Download Chapter 7: EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS

Chapter 7: EARLY AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS
I.
•
In Africa, as in other parts of the world, civilization emerged in areas where farming
was mastered.
•
Some African civilizations later became wealthy by trading ivory, gold, iron, salt, and
other goods.
•
Migration and the spread of Islam were also important in the development of African
societies.
Section 1 The Development of Civilizations in Africa
A. Africa is a large continent with distinct geographical and climate zones.
1. Much of the continent is desert.
2. Other parts are covered with thick rain forest.
B. The continent's first civilizations emerged in areas where farming was mastered.
1. The independent state of Kush was formed when Nubia, a region south of Egypt, broke free
of Egyptian control around 1000 B.C.
2. Kush flourished for several hundred years from trade with the Roman Empire, Arabia, and
India.
3. Axum, a neighboring trading state, conquered Kush in the fourth century A.D., probably to
end competition over the ivory trade.
4. Problems arose in the twelfth century as Muslim coastal states sought control over the
slave and ivory trade.
5.By the fifteenth century, Axum and one of the Muslim states were engaged in an expanding
conflict.
World History Chapter 7 Notes
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II. Section 2: KINGDOMS AND STATES OF AFRICA
A. Axum, a neighboring trading state, conquered Kush in the fourth century A.D., probably to
end competition over the ivory trade.
1. Problems arose in the twelfth century as Muslim coastal states sought control over
the slave and ivory trade.
2.By the fifteenth century, Axum and one of the Muslim states were engaged in an
expanding conflict.
3. In exchange, they received metal goods, textiles, horses, and salt from the Muslim
merchants of North Africa.
B. East Africa also saw the emergence of trading empires.
1. Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated from the west gradually began trading along
the East African coast.
2. This trade produced tremendous wealth as well as a mixed African-Arabian culture
and language, both called Swahili.
III. Section 3: AFRICAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE
A. African kings had greater contact with their subjects than did rulers in Asia.
1. The close relationship helped maintain order and encourage commerce.
2. For most Africans, family and ancestral relationships were paramount.
B. Slavery was practiced, and women were usually subordinate to men.
1. However, lineage was based on the mother, and mothers had a key role in
educating children.
2. When Islam swept across North Africa, the result was often a blend of Islam
with native beliefs and practices.
C. Islam took hold more gradually south of the Sahara and in East Africa.
1. In Ethiopia, Christianity continued to gain followers even after the arrival of
Islam.
World History Chapter 7 Notes
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2. Early African art served a religious purpose.
3. Some of the finest artistic achievements were woodcarvings and sculptures
of a religious nature.
4. Music and dance were part of many religious ceremonies.
5. Music, along with storytelling, helped transmit a community's history to
younger generations.
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING:
__1.a person who is believed
to have the power to foretell
events
__ 2. a special class of African
storytellers who help keep
alive a people’s history
__ 3. an extended family unit
that has combined into
a larger community
__ 4. tracing lineage through the mother rather than the father
__5. a mixed African-Arabic culture
that developed along the east
coast of Africa; also, the major
language used in that area,
combining Bantu with Arabic
words and phrases
__ 6. a group of independent villages
organized into clans and led by a local ruler or clan head without any central government
__ 7. a family of languages spoken in central and southern Africa; a member of any group of
the African peoples who speak that language
__ 8. the practice of growing just enough crops for personal use, not for sale
__9. broad grassland dotted
with small trees and shrubs
World History Chapter 7 Notes
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__ 10. a relatively high, flat land area
__11. tracing lineage through the father
A. plateau
B. savanna
C. Bantu
D. Swahili
E. stateless society
F. lineage group
G. matrilineal
H. patrilineal
I. diviner
J. griot
K. subsistence farming
Answers to matching: 1-I, 2-J, 3-F, 4-G, 5-D, 6-E, 7-C, 8-K, 9-B, 10-A, 11-H
World History Chapter 7 Notes
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