerful film about Maafa-the African holocaust. Done from an
African/African-American perspective, this story is a vastly different one from the
generally distorted representations of African people that Hollywood gives us. This
revolutionary feature film connects enslaved black people with their African past and
culture. It empowers Black people on the screen by showing how African peoples' desire
for freedom made them resist, fight back, and conspire against their enslavers,
overseers and collective past through the vision on Mona, who visits her ancestral
experience on a new world plantation as Shola. We share the life she endures as a
slave and experiences her growing consciousness and transformation [description from
web site]. 1993. 125 min.
Additional lesson plans
History in Africa today
Less on aim:
1. To examine the position of the past in the present via its relation to: the looting and
repatriation of cultural and intellectual property; HIV/AIDS; museums, oral histories, state
symbols and individual and national identity.
Lesson method:
1. Spend first 30 mins of each lesson checking on final group presentation plans.
2. Examine a range of `traditional’ sites and structures where contemporary concerns
are being played out.
156
3. Debate the merits of using and even destroying artefacts in order to help with
contemporary concerns such as curing AIDS, selling artifacts to survive and erasing the
history of one’s enemies.
4. Consider whether the concerns discussed are unique to Africa or have wider
applicability.
Notes:
Giovanni Battista Belzoni 1778 Padua Italy. Circus actor funded by British consul to loot.
Notes for next time
Good intro reading – Stahl, Ann Brower. 2005. Introduction: Changing perspectives on
Africa’s past. In: Stahl, Ann Brower (ed.). African Archaeology: 1-23. Oxford: Blackwell.
Also Connah, Graham. 1998. Staic image: dynamic reality. In: Connah, Graham (ed.).
Transformations in Africa: essays in Africas later past: 1-13. London: Leicester
University Press.
History, Anthropology and Archaeology each need a lesson to themselves.
9. Africa and the rest slavery, diaspora and colonialism
18 & 20 March
Lesson aim
1. To distinguish between `Imperialism’ and `Colonialism’ and to understand these terms
both in Afro-centric and Euro-centric terms.
2. To understand the why and where European colonialism occurred and how it was
accommodated, resisted and transformed in various parts of Africa.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 4 on 18
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 20
th
.
2. Use case studies – Cape of Good Hope, Slave cities, European imaginings of Africa,
raw materials and markets to contextualise European colonialism. Lovejoy’s `Great
chain of being’ European mindset that leads to` tribe’ vs `tribalism’; `us’ vs `them’.
3. Use the Dahomeny Kingdom, San hunter-gatherers, the Muslim world and the Anglo-
Boer war to highlight episodes of where European colonialism was resisted,
accommodated, transformed.
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 123-127 and 187-211 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; pages 217-
238 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans; pages 289-331 of Shillington’s History
of Africa and pages 169-175 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
2. OHT visuals of European colonialism in Africa and responses to it.
3. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa (Parts 5 and 6).
3. Debate the merits of using and even destroying artefacts in order to help with
contemporary concerns such as curing AIDS, selling artifacts to survive and erasing the
history of one’s enemies.
4. Consider whether the concerns discussed are unique to Africa or have wider
applicability.
Notes:
Giovanni Battista Belzoni 1778 Padua Italy. Circus actor funded by British consul to loot.
Notes for next time
Good intro reading – Stahl, Ann Brower. 2005. Introduction: Changing perspectives on
Africa’s past. In: Stahl, Ann Brower (ed.). African Archaeology: 1-23. Oxford: Blackwell.
Also Connah, Graham. 1998. Staic image: dynamic reality. In: Connah, Graham (ed.).
Transformations in Africa: essays in Africas later past: 1-13. London: Leicester
University Press.
History, Anthropology and Archaeology each need a lesson to themselves.
9. Africa and the rest slavery, diaspora and colonialism
18 & 20 March
Lesson aim
1. To distinguish between `Imperialism’ and `Colonialism’ and to understand these terms
both in Afro-centric and Euro-centric terms.
2. To understand the why and where European colonialism occurred and how it was
accommodated, resisted and transformed in various parts of Africa.
Lesson method
1. 30 mins to write Test 4 on 18
th
and 30 mins handback and review on 20
th
.
2. Use case studies – Cape of Good Hope, Slave cities, European imaginings of Africa,
raw materials and markets to contextualise European colonialism. Lovejoy’s `Great
chain of being’ European mindset that leads to` tribe’ vs `tribalism’; `us’ vs `them’.
3. Use the Dahomeny Kingdom, San hunter-gatherers, the Muslim world and the Anglo-
Boer war to highlight episodes of where European colonialism was resisted,
accommodated, transformed.
4. Allow 20-30 mins for group work.
5. Consider what was happening at similar times in other parts of the world.
Lesson resources
1. Pages 123-127 and 187-211 of Iliffe’s Africans: the history of a continent; pages 217-
238 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans; pages 289-331 of Shillington’s History
of Africa and pages 169-175 of Connah’s Forgotten Africa.
2. OHT visuals of European colonialism in Africa and responses to it.
3. Video clips from Davidson’s Africa (Parts 5 and 6).
157
For next week
1. Assign pages 5-15 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
2. Assign Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An image of Africa. Research in African Literatures
9(1):2-15.
3. Assign Kusimba, C.M. 1996. Archaeology in African museums. African Archaeological
Review 13:165-170.
4. Assign pages 3-57 of Philip Curtin’s. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and
action 1780-1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
5. Assign Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In:
Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
6. Assign Musonda, Francis. 1996. How accurate are interpretations of African objects in
Western museums? In: Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering
Africas past: 164-169. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
7. Assign Jonathan Curiel’s 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous
American blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa.
San Francisco Chronicle August 15
th
8. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 4).
Reading load: 94 pages BUT skim Curtin.
Notes
http://ex.matrix.msu.edu/africa/curriculum/exploreafricapics/africapromaps/Colonialism(1
945).jpg&imgrefurl=http://ex.matrix.msu.edu/africa/curriculum/lm10/colonialism1945print.
html&h=601&w=580&sz=260&tbnid=eJAhLElzlIkJ:&tbnh=132&tbnw=128&start=20&prev
=/images%3Fq%3Dafrica%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
For next week
1. Assign pages 5-15 of Bohannan and Curtin’s Africa and Africans.
2. Assign Achebe, Chinua. 1978. An image of Africa. Research in African Literatures
9(1):2-15.
3. Assign Kusimba, C.M. 1996. Archaeology in African museums. African Archaeological
Review 13:165-170.
4. Assign pages 3-57 of Philip Curtin’s. 1964. The image of Africa: British ideas and
action 1780-1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
5. Assign Brent, Michel. 1996. A view inside the illicit trade in African antiquities. In:
Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering Africas past: 63-78.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
6. Assign Musonda, Francis. 1996. How accurate are interpretations of African objects in
Western museums? In: Peter R. Schmidt and Roderick J. McIntosh (eds.). Plundering
Africas past: 164-169. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
7. Assign Jonathan Curiel’s 2004. Muslim roots of the blues: the music of famous
American blues singers reaches back through the South to the culture of West Africa.
San Francisco Chronicle August 15
th
8. Hand out writing assignment for next week (Writing Assignment 4).
Reading load: 94 pages BUT skim Curtin.
Notes
http://ex.matrix.msu.edu/africa/curriculum/exploreafricapics/africapromaps/Colonialism(1
945).jpg&imgrefurl=http://ex.matrix.msu.edu/africa/curriculum/lm10/colonialism1945print.
html&h=601&w=580&sz=260&tbnid=eJAhLElzlIkJ:&tbnh=132&tbnw=128&start=20&prev
=/images%3Fq%3Dafrica%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
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