Download Discovering the Ancient Kingdoms of Africa

Discovering the Ancient Kingdoms of Africa
Centuries before Europeans had begun to
colonize the African continent, or slave traders
would come to its shores in the hopes of making
quick money off of the backs of others, Africa
was home to some of the most advanced,
wealthy, and diverse kingdoms in the world.
These kingdoms were found throughout the
expansive continent and their contributions to
Africans today can still be found in the
languages spoken, religious rituals practiced,
and social make-up of these diverse regions.
YOUR TASK THIS WEEK:
You will learn to develop the skills that anthropologists and historians must have
as you work together with a team of researchers on one assigned kingdom in
ancient and medieval Africa.
As a group, you must conduct research on the following areas (listed below),
while responding to content-specific questions that your funders (West Virginia
University) would like you to find out.
Furthermore, you must discuss the connections that your kingdom has with the
current countries in Africa today. For example, the Kingdom of Aksum was
located in East Africa and developed a distinct form of Christianity that still exists
today. This form of Christianity is still practiced today in modern-day Ethiopia and
is partly responsible for the social structure of this country today.
YOUR FINAL PRODUCT:
Your research group will present your research
project to the ‘funding committee’ on
Wednesday, 02/24. Your group must have 1) a
PowerPoint covering the content-specific
questions and 2) a travel poster. It must
include at least three sources.
Research Areas and Content-Specific Question
Geography
 What modern-day countries does your civilization encompass?
 What is the local environment like (e.g., desert, woodland, mountainous,
any main rivers or lakes)?
 How would your civilization’s people survive in this environment (e.g.,
farming techniques, hunting/fishing, trade, housing)?
Political Structure
 If you are a kingdom, what aspects of kingdoms did your civilization
encompass?
 If you are an empire (or caliphate), what aspects of empires did your
civilization encompass?
 Who held power in your civilization and how did they hold power (e.g.,
divine right, democratically elected, powerful dynasty or house)?
 What led to the collapse of your civilization?
 Why is it better to describe your society as a civilization, rather than a
tribe?
Economic Structure
 What was the main source of your civilization’s economy (e.g., fishing,
trading, mining)?
 With whom did your civilization trade, and for what?
 How did trade affect your civilization’s social, religious, and/or political
structures?
Social Makeup
 What were/are the different cultures that make-up your civilization, and
what are their contributions to it?
 What role did women play in society? Men?
Religious Structure
 What was your civilization’s official religion, and how did this come about
(e.g., native beliefs or coming into contact with other groups)?
 How did your civilization’s religious beliefs affect its social, political, and/or
economic structures?
 What is the lasting legacy of your civilization’s religion on the people who
live in your regions today?
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List of Kingdoms, Empires, and Caliphates
Kingdom of Aksum
 Fatimid Caliphate
Empire of Ghana
 Empire of Mali
Almoravid Empire
 Benin Empire
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Kingdom of
Zimbabwe
Mutapa Empire
Resources for Research
While your group may use any of the following resources listed below, your
project must include this source on the problems with the word “tribe” when
describing different cultures and societies in Africa
(http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-19-spring-2001/feature/troubletribe). You may need to use other resources as well, so be prepared to conduct
some online research in addition to any of the sources listed below.
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Kingdom of Aksum
o http://www.dskmariam.org/artsandlitreature/litreature/pdf/aksum.pdf
Empire of Ghana
o http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/4cha
pter1.shtml
o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana_Empire
o http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7a.asp
Almoravid Empire
o http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Almoravid_dynasty
o http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/almo/hd_almo.htm
o http://www.qantaramed.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=595&lang=en
Fatimid Caliphate
o http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=574
o http://www.britannica.com/topic/Fatimid-dynasty
o http://historyofislam.com/fatimids-in-egypt/
Empire of Mali
o http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h15-af2.htm
o http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2012/04/10/lessons-timbuktu-whatmalis-manuscripts-teach-about-peace
o http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mali/hd_mali.htm
o http://mali.pwnet.org/history/history_mali_empire.htm
Benin Empire/Kingdom of Benin
o http://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/british_museum_benin_art.pdf
o http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z3n7mp3
o http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7c.asp
Kingdom of Zimbabwe
o http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7d.asp
o http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/mysteriousstone-kingdom-great-zimbabwe-002196
o http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/6/918200/Mutapa Empire
o http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mutapa_Empire
o http://anthropology.msu.edu/anp264-ss13/2013/04/24/kingdom-ofmutapa/
o http://www.globalblackhistory.com/2012/05/pre-colonial-mutapastate.html
World History Requirements
PowerPoint Slides:
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Includes at least one side per content-specific section (e.g., geography,
political structure, economic structure). You can include more than one
slide per content-specific section, if you have too much information to
cover in one slide, but your group must have one slide for each section.
You do not need to respond to each question within each section, if you
cannot find the information. However, you should respond to as many
questions per section as you can.
Each slide should have one visual image that goes along with the
information you are including.
For each section, you must make a connection between your chosen
kingdom or empire and the countries of that area today.
Most importantly: You must include a separate slide on why the term
“tribe” is not appropriate for these civilizations (see source above).
Travel Poster:
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Your travel poster will accompany your slides. Thus, your slides should
have the bulk of your research information, while your travel poster should
be an illustration of this information for people who are not from your
chosen empire or kingdom.
Your goal for this travel poster is to act as an illustrated guide to get others
interested in visiting, or living in, your chosen empire or kingdom.
You must choose at least one major piece of architecture, symbol, or
famous person from your chosen empire or kingdom. This should be
appropriate to that kingdom or empire (e.g., the Sankore Mosque in the
Mali Empire or an Aksum obelisk for the Aksum Kingdom).
Your travel poster must have wording that is 1) inviting others to visit or
live in your kingdom or empire, and 2) is colored in with kingdom-specific
colors. Remember that certain colors represent different ideas depending
on who is using them (e.g., purple was only worn by royalty or lords in the
Roman Empire).
Checklist for Presentation
Check
PowerPoint Slides Requirements (50 pts.)
Geography slides with content-specific questions answered
Politics slides with content-specific questions answered
Economic slides with content-specific questions answered
Social slides with content-specific questions answered
Religious slides with content-specific questions answered
Slide on problems with using the term “tribe” to define these
civilizations
An image or other visual is used in each slide
At least three sources are included in a reference page.
Check
Travel Poster Requirements (25 pts.)
Poster includes at least one famous individual, piece of
architecture, or symbol from your chosen kingdom or empire.
Includes wording that invites others to visit or live in your chosen
kingdom or empire.
Color that is used in poster is specific, and appropriate, to your
chosen kingdom or empire.