Early Africa
Overview
Early Africa
Civilizations emerged in Africa centuries prior to the arrival of Islam into the continent (7th CE) and later European explorers and traders (15th century). These complex cultures developed with very little contact with civilizations ourside of the continent.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the geographical features of Africa that influenced the development of cultures in this region.
- Describe the earliest civilizations to develop in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
Key Terms / Key Concepts
Sahara Desert: separates North Africa from the rest of the continent of Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea
Savannah: tropical grasslands just to the south of the Sahara
Nok Culture: arose in central Africa in modern Nigeria as an advanced culture around 400 BCE
Aksum: large empire around 300 CE located in Northeast Africa in modern Ethiopia, as well as North and South Sudan
Early Africa
Advanced cultures developed deep within the interior of Africa despite relatively very little interaction with cultures outside of this region. The vast Sahara Desert separates North Africa, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from the rest of the continent of Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa). This was an isolated area, where cultures evolved practically devoid of contact with other regions prior to the arrival of Islam in North Africa, which began along the Mediterranean Sea in the seventh century CE.
Nonetheless, flourishing cultures developed in the Savannah, tropical grasslands just to the south of the Sahara, and in the rain forests of central Africa. People in the Savannah had domesticated millet by 6000 BCE, whereas the inhabitants of the rain forests had domesticated yams (sweet potatoes) by 2000 BCE. By 400 BCE, the Nok culture of central Africa in modern Nigeria shows signs of an advanced culture with its mastery of iron technology and its elaborate terracotta figures that evidence advanced craft production.
The first, well-known great empire in Sub-Saharan Africa was Aksum (or Axum) located in Northeast Africa—which is modern Ethiopia, as well as North and South Sudan. After 300 CE the kings of Aksum controlled the Red Sea coast and could, therefore, control the Indian Ocean trade between the Late Roman Empire and the Gupta Empire in India. The wealth from this trade enabled these kings to control its vast empire. In the fourth century CE, the kings of Aksum converted to Christianity. This Ethiopian Church became a Monophysite Church like the Coptic Church in Egypt, which was independent from the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches in Europe. The Church in Aksum adapted the Coptic script to develop its own script, Ge'ez, so that the Holy Scriptures were available in their own language. After the rise of Islam, the Aksum Empire collapsed, but the Ethiopian Church survived in the mountains of Ethiopia. From the remnants of the Aksum Empire, the kingdom of Abyssinia emerged in the 11th century CE, which is the forerunner of the modern nation of Ethiopia.