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 empire-
building 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
Memphis ca. 3100 B.C.E., Heliopolis ca. 2900 B.C.E.
Nubian cities include Kerma, Napata, Mero
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
Population pressures
Over 500 variations of original Bantu language
90 million speakers
By 1000 B.C.E., occupied most of Africa south
of the equator