CIVILIZATION IN AFRICA NUBIAN Necklace 1700 1550 B.C.
overview - How and why did Civilization emerge? Archaeological record demonstrates that early humans practiced nomadism for many thousands of years and had a simple though not easy life as hunter-gatherers. However, at the end of the last Ice Age (circa 10,000 BC) a radical change occurred and the human population entered a stage of progressive settlement that altered their strategy for survival: in addition to hunting and gathering, men began to domesticate plants and animals, thus becoming farmers and shepherds.
Archeologist Gordon V. Childe called this process the Neolithic Revolution. And, between 4000 and 3000 BC, after a few millennia of Neolithic communities which had been developing in several areas of the world, the first known civilizations appeared, first in Mesopotamia and soon after in Egypt, Africa. Some centuries later, civilization emerged strongly in other parts of the world: the Indus Valley, China and finally the New World.
Civilization characterised by: 1. Population was divided into small rural villages and large settlements which eventually became cities. 2. A centralized religious-political power grew in the cities, achieving control over vast areas and thus creating the first state structures. Administrative apparatus and legal doctrines were created as a support for these structures. 3. The surplus of resources promoted growth and economic exchange, leading to the development of trade. 4. Society was stratified in several levels; there was a progressive specialization of work, especially in the urban environment. 5. Systems of writing appeared as a means of recording and managing information (a factor that eventually led to the creation of predominant historical cultures). 6. There was significant progress in science and technique in general, particularly in terms of practical application. An important material culture was developed in various arts and industries.
African Civilization NUBIA (Kingdom of Kush) (overview) As branches of the Nile River descend from the highlands of East Africa, they join in a single course and pass through the land of Nubia, in what is now n o r t h e r n S u d a n a n d southern Egypt. The river has always provided life in this arid region as a source o f w a t e r, f o o d, a n d transport. The Nile also traverses broad plains that provide a basis for agriculture as well as for concentrations of population, wealth, and power. The savannas and deserts on either side of the r i v e r a r e i n t e g r a l t o settlement, supplying raw materials including gold as well as areas for herding and hunting. The population of the Nile Valley increased with the first permanent settlements, beginning around 8000 BC.
TRADE + POWER marked the rise of the first kingdoms of the Middle Nile In about 5000 BC, as the climate became drier and the Sahara Desert expanded, people domesticated sheep, goats, and cattle and later cultivated wheat, barley, dates, millet, and sorghum. While there were signs of social inequality in these earlier periods, it was not until just before 3000 BC that long-distance trade, increasingly sophisticated craft production, and the accumulation of wealth and power marked the rise of the first kingdoms of the Middle Nile. Located on the main transportation route in north-eastern Africa, Nubia cannot be understood in isolation from its neighbors, particularly Egypt to the north. Although Egypt and Nubia were trade partners and Nubians served in the Egyptian army, the two lands were also adversaries, and Egyptian ideology made Nubia one of its traditional enemies. Egyptian texts used the standard phrase vile Kush to refer to the most powerful early Nubian kingdom, and Egyptian visual representations often stereotyped Nubians so they appeared primitive and un civilized. At the same time, Nubians selectively adopted and modified aspects of Egyptian culture. NUBIA Statue of King Senkamanisken Granite, Gebel Barkal, 640 620 bc
OTHER GRADE FACT SHEET Choose an ancient African Kingdom or Empire from the MAP on the left and create a ONE page FACT sheet about it. Make sure you include information on: 1. Geography (location in Africa 2. The People 3. The culture (food, dress, beliefs) 4. Agriculture (how they produced food) 5. Power (how they were ruled/governed) 6. Accomplishments (science, writing, architecture) 7. Art (jewellery, painting, sculpture) (please use pictures, maps, drawings to make your presentation interesting)