Early African Societies and

the Bantu Migrations

Sahara desert originally highly fertile region

Western Sudan region nomadic herders, ca.
9000 B.C.E.

Domestication of cattle ca. 7500 B.C.E.

Later, cultivation of sorghum, yams, increasingly
diverse

Widespread desiccation of the Sahara ca. 5000

B.C.E.

Gradual, predictable
flooding
Alluvial deposits
support productive
agricultural society
Gift of the Nile

10,000 B.C.E. migrants from Red Sea hills

(northern Ethiopia)

Introduce collection of wild grains, language roots of

Coptic

5000 B.C.E. Sudanic cultivators, herders

migrate to Nile River valley
Adaptation to seasonal flooding of Nile
through construction of dikes, waterways

Villages dot Nile by 4000 B.C.E.

Legendary conqueror Menes, ca. 3100, unifies

Egyptian kingdom
Sometimes identified with Narmer
Tradition: founder of Memphis, cultural and political
center of ancient Egypt
Instituted the rule of the pharaoh

Claimed descent from the gods

Absolute rulers, had slaves buried with them from 2600

B.C.E.
Most powerful during Archaic Period (3100-2660 B.C.E.)
and Old Kingdom (2660-2160 B.C.E.)

Symbols of the
pharaohs authority and
divine status
A testimony of the
pharaohs ability to
marshal Egypts
resources
Largest Khufu (Cheops),
2.3 M limestone blocks,
average weight 2.5 tons
Role: burial chambers for
pharaohs

Competition over Nile trade

Military conflict between 3100 and 2600 B.C.E.
Drove Nubians to the south

Established kingdom of Kush, ca. 2500 B.C.E.

Trade, cultural influences continue despite

military conflict

Few pyramids, but major

monumental architectural
projects
Engaged in empirebuilding to protect against
foreign invasion
After New Kingdom, local
resistance drives Egypt
out of Nubia
Kingdom of Kush revives
ca. 1100 B.C.E.
Invasions of Kushites,
Assyrians destroy Egypt
mid-sixth century B.C.E.

Major cities along Nile River, especially at delta

Nubian cities include Kerma, Napata, Mero

Memphis ca. 3100 B.C.E., Heliopolis ca. 2900 B.C.E.

Located at cataracts of the Nile

Well-defined social classes

Pharaohs to slaves
Archaeological discoveries in Nubia also support
class-based society
Patriarchal societies, notable exceptions: female
pharaoh Hatshepsut (r. 1473-1458 B.C.E.)

Bronze metallurgy introduced late, with

Hyksos invasion
Development of iron early, ca. 900 B.C.E.
Trade along Nile River

More difficult in Nubia due to cataracts

Sea trade in Mediterranean

Holy inscriptions

Writing appeared at least by 3200 B.C.E.

Pictographic, supplemented with symbols
representing sounds and ideas
Survives on monuments, buildings, and sheets of
papyrus
Hieroglyphs for formal writing, hieratic script for
everyday affairs used from 2600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.
Greek alphabet adopted demotic and Coptic
scripts

Meroitic writing: flexible system borrowed from

hieroglyphs, represents sounds rather than
ideas

Principal gods Amon and Re

Religious tumult under Amenhotep IV
(Akhenaten) (r. 1353-1335 B.C.E.)

Introduces sole worship of sun god Aten

One of the worlds earliest expressions of
monotheism

Death of Akhenaten, traditional priests restore

the cult of Amon-Re to privileged status

Inspiration of the cycles of the Nile

Belief in the revival of the dead

First: ruling classes only, later expanded to include

lower classes

Cult of Osiris
Lord of the underworld
Power to determine who deserved immortality
Held out hope of eternal reward for those who lived
moral lives

Bantu: people
Migration throughout sub-Saharan regions

Over 500 variations of original Bantu language

Population pressures
90 million speakers

By 1000 B.C.E., occupied most of Africa south

of the equator