Early Civilizations--Africa

We are still making our way through the early civilizations, and we are now in Africa.  In general, I think everyone has heard a lot about Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Egypt but not too much about Ancient Africa and yes, it is a thing.  So here is a little of what we learned.

Image of an Omo boy.

~It is believed that the human race is of African origin.  Skeletal remains that date back 195,000 years ago in Omo, Ethiopia (East Africa) are the oldest known skeletal remains to date.

~Africans used mummification over 9,000 years ago.

~Africa had many empires throughout history.

*The Kingdom of Ghana was under the rule of the first king, Dinga Cisse.  The word Ghana loosely translates to warrior king.  Ghana was rich in salt, gold, and iron.  In 1050 CE, the Ghana Empire began to feel pressure from the Muslims to convert to Islam but when the King of Ghana refused, they were constantly attacked.  Finally, the Ghana Empire fell apart and became part of the Mali Empire.

*The Mali Empire grew along the Niger River (Western Africa) and spread to the city of Gao to the Atlantic Ocean.  The Mali Empire was ruled by Sundiata Keita and was established in 1235 CE.  Mali flourished until around 1600 CE when it collapsed.

Songhai Empire
Image from Ducksters.

*The Songhai Empire was also located along the Niger River.  This empire lasted from 1464 to 1591.  Their leader was Sonni Ali, a prince of Songhai.  He was taken as a prisoner by the Mali Empire but he escaped in 1464.  Sonni Ali began to conquer all the nearby regions which included Timbuktu and Dejenne.

*The Kingdom of Kush was located in Northeastern Africa and south of Ancient Egypt.  The Kush Kingdom was located along the Nile River, the Blue Nile River, and the White Nile River.  This kingdom was established around 1070 BCE and lasted for about 1400 years.  The life span of the average person in the Kush Kingdom was between 20 and 25.  The priest had ultimate power, enough power to order the death of a king if they chose to do so.

*The Kingdom of Aksum, a.k.a. the Kingdom of Axum (Ancient Ethiopia).   This kingdom was located around the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa.  This kingdom lasted until around 940 CE when it was conquered by a queen from another region.

*The Kingdom of Zimbabwe took power around 1200 CE and lasted for more than 200 years.  This land in central Africa was covered with rainforests and grasslands.

click image for more

*Ancient Carthage, off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is present day Tunisia.

*Because of the diversity of all the people who settled in Ancient Africa, the religion, culture, art, and architecture was vastly different from place to place.

*It is believed that the earliest tools, the use of a tally system for counting, and how to start, use, and contain fire were all discoveries from Ancient Africa.


*We can also thank them for the process of tie dying

example of architecture-click image 

fabric.





Summing it up: Over the course of many, many years, Africa has seen the rise and the fall of several great civilizations and empires beginning with, of course, Ancient Egypt.  Check out my great links below.  See you at the next stop!

This is said to be a 20,000 year old
mathematical document.  Click for more.

More from my blog:
South Africa
Empires of West Africa
East Africa
Uganda 
Ancient Egypt
East Africa, Kenya
John Green-Mansa Musa and the spread of Islam in Africa.
Intro to African Art
Lesson plans from Mr. Donn
PBS