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CHAPTER 3
Early African Societies and the
Bantu Migrations
I. Early Agricultural Society in Africa
A. Climatic Change and the Development of Agricultural Africa
1. Climatic Change
a. 5000bce northern half of Africa experienced climatic change
that effected social organization and agriculture.
b. hotter & drier, many gathered around remaining bodies of
water (ex. Lake Chad and Nile River)
B. Egypt & Nubia: “Gifts of the Nile”
• Agriculture transformed Nile River valley
• Est. societies based highly on agriculture, very productive
• Because of prosperity = “Gift of the Nile”
• Flooded predictably
1. Early Agriculture in the Nile Valley
a. Egypt and Nubia influenced by Mediterranean basin to north and
Sub-Saharan to the south since the Nile links the two regions
Nile Valley 3000-2000bce
And Nubia
I. Early Agricultural Society in Africa cont’d
b. both relied heavily on agriculture esp. in the flood plains in late
summer.
c. Demographic pressure forced Egyptians to find a more intense and
sophisticated form of agriculture. (they were outside the floodplains)
2. Political Organization
a. created states
b. recognized official authority
c. maintain order
C. The Unification of Egypt
3. Menes
a. Ruler Menes unifies territories between the Nile delta and the
river’s first cataract
b. centralized state ruled by pharaoh (Egyptian king)
c. Pharaoh’s claimed they were gods living on Earth=Theocracy ; owners
& absolute rulers of all land.
Egyptian painting on tomb
Of Agriculture
Pharoah Menes
Preparing to sacrifice
An enemy
I. Early Agricultural Society in Africa cont’d
d. a human sun overseeing affairs
2. The Archaic Period and the Old Kingdom
a. great power during 1 st millenia (3100-2660) (2660-2160)
b. massive pyramids
c. Khufu largest pyramid
d. ability to marshal Egyptian resources
3. Relations between Egypt and Nubia
a. Interests in Nubia: political & commercial
b. Wary of Nubian kingdoms threat to Upper Egypt
c. desired products: gold, ivory, ebony, precious stones
d. Nubian interests in Egypt: protect their independence,
control trade down the Nile
Nubian Mercenary Nenu
Serving in Egyptian army w/
Egyptian wife and two sons
I. Early Agricultural Society in Africa cont’d
4. The Early Kingdom of Kush
a. Violence between Egypt and Nubia led to Nubian leaders
organizing farther South in Upper Nubia.
b. By 2500 bce they est. the kingdom of Kush
c. Even though there were tensions both sought political
diplomacies, alliances w/ each other and commercial
relationships.
d. Mercenaries prominent in Old Kingdom, married Egyptian
women, assimilated to Egyptian life.
D. Turmoil and Empire
1. Hyskos
a. Old Kingdom declines, unsettling change
b. Hyskos (“foreign rulers”) enter; horse riding nomads
c. introduced horse drawn chariots
I. Early Agricultural Society in Africa cont’d
d. Hyskos provoked strong reaction from Egyptian nobles
whom revolted.
e. Used their own weapons against them
f. New Egyptian kingdom began called the New Kingdom
2. The New Kingdom
a. Prosperous, productive, agricultural surplus, large
population.
b. army, bureaucracy, religious cults
3. Egyptian Imperialism
a. Worked to extend authority beyond the Nile
b. Seized regions they thought may threaten them
c. dominated coastal regions of Mediterranean & N. Africa
d. Local resistance drove Egyptians out of Nubia, SW Asia. Invasions
from Assyrian.
II. The Formation of Complex Societies and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions
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Specialized labor in agricultural societies
Social classes
Patriarchal societies
Egypt center of trade, linked lands in SW Asia, E Mediterranean, & Sub -Sahara Africa
Writing Systems
A. Emergence of Cities and Stratified Societies
1. Cities of the Nile Valley: Egypt
a. Major cities emerged and guided Egypt (ex. Memphis, Meroe,
Heliopolis)
2. Cities of the Nile Valley: Nubia
a. power struggle between Kingdoms of Egypt and Nubia for
b. capital Napata
c. agriculture required extensive preparation of soil
d. at one point conquered Egypt
e. used the title of Pharaoh
f. warred with Assyrians
Tanis,
this city.
Egyptian
painting of
pyramid building

II. The Formation of Complex Societies and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions cont’d
3. Social Classes
a. wealth = social distinction
b. peasants & slaves=hard labor
c. Pharaoh=supreme ruler
d. Military forces, bureaucracy of administrators, tax
collectors
4. Patriarchal Society
a. men authority in public and private affairs
b. women=domestic work unless upper elite
c. elite men=scribes, gov’t officials
d. lower class men=agricultural laborers, potters, carpenters,
craftsmen, fishermen
II. The Formation of Complex Societies and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions cont’d
5. Women’s Influence in Egypt and Nubia
a. influence policy
b. plots to manipulate affairs
c. Nubia had many more women rulers than Egypt
d. Nubian women ruled out right or jointly
e. priestess
B. Economic Specialization and Trade
• Specialized labor and efficient transportation developed trade
networks
1. Iron Metallurgy
a. Large scale production of iron
b. spread through Sub-Saharan Africa
c. eventually became displaced by bronze metallurgy
II. The Formation of Complex Societies and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions cont’d
2. Transportation
a. sailed beyond the Nile into the Mediterranean
b. explored the waters of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, &
Western
portion of the Arabian Sea.
3. Trade Networks
a. specialized labor & efficient transportation encouraged the
development of long distance trade.
b. traded north and south, traded with Mesopotamia
C. Early Writing in the Nile Valley
1. Hieroglyphic Writing
a. Early Egyptian writing was pictographic (pictures)
b. used for literature and religious text
c. Hieratic Script simplified version of hieroglyphics
d. Also included Demotic and Coptic scripts
Ancient Egyptian Ships
II. The Formation of Complex Societies and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions cont’d
2. Education
a. Formal education & literature brought rewards
C. The Development of Organized Religious Traditions
1. Amon & Re
a. played prominent roles
b. Amon-sun, fertility, creation, & reproductive forces
c. Re- sun god
2. Aten & Monotheism
a. Amon-Re threatened by a monotheistic god, Aten
b. pharaoh Amenhotep believed in this one god
3. Mummification
a. death not an end but a transition to new dimension of
existence.
b. believed only ruling elites would survive, but others merited
posthumous honor.
c. continued mummification and pyramids because of the belief in an
afterlife.
II. The Formation of Complex Societies and
Sophisticated Cultural Traditions cont’d
4. Cult of Osiris
a. Legend has it: Osiris’ evil brother murdered him and
scattered
his parts throughout the land
b. Wife Isis retrieves his parts and gives proper burial & restored
Osiris to life
c. Many associated Osiris with the Nile (flooding retreating
flooding)
d. those who followed the cult wished for eternal reward if
they lived a high standard of life.
5. Nubian religious beliefs
a. Apedemak-lion god, served as a war god
b. Sebiume-creator god and divine guardian of human devotees.
c. built pyramids
d. recognized Egyptian Gods
e. did not mummify their dead
Egyptian Painting of Osiris receiving a recently deceased and
The weighing of the heart
III. Bantu Migrations and Early Agricultural
Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa
A. The Dynamics of Bantu Expansion
1. The Bantu
a. Bantu from Eastern part of modern Nigeria
b. Bantu means “persons” & “people”
c. Settled along rivers, navigated in canoes and in forests
d. clan based villages head by chiefs who conducted rituals
and represented their communities to neighbors
e. traded with hunting and gathering peoples in forests
f. placed pressure on forest dwellers to move inland
2. Bantu Migrations
a. eager to migrate to new territories
b. some stayed in their original area while others moved
developing new languages (over 500 languages)
Bantu Migrations Map 2000bce-500ce
III. Bantu Migrations and Early Agricultural
Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa cont’d
c. Bantu migrations were intermittent and incremental
d. occupied most of Africa south of the equator
e. population pressures drove migrations and new
settlements
3. Iron & Migration
a. produced iron tools & weapons, led to expansion and protection
B. Early Agricultural Societies of Sub-Saharan Africa
• Others migrated besides the Bantu’s
1. Spread of Agriculture
a. extremely important in terms of the effects of migration in
Sub-Saharan Africa
b. were herders also
c. cultivated yams, oil palms and sorghum
2. Religious Beliefs
a. Bantu’s were monotheistic
b. Sudanic peoples also recognized a single god who was the source of good
and evil