1. Early Civilizations of Africa

2. Evidence of the Past  Late 1950’s (Great Rift Valley) Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania  Team of Scientists find pieces of bone embedded in ancient rock.  Determined to be 2 million years old  Belong to one of the ancestors of modern people  Suggests Africa was the home of the first people

3.  Archaeologists continue to look for evidence linking the earliest people in Africa to later cultures that emerged there.  Climate makes this difficult  High humidity and heat destroy old wood and bone.  Some Records have survived  Pictures on stone Show tools,weapons, hunting and food- gathering methods.

4. The Ancient Sahara  Rock paintings show herds once roamed Sahara  Thousands of years ago may have been wetter then it is today  Had lakes, rivers and green grasses  People hunted, fished, and herded cattle there based on evidence collected  Arrowheads, fish hooks, cattle bones  Began to change 4000 years ago  People began to migrate to the Nile Valley

5. EGYPT- Nile Valley Civilization  People had learned to grow crops before Sahara had dried up  Leads to new civilizations  First African civilization to develop is in Nile Valley of Egypt 7,000 years ago  Area perfect for farming and hunting  As farming skills improve population is able to grow  By 3000 BC these Nile villages united under a single ruler known as a Pharaoh and the Egyptian Empire began  Exchanged knowledge and ideas with distant cultures through trade and conquest.

6. Egyptian Religion  Religion - Polytheistic  Different gods control the forces of nature  Chief god Amon-Re the sun god.  Osiris god of the underworld and the Nile and his wife Isis were other chief gods.  Belief in life after death was central  Pharaohs and rich nobles prepared carefully for the afterlife  Brought food, clothing, jewels into their tombs with them inside of Pyramids for the afterlife.

7. Egyptian Government  Pharaoh was a god descended form Amon-Re  Has total power over the lives of the people  Priests and Nobles help the Pharoah to run the government  Priests-ceremonies to please gods  Nobles-collect taxes in grain and other goods to pay cost of govt.

8. Life in Egypt on the Nile  Each year river floods spreading rich Nile mud over farmlands  During flood season men work for the pharaoh  Workers are paid in Grain from Royal Surplus  As flood waters retreat new planting begins in earnest  Land dries up and is watered with shaduf, a simple water hoist  Prayers are conducted to Osiris under orders from the priests to get the fields to grow  Crops are ready for harvest four months after planting  Men harvest and women gather  Half to farmer half to tax collector  Vegetables dried and grains brewed into beer.  If famine occurs taxed grain may be used to help some villages.

9. Achievements of Ancient Egyptian Civilization  Developed huge temples and pyramids  Developed a form of writing called Hieroglyphics, used pictures and symbols  Produced a 365 day a year calendar  Used mathematical skills to survey lands after boundary markers were washed away in Nile flooding  Doctors set fractures, treated spinal injuries, performed some successful surgeries.  Passed on knowledge of their civilization to people’s of Africa and the Mediterranean after thousands of years of successful civilization.

10. The Kingdom of Kush  Located south of Egypt along the Nile (Modern Day Sudan and Ethiopia)  Traded with the Egyptians  Heavily influenced by Egyptian Culture.  Exerted power over Egypt first from 1700 BC to 1500 BC  Took over the Egyptians in 750 BC under King Kastha  Short-Lived  Assyrians invade from Middle East  Use iron Weapons

11. Kush  Defeat by Assyrians does not wipe out the Kush completely.  Build new Capital in Meroe.  During this time transferred from Egyptian Culture to their own culture  ReligionAlphabet  Iron ore was discovered near Meroe  Kush use to make iron tools and weapons mimicking the Assyrians  Kush also traded around the world Arabia, Africa, India.  By A.D. 200 The Kush empire was weakend due to invasions and internal rivalries.

12. The Kingdom of Axum  Emerged to the South of the Kush as their empire began to crumble. (Modern day Ethiopia)  Center for trade of spices, gems, ivory  Conquer the Kush in 330 AD under King Ezana  King Ezana adopted Christianity as the Religion of the Axum  As time went on and Islam spread throughout Africa the Axum were cut off.  Ethiopia today still has a Christian Church that derives from this time.

13. Comic Life Project Using the information on the site ABC CLIO from the library resources you will study the culture of the the Kush (Nubians), and the Aksum. You will use this information to develop a Comic Life story board depicting the major events in each civilization as well as their connections to one another. This will be a 25 point project assignment and you will have 2 days in class to work to gather information and pictures for your slides. On day three we will present our story boards to the class and explain what we learned.