CHAPTER 1: AFRICA - CHAPTER 1: AFRICA CHAPTER OVERVIEW Africa was t...

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CHAPTER 1: AFRICA

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Africa was the birthplace of humanity and African-American history and culture over one million years ago. The geography of Africa divides the continent into North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara desert, both barrier and pathway, helped to shape a broader African experience from the foundations of civilization in ancient Egypt to the tribal and Muslim kingdoms of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans. Africans adopted a wide range of religious practices while herding livestock and growing grain crops. African civilizations competed against one another for regional supremacy, lands, and resources, including access to a slave trade controlled by Muslim states.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1-1 What are the geographical characteristics of Africa?1-2 Where and how did humans originate?1-3 Why are ancient African civilizations important?1-4 Why is West Africa significant for African-American history?1-5 What did Kongo and Angola have in common with West Africa?1-6 How did the legacies of West African society and culture influence the way African Americans lived?

CHAPTER OUTLINE

• A Huge and Diverse Land

a.Climatic zones shaped African history. (See Lecture Starter 1 and MyLab Activity 1.) b.The Sahara Desert limited contact between sub-Saharan Africa and the outside world.c.A huge savanna stretches from Ethiopia to the Atlantic Ocean.d.The rain forest extends east from the Atlantic coast over most of central Africa.e.Another region of savanna borders the rain forest to the south, followed by the Kalahari Desert.f.A coastal strip lies at the continent’s southern extremity. (See Short Assignment 1.) II.The Birthplace of Humanity a.Humans, gorillas and chimpanzees descended from a common ancestor in Africa five to ten million years ago.b.The origins of humanity lie in the savanna regions of Africa.c.The earliest known hominids were the Ardipithecines, who emerged about 4.5 million years ago.d.3.4 million years ago, descendents of Ardipithecines, known as Australopithecus, used primitive stone tools.e.2.4 million years ago, Homo habilis had developed a larger brain than Ardipitecus or Australopithecus African Americans A Concise History (Combined Volume) 5e Darlene Clark Hine William Hine Stanley Harrold (Instructor Manual All Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+ Grade) (Teaching Notes Only) 1 / 4

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved 2 f.Homo habilis lived in small bands.g.Homo habilis may have spread to southeastern Europe.h.Homo erectus emerged in Africa about 1.6 million years ago and spread from Africa to eastern Asia and Indonesia.i.Homo sapiens, modern humans, evolved from Homo erectus.j.Paleoanthropologists agree that modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved from

Homo erectus, but they disagree on how: according to the multiregional model,

modern humans evolved throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe from ancestral regional populations of Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens; according to the out-of-Africa model, modern humans emerged in Africa some 200,000 years ago and began migrating to the rest of the world about 100,000 years ago, eventually replacing all other existing hominid populations. (See Lecture Starter 2.) III.Ancient Civilizations and Old Arguments a.Egypt emerged in the Nile River valley in the fourth millennium bce.b.Village life in Egypt became hierarchical and specialized.c.The race of the ancient Egyptians is controversial. (See Classroom Activity 2.) d.Egyptians did not use modern racial terminology.e.The Nile provided resources and protection from outsiders.f.Egypt became a unified kingdom around 3150 bce.g.Egypt became an empire around 1550–1100 bce. (See Classroom Activity 1.) h.After 1100 bce, Egyptian culture declined because of outside attack.i.The Roman Empire conquered Egypt in 30 bce.j.Egyptian culture influenced Nubia.k.Nubians established Kush as an independent kingdom.l.Kush fell to the neighboring Noba people.m.Noba fell to Axum, the first Christian state in sub-Saharan Africa.IV.West Africa a.Most African Americans descend from West Africa.b.West African agriculture began around 1000 bce.c.Ghana, in western Sudan, was founded by the Soninke. (See MyLab Activity 2.) d.Ghana declined during the twelfth century.e.Mali was similar to Ghana.f.Mali reached its peak during the reign of Mansa Musa (r. 1312–1337).g.Songhai took over Mali.h.Peoples of the forest region, like the Nok, were both slave traders and victims.i.Senegambians shared a history and language but were not politically united.j.The Akan states emerged during the sixteenth century.k.The people of the Yoruba culture lived to the east of the Akan states (in modern Benin and western Nigeria); they gained ascendancy in the area as early as 1000 ce.l.During the seventeenth century, the Oyo conquered the Yoruba and entered the Atlantic slave trade.m.The Fon people formed the kingdom of Dahomey.n.Benin controlled southern Nigeria and joined in the Atlantic slave trade. 2 / 4

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• Igboland lay along the Niger River. (See Long Assignment 2.)

• Kongo and Angola
• A large minority of African Americans descend from Central Africa.
• Central Africans lived in villages and divided labor by gender.
• The Kongo kingdom controlled the Congo River system.
• Kongo wealth derived from trade with the interior.
• Kongo kings tried to convert people to Christianity with little success.
• Competition with the Portuguese over trade produced a breakup of the Kongo

kingdom.

VI. West African Society and Culture

• By the early sixteenth century, most West Africans were farmers. (See MyLab

Activity 3.)

• West Africans lived in villages of extended families or clans called lineages.
• Extended families and lineages were either patrilineal or matrilineal: in patrilineal

societies, social rank and property passed in the male line (from fathers to sons); in matrilineal societies, rank and property passed in the female line.

• Nuclear families acted as economic units.
• West Africans generally worked land communally and divided tasks by gender.
• Most West Africans lived in hierarchically organized states led by monarchs.
• Slavery has existed since ancient times.
• West African war captives were enslaved.

i. Two religious forms dominated West Africa: Islamic and indigenous. (See Long

Assignment 1 and Discussion Question 1.)

• West African culture has influenced African-American culture. (See Short

Assignment 2.)

LECTURE SUGGESTIONS

Lecture Starters

• Bring in a video clip or a copy of a journal article dealing with a modern

sociopolitical issue in Africa. Hold a brief discussion with student about the particular issue, such as the existence of slavery, the development of precious minerals, or regional political competition. Then use this opening to deliver a lecture on a related topic in African history. (See Chapter Outline I.a.)

• Use the Internet in class and pull up an important website related to the origin of

human beings in Africa. In your lecture, draw upon various visual imagery in the website to supplement notetaking by students. (See Chapter Outline II.j.)

Classroom Activities

• Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a particular aspect of

Egyptian cultural history to discuss, compare notes, and present to the class as a whole during the following class session. (See Chapter Outline III.g.)

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• Hold a debate. Divide the class into two sections, and assign each half to create

competing arguments regarding Afrocentrism and the impact of Egyptian culture on Greek and Roman culture. Each group should assign several students, if not the entire group, to participate in the actual debate. (See Chapter Outline III.c.)

Discussion Question

• Regarding the issue of the influence of Islam on Africa, ask students the following

questions: Why did Islam spread throughout Africa? How did Islam influence

African cultural, political, and economic history? How have modern events shaped our understanding of the role of Islam in African history?

Points to consider: The discussion should touch upon the spread of Islam through trade and warfare, the heavy influence of Islamic art and technology on African societies, and the role of the global war on terrorism in shaping American perceptions of Muslim people and their history. (See Chapter Outline VI.j.)

MYLAB ACTIVITIES

1. Interactive Map: Africa Climate Regions and Early Sites

http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/hss_hine_aaodyssey_4/intermaps/ch01/map

1-1.html

Bring blank maps of the African continent into class. After demonstrating the interactive map and holding a general discussion with students about the geography of Africa, ask the students to fill in specific pieces of information on the blank maps. Hold a full-class discussion about specific geographical features before the students turn in the assignment. (See Chapter Outline I.a.)

2. Document: Ghana and Its People in the Mid-Eleventh Century

http://www.mathxl.com/info/MediaPopup.aspx?origin=1&disciplineGroup=5&ty [email protected]/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_ME DIA_1/history/MHL/US/documents/Ghana_People_in_Mid- 11th_Cent.html&width=640&height=480&autoh=yes¢erwin=yes

After allowing the students to read the primary document selection at their desks, reconvene the class for a short discussion about the author of the document, the time period, and the region. Then ask the students to underline in the document the key points of the description. Also ask the students how the cultural biases of the writer shape the information he conveys about Ghana. The students can turn in their written answers for a letter grade, or the material can be incorporated into an exam or quiz. (Chapter Outline IV.c.)

3. Video: West African States

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