ancient african social structure
Crafts were usually hereditary, and expertise was often a closely-guarded secret of particular kin-groups. To the Western mind, at least, this aspect of religion was indistinguishable from magic, and was in the hands of mediums, priests, diviners and healers. A larger group of non-farmers was made up of craftsmen. They have used a wide range of techniques, building up the productivity of the land through manuring, terracing, and digging channels to lead water from stream to field, sometimes across wooden aqueducts. Social There were six social classes in Ancient Ghana. At the top were the gods, such as Ra, Osiris, and Isis. Cleverness, bravery, charm, charisma and aggression could provide the success to bring high status and abundant wealth in many circumstances. One common social structure among ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa is segmentary lineage organisation. It was structured around a big man who was usually (by myth, at any rate) the man most directly descended from the founding ancestor. MWI3NWQ1OWEzZmIwYTEzNDljYTRjZTRiNTE5OTBiMjQ1YTI5NDk3ODM0ZDY5 The Traditional African Family - Mwizenge S. Tembo - Bridgewater YzZiNWViMjQ5Iiwic2lnbmF0dXJlIjoiNTc2NWJhZDg5MGU4Y2RkZTIxYTFi The limited nature of urbanization greatly restricted transport, trade and industry. As the years went by they (or in some societies their entire age set) would move up the rungs to senior warrior, and then when they were thirty or so, to elder-hood. It is inhabited by the San hunter-gatherer people who have adapted their lifestyle to this forbidding environment over 20,000 years. Other common maladies were hookworm anaemia, yaws, leprosy, smallpox and endemic syphilis (though not the more lethal venereal kind, which was only introduced into sub-Saharan Africa in the 16th century, after Europeans arrived). In these states, violence and exploitation led to societies ruled by classes of military aristocrats or nobles. South Africa, - California Digital Library Society - Ancient Africa - Kingdom of Kush - Weebly One of the biggest threats to harmony within society was witchcraft. The same eye for beauty and spirit, along with a zest for color and pattern, was revealed in countless textile works from all over the continent. After about A.D. 500, several centrally organized, warring states appeared in parts of Africa. The unequal access to women made for severe tensions between males of different generations the young men felt frustration, envy and anger with the older men for monopolizing the female sex. Rulers displayed their power by the number of retainers they had, and the sophistication of their court, where urbanity, eloquence, and quickness of wit were cultivated. The grasslands of East Africa spread eastwards almost to the Indian Ocean, where a narrow belt of forest hugs the coastline. MzVjNDBhYTk5MTk1YTUxYzM0ODRjOTE3MGZiNmNiNjg5MWQ5NGYxNDBiNDdm makes it the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. MWQxZmFmZDU1YzRiOTgwN2YwNjgwNGEyMWVmYmVjZTQ1YTI4ODkzMTA1OGQ2 Africa, where humans first evolved, today remains a place of remarkable diversity. Most of this was within Africa itself, but as we have seen above, thousands of people were exported to North Africa and the Middle East each year. 11 - Population and Social Structure - Cambridge Core Caste systems in Africa are a form of social stratification found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the Sahel, West Africa, and North Africa. The contemporary political history of Africa is marked by imperialism, the expulsion of foreign powers and settler elites, and the post-independence travails of its roughly fifty states. Module Ten, Activity Two - Exploring Africa Under these circumstances, the ability of ruling classes to build strong state institutions like powerful armies or effective bureaucracies, or even construct impressive temples or palaces, was limited. - africa's social structure forms political nations that will help people from violence. J. Clyde Mitchell, The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. Witches were widely blamed for misfortunes, especially involving the fertility of women and the survival of children. This had probably been first introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese or Arab visitors, but the fact that it had been picked up by local healers and spread from people to people over hundreds of miles shows how open they were to new approaches. Much craft work in Africa, as in all pre-modern societies, was done on a part-time basis by farmers, particularly women. There was constant tension between the generations, which could spill over into real violence. In West Africa, a new religious influence began to make itself felt in the later first millennium. The sculptural tradition in West Africa goes back to the terracotta figures of the Nok culture of the early first millennia BCE and CE, and began to reach a peak in the 13th and14th centuries in Ife, in Yorubaland (in modern day Nigeria). Some states were created by rulers of village clusters who, through military prowess, were able to use their manpower to conquer other clusters. Except where influenced by Islam, most pre-modern sub-Saharan societies were non-literate. Ancient Africa | Boundless Art History | | Course Hero Small, isolated areas of dense population were surrounded by large tracts of sparsely peopled wilderness. Many captives were sold on to other peoples; there was an active slave trade in Africa. If the demands of royal authority became too onerous, in the form of heavy taxes, say, or the demands made for public projects or service in the royal army, people could (and did) simply up and leave en masse. By then, however, a countervailing force was at work on the continent, which would put a stop to any expansion in population for two hundred years. They were now in a position to acquire wives and found their own family lines. Such organizations had strong parallels with modern corporations, with agents stationed in towns scattered over the area where they operated. Similarly, belief that spiritual power came only through dead ancestors was common amongst herding societies. Throughout Africa the basic unit of society was the lineage-group, or clan. The original settlers became the founding ancestors of the new community, and because it was they who had struck the original pact with the spirits of the land, it was they alone who could communicated with them, even (or especially) after death. Such famines were usually caused by drought, but plagues of locusts or unseasonably heavy rains could also devastate crops. In these, men did the more highly valued work of herding, protecting or raiding cattle, while women did the household chores and cultivated crops a lowly occupation in such societies. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, this often took the form of inter-generational tensions between elder males with multiple wives and younger males with no wives. As in other parts of the world, textile crafts were widespread. The more high-status and long-distance traders, however, were men. OGRiMDc3NTM1M2QyZDI3YzBlYjZmZjBhNWFkOWZjYzEzOGRlZDU4ZDc4NDE1 Of the outlying settlements, only the more successful ones would survive. Social Structure - Ancient Africa - Kingdom of Axum - Weebly Ancient African Civilizations - WorldAtlas In general, work was divided equally among all people (other than slaves). Where there is a spring, a lake or a river, however, cultivation is possible, and in some areas, for example in the inner delta of the River Niger (see below), or on the shores of Lake Chad in West Africa, or the Great Lakes of central Africa, intensive cultivation has allowed concentrations of dense population to grow up. YjU5YTA2MjA2ZTZjNTRkNmQ0OTBmNzIzM2EzZTIyZWFlMDBlMGViZTQzMDMw On the other hand, to maintain status and authority required a Big Man to be generous why else would other men want to be his followers? These nomadic groups traveled continuously for food,. We learn about their beliefs and religion and the important structures that still stand in Egypt today. First, the African languages were solidly rooted: three languages (Zulu, Xhosa, and Sotho) are spoken by over two million people each, and the first two are mutually understandable. He was surrounded by his extended family his wives and children, his brothers and their families, more distant relatives, and unrelated families who had been separated from their own clans for various reasons and who looked to him for protection. One way in which the older generation could impose its control on the younger was through initiation. However the more organized societies such kingdoms had groups of full-time professional craftsmen. To survive in these harsh conditions a person needed his kin around him. Ancient Africa's government was not very stable because everyone was not unified this is because every village had a different leader. Learning support for teachers and students. Compounding these difficulties, sub-Saharan Africa has been largely cut-off from the great centers of civilization elsewhere in Eurasia. When one society was conquered by another, it was the mediums and priests, as well as others in the community with high religious status such as iron workers and herbalists, who often put up the stoutest resistance to alien rule. In many agricultural societies, however, the most important spiritual beings were the spirits of the land and, closely associated with these, ancestral spirits. Even large towns often resembled several villages grouped together, with each lineage group in its own walled sector. In some places, groups of skilled craftsmen had their own chiefs. In West Africa, the climatic zones aligned in a series of east-to-west belts Sahara desert, desert-grassland margin (the Sahel), savannah grassland and tropical forest. Surrounded as they were by vast stretches of bush, agricultural villages and the human societies they sheltered were fragile places, always under threat from the encroaching forest. The ancientness of the continents rocks, whose minerals have leeched out over the aeons, mean that the soil is generally of a poor quality, posing challenges for farmers. As we have seen, different African peoples specialized in different modes of food production hunter-gathering (and fishing), nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism, and cultivation of crops. All these diseases were, despite higher levels of resistance in indigenous populations to foreign ones (West Africa in particular would become known as the The White Mans Grave) were all widespread killers. Skill in this field could only be obtained by long experience and involved a mastery of mysteries which was reminiscent of magic. Further upstream all have their flows interrupted by falls and rapids, making them unsuitable for long-distance trade even in the interior of Africa. Most cultures preferred abstract and stylized forms of humans, plants, and animals, but they had a range of distinct approaches and techniques. One group of industrial workers should be mentioned in this context, although they were not strictly speaking craftsmen in the normal use of the term. Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement - Black History Month 2023 Population growth, Gods and spirits The savannah regions of West Africa specialized in millet and fonio, and further south, where rainfall was sufficient, sorghum. MzcwNTgyZmZmMzczNDJkYzBjMmNjNmRjNTg1N2I5ZjkyMjExNjNjOGY5NTFh Ancient History Acronyms | G.R.A.P.E.S. - Storyboard That In folktales, the rewards for perseverance, intelligence and courage were wives, children, status, wealth, and security in other words, to become a Big Man. Tossed Cedarville Menu,
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Crafts were usually hereditary, and expertise was often a closely-guarded secret of particular kin-groups. To the Western mind, at least, this aspect of religion was indistinguishable from magic, and was in the hands of mediums, priests, diviners and healers. A larger group of non-farmers was made up of craftsmen. They have used a wide range of techniques, building up the productivity of the land through manuring, terracing, and digging channels to lead water from stream to field, sometimes across wooden aqueducts. Social There were six social classes in Ancient Ghana. At the top were the gods, such as Ra, Osiris, and Isis. Cleverness, bravery, charm, charisma and aggression could provide the success to bring high status and abundant wealth in many circumstances. One common social structure among ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa is segmentary lineage organisation. It was structured around a big man who was usually (by myth, at any rate) the man most directly descended from the founding ancestor. MWI3NWQ1OWEzZmIwYTEzNDljYTRjZTRiNTE5OTBiMjQ1YTI5NDk3ODM0ZDY5 The Traditional African Family - Mwizenge S. Tembo - Bridgewater YzZiNWViMjQ5Iiwic2lnbmF0dXJlIjoiNTc2NWJhZDg5MGU4Y2RkZTIxYTFi The limited nature of urbanization greatly restricted transport, trade and industry. As the years went by they (or in some societies their entire age set) would move up the rungs to senior warrior, and then when they were thirty or so, to elder-hood. It is inhabited by the San hunter-gatherer people who have adapted their lifestyle to this forbidding environment over 20,000 years. Other common maladies were hookworm anaemia, yaws, leprosy, smallpox and endemic syphilis (though not the more lethal venereal kind, which was only introduced into sub-Saharan Africa in the 16th century, after Europeans arrived). In these states, violence and exploitation led to societies ruled by classes of military aristocrats or nobles. South Africa, - California Digital Library Society - Ancient Africa - Kingdom of Kush - Weebly One of the biggest threats to harmony within society was witchcraft. The same eye for beauty and spirit, along with a zest for color and pattern, was revealed in countless textile works from all over the continent. After about A.D. 500, several centrally organized, warring states appeared in parts of Africa. The unequal access to women made for severe tensions between males of different generations the young men felt frustration, envy and anger with the older men for monopolizing the female sex. Rulers displayed their power by the number of retainers they had, and the sophistication of their court, where urbanity, eloquence, and quickness of wit were cultivated. The grasslands of East Africa spread eastwards almost to the Indian Ocean, where a narrow belt of forest hugs the coastline. MzVjNDBhYTk5MTk1YTUxYzM0ODRjOTE3MGZiNmNiNjg5MWQ5NGYxNDBiNDdm makes it the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. MWQxZmFmZDU1YzRiOTgwN2YwNjgwNGEyMWVmYmVjZTQ1YTI4ODkzMTA1OGQ2 Africa, where humans first evolved, today remains a place of remarkable diversity. Most of this was within Africa itself, but as we have seen above, thousands of people were exported to North Africa and the Middle East each year. 11 - Population and Social Structure - Cambridge Core Caste systems in Africa are a form of social stratification found in numerous ethnic groups, found in over fifteen countries, particularly in the Sahel, West Africa, and North Africa. The contemporary political history of Africa is marked by imperialism, the expulsion of foreign powers and settler elites, and the post-independence travails of its roughly fifty states. Module Ten, Activity Two - Exploring Africa Under these circumstances, the ability of ruling classes to build strong state institutions like powerful armies or effective bureaucracies, or even construct impressive temples or palaces, was limited. - africa's social structure forms political nations that will help people from violence. J. Clyde Mitchell, The Yao Village: a Study in the Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe. Witches were widely blamed for misfortunes, especially involving the fertility of women and the survival of children. This had probably been first introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese or Arab visitors, but the fact that it had been picked up by local healers and spread from people to people over hundreds of miles shows how open they were to new approaches. Much craft work in Africa, as in all pre-modern societies, was done on a part-time basis by farmers, particularly women. There was constant tension between the generations, which could spill over into real violence. In West Africa, a new religious influence began to make itself felt in the later first millennium. The sculptural tradition in West Africa goes back to the terracotta figures of the Nok culture of the early first millennia BCE and CE, and began to reach a peak in the 13th and14th centuries in Ife, in Yorubaland (in modern day Nigeria). Some states were created by rulers of village clusters who, through military prowess, were able to use their manpower to conquer other clusters. Except where influenced by Islam, most pre-modern sub-Saharan societies were non-literate. Ancient Africa | Boundless Art History | | Course Hero Small, isolated areas of dense population were surrounded by large tracts of sparsely peopled wilderness. Many captives were sold on to other peoples; there was an active slave trade in Africa. If the demands of royal authority became too onerous, in the form of heavy taxes, say, or the demands made for public projects or service in the royal army, people could (and did) simply up and leave en masse. By then, however, a countervailing force was at work on the continent, which would put a stop to any expansion in population for two hundred years. They were now in a position to acquire wives and found their own family lines. Such organizations had strong parallels with modern corporations, with agents stationed in towns scattered over the area where they operated. Similarly, belief that spiritual power came only through dead ancestors was common amongst herding societies. Throughout Africa the basic unit of society was the lineage-group, or clan. The original settlers became the founding ancestors of the new community, and because it was they who had struck the original pact with the spirits of the land, it was they alone who could communicated with them, even (or especially) after death. Such famines were usually caused by drought, but plagues of locusts or unseasonably heavy rains could also devastate crops. In these, men did the more highly valued work of herding, protecting or raiding cattle, while women did the household chores and cultivated crops a lowly occupation in such societies. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, this often took the form of inter-generational tensions between elder males with multiple wives and younger males with no wives. As in other parts of the world, textile crafts were widespread. The more high-status and long-distance traders, however, were men. OGRiMDc3NTM1M2QyZDI3YzBlYjZmZjBhNWFkOWZjYzEzOGRlZDU4ZDc4NDE1 Of the outlying settlements, only the more successful ones would survive. Social Structure - Ancient Africa - Kingdom of Axum - Weebly Ancient African Civilizations - WorldAtlas In general, work was divided equally among all people (other than slaves). Where there is a spring, a lake or a river, however, cultivation is possible, and in some areas, for example in the inner delta of the River Niger (see below), or on the shores of Lake Chad in West Africa, or the Great Lakes of central Africa, intensive cultivation has allowed concentrations of dense population to grow up. YjU5YTA2MjA2ZTZjNTRkNmQ0OTBmNzIzM2EzZTIyZWFlMDBlMGViZTQzMDMw On the other hand, to maintain status and authority required a Big Man to be generous why else would other men want to be his followers? These nomadic groups traveled continuously for food,. We learn about their beliefs and religion and the important structures that still stand in Egypt today. First, the African languages were solidly rooted: three languages (Zulu, Xhosa, and Sotho) are spoken by over two million people each, and the first two are mutually understandable. He was surrounded by his extended family his wives and children, his brothers and their families, more distant relatives, and unrelated families who had been separated from their own clans for various reasons and who looked to him for protection. One way in which the older generation could impose its control on the younger was through initiation. However the more organized societies such kingdoms had groups of full-time professional craftsmen. To survive in these harsh conditions a person needed his kin around him. Ancient Africa's government was not very stable because everyone was not unified this is because every village had a different leader. Learning support for teachers and students. Compounding these difficulties, sub-Saharan Africa has been largely cut-off from the great centers of civilization elsewhere in Eurasia. When one society was conquered by another, it was the mediums and priests, as well as others in the community with high religious status such as iron workers and herbalists, who often put up the stoutest resistance to alien rule. In many agricultural societies, however, the most important spiritual beings were the spirits of the land and, closely associated with these, ancestral spirits. Even large towns often resembled several villages grouped together, with each lineage group in its own walled sector. In some places, groups of skilled craftsmen had their own chiefs. In West Africa, the climatic zones aligned in a series of east-to-west belts Sahara desert, desert-grassland margin (the Sahel), savannah grassland and tropical forest. Surrounded as they were by vast stretches of bush, agricultural villages and the human societies they sheltered were fragile places, always under threat from the encroaching forest. The ancientness of the continents rocks, whose minerals have leeched out over the aeons, mean that the soil is generally of a poor quality, posing challenges for farmers. As we have seen, different African peoples specialized in different modes of food production hunter-gathering (and fishing), nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism, and cultivation of crops. All these diseases were, despite higher levels of resistance in indigenous populations to foreign ones (West Africa in particular would become known as the The White Mans Grave) were all widespread killers. Skill in this field could only be obtained by long experience and involved a mastery of mysteries which was reminiscent of magic. Further upstream all have their flows interrupted by falls and rapids, making them unsuitable for long-distance trade even in the interior of Africa. Most cultures preferred abstract and stylized forms of humans, plants, and animals, but they had a range of distinct approaches and techniques. One group of industrial workers should be mentioned in this context, although they were not strictly speaking craftsmen in the normal use of the term. Africa before Transatlantic Enslavement - Black History Month 2023 Population growth, Gods and spirits The savannah regions of West Africa specialized in millet and fonio, and further south, where rainfall was sufficient, sorghum. MzcwNTgyZmZmMzczNDJkYzBjMmNjNmRjNTg1N2I5ZjkyMjExNjNjOGY5NTFh Ancient History Acronyms | G.R.A.P.E.S. - Storyboard That In folktales, the rewards for perseverance, intelligence and courage were wives, children, status, wealth, and security in other words, to become a Big Man.
Tossed Cedarville Menu,
Palma Ceia Country Club Tennis Lessons,
St Cuthbert's School, Newcastle Staff List,
Articles A