Chapter 3:Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations Marshall Jiang

Introductory Paragraph

• Greek Herodotus in 450BC explained mummification

o Used hook to take out brain, then removed organs through a cut

in abdomen, washed in palm wine and sealed body, washed body,

filled with spices, then put in natron
• Scenes and offerings showed specializing and large agricultural
community
• African agriculture took root in Sudan, then moved N.

• Egyptian a. Nubian societies took root in 4KBC, shortly after

Mesopotamia
Early Agricultural Society in Africa: How did Egypt and Nubia interact with the
world?
Climatic change and Development of agriculture in Africa
• 10,000BC, Sahara full of grass and cattle, like savanna
Early Sudanic Agriculture
o 9,000BC, E. Sudan domesticated cattle

o 7,500BC, E. permanent settlements a. cultivate sorghum

o 8,000BC, W. cultivate yams in Niger and Congo

o 7,000BC, sheeps and goats

o 6,500BC, gourds, watermelons and cotton

o 5,000BC, formed small monarchies

 Think kings are divine, associated good and evil with one
god and rain
Climatic change: after 5,000BC, N Africa became drier and hotter
o Drove humans a. animals to better regions, congreageted near

water like Nile and lake Chad

Nile River valley: 6,695 Km, from lake Victoria, every spring
floods, 1968, completed dam in Aswan
Egypt and Nubia, Gifts of the Nile
Egypt takes better advantage of bigger floodplains. Herodotus
 Early Agriculture in Nile Valley: influenced by Mediter. and sub-
sara
o 10,000BCE, migrants from Red Sea in N. Ethiopia introduced wild

grains and root of Coptic, language.

o 5,000BCE, HOT,

 Sudan moved north, intro to watermelons and gourds and

animal domestication
 Mesopotamia, wheat and barley
o Nubians relied on prepared fields and irrigation.

o Population forced Egypt to grow more

o 4,000BCE, Agricultural dotted nile’s shores

Political organization: No outside threats due to geography

o Need to organize caused trade btw villiages by 4,000BCE

o Egypt a. Nubia influenced by S. Sudan

o 4,000BCE, small kingdoms appeared

o 3,300BCE, N. Nile, kingdoms appeared

Unification of Egypt
o 3500BCE, small skirmishes

 i.e. Ta-Seti 3400 to 3200

o 3100BCE, Egypt unified under Menes

 From Upper Egypt, founded Memphis, capital

o Built Centralized state ruled by pharaoh

o Pharaohs are associated with Horus, sky go, hawk, then viewed as

Amon, sun god.

Archaic Period and Old kingdom:Pharaoh greatest in Archaic(3100-
2660BC) and Old (2660-2160BC), built huge pyramids
o Khufu, Giza, 2,300,000 limestone 15 tons average 2.5 tons, 84k

workers, 80 days per year, 29 years

Relation btw E. and N.:very intertwined
o Egypt: political and commercial: Attacks and trade-

gold,ivory,ebony
o Nubian- protect independence, control trade down Nile

Early kingdom of Kush: Organized at least 5 military expeditions

o Egypt destroyed Ta-Seti after unification, controlled 1st and 2nd

cataract. 3,000 to 2,400 BCE

o Nubia organized Kush, Kerma, 700km south of Aswan

o Sought trade

 i.e. Harkhuf made 4 expedition and returned with lots of

stuff.
Turmoil and Empire
Middle Kingdom: End of Old, regions of powerful able to ignore
pharaoh, gradually declined (2160 – 2040BCE), pharaoh returned
during Middle Kingdom (2040-1640BCE)
Hyksos :Semitic
o Horse riding nomads, introduced horses to Egypt and chariots

o Hyksos used bronze while Egyptians used wooden.

o 1674 BCE, Hyksos captured Memphis.

o Upper Egypt, lots of revolts, working from Thebes, drove out

Hyksos and created New Kingdom

New Kingdom: prosperous and productive, more than 4million
people
o Created bureaucracy, divided responsibilities

o Pharaohs built huge temples, not pyramids.

Egyptian imperialism
o Tuthmosis III (1479-1425BCE), 17 campaigns to Palestine and

Syria.
o Also attacked nubia to 5th cataract, 500 years

Revived Kingdom of Kush: 1100BCE Egypt retreats from nubia,

1000BCE
o Organized capital at Napata, 4th cataract, invades Egypt, Conquers

Thebes in 760BCE, ½ century, Kashta,

o Assyrians pushed out Kushites, 600Bce, felled
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