African Civilization (Whole Course)

Plan of the lessons
I- Culture and civilization

II- Nubian Civilizations
III- Banta Civilization
IV- Egyptian civilization
Introduction
The study of any human society calls for the analysis of the relationship among different
people and different nation. Of the five continents, Africa is known to be the largest and the
richest one in term of raw materials, human resources and artifacts. Unfortunately, Africa is
the less developed continent. It is even denied having a history. So it’s said not to have
hosted any civilization. It is even wrongly argue that earliest African society were self-
sufficient whereas, in fact, mobility was the basis of present settlement.
For this reason, a famous black historian, Charles H. Wesley stated that Africa is said to have
no history because the history of European expansion in Africa was written and published as
African history and it was assumed that there was no history of any value among black men
prior the arrival of white men. Such an assumption, according to the majority of Afro centrist
scholar is absolutely wrong.
During the prehistoric area, Africa hosted the greatest world civilization. This period
extended from the end of the Neolithic era to the beginning of the seventh century of our
era.
Chapter I: Culture and civilization

Some scholars use culture and civilization as
1-1 Culture
Culture derives from the Latin words cultura which hails from colere (to cultivate). Culture is
a German notion (Kultur). It has been developed within a context of political fragmentation
where no political unit existed.
Generally, culture refers to the patterns of human activity and the symbols that give
significance to this activities. It manifests itself in term of arts, literature, costumes, customs,
language and religion. In short, culture is a way of life of a group of people. It has three
dimensions:
-A normative system that is to say there is a social control in a form sanction which make
people follow generally accepted moral norms.
-An expressive system: art, music, literature, language, folks.
-a system of ideas: Those enable member of the society to interpret the whole word
meaningfully.
1-1-2 Characteristic of culture
-Culture is learned: It means it is not inherited but it must be learned and acquired.
-Culture is dynamic: It involves according to changing social, political, economical and
technical environment
-Culture is accumulative: It is the continuous process and adding new cultural traits. All
culture borrows from other culture.
-Culture is continuous: It is like a stream which is flowing from one generation to another
through centuries. That’s why it is said that culture is the memory of human race.
-Culture is shared: It is based on social interaction and creation.
In a word, only the plural forms of culture is appropriate. There’s not a unique culture but
there are cultures.
1-1-3 Components of culture
-common practices: Clothing, customs, food, tools and work.
-Social organization: Family, the caste system, relationship between individual and the
community.
-Shared understanding: language, religion, values, art etc...
1-2 Civilization
1-2-1 Definition
It is used as a historical concept. It was coined in the 18th century in France and later spread
to England.
Civilization is rather described than defined. In its traditional sense, a civilization is a way of
thinking, a set of belief, or a way of life. It is also a product of human evolution as well as a
new phase in this evolution in which cities emerge. At this stage a civilization has a large
population and
According to Fernand Braudel, civilization in its modern sense was first used in 1752 by the
French scholar Anne-Robert Jacques Turgot who was then writing the history of mankind.
Prior to this, expression like civilization and to civilize can be found as far back as the 16th
century, they came into use during the renaissance. They derive from the French verb
“civiliser” meaning to achieve or impart refined manners, urbanization and improvements.
Around 1819, civilization began to be used in the plural form. In its singular form, it Implies
propriety and elegance of manners considered as the result of once upbringing and
cultivation whereas in its plural form, it could mean the specific way of life of a nation or
nations at a specific time
Chapter II: Nubian civilization

Africa hosted the greatest world civilizations. Among them is the Nubian civilization. Nubia is
the name of the land in Northeastern Africa directly linked to south of Egypt. It derives from
the ancient Egyptian word “Nwb” meaning gold. Nubia was a plentiful of the precious metal
for the ancient Egyptians. At times, it was under the political dominations of Egypt while at
other times, it was an independent state. From about 772- 656 BC, Nubian kings ruled Egypt
as its 25th dynasty.
*Historical development of Nubia
They were four main stages of Nubia historical development: Neolithic, kingdom of Kerma,
kingdom of Kush, Kingdom of Meroe.
Neolithic
At that period, Nubians lived in small villages and produced crops. They continue hunting
and gathering as they had done during the Paleolithic era. Contact and trade with Egypt
began when Nubia provided gold, ivory, oil to Egypt.
Kingdom of Kerma
Nubia earliest kingdoms saw king living in palaces and claiming divine descent. The kingdom
of Kerma was known for its red and black pottery. Kerma’s kings were buried with gold,
ivory.
Kingdom of Kush (1700-1600 BC)

Kerma was destroyed around 17’s BC. The city was burned. Temples and tombs were
plundered. The new king lasted about 1000 years.
A Kunshite civilization with its capital at Napata flourished from the eleventh century BC and
at the same time, Egypt entered into a long period of weakness, then the kunshites began
the conquest of Egypt and establish in 715 BC a Kunshite dynasty. About 50 years later, the
kunshite were driven out of Egypt after some battles. The kunshites kings then retired to
their own capital where they continued to rule until the 6th century BC. Finally, they transfer
to Meroe 300 miles further south, perhaps because Meroe was situated in an area rich in
iron.
Kingdom of Meroe
This kingdom lasted for 8 centuries when it was destroyed by the king of Axum. They were
great traders, iron workers and their armies gained strength from their horse cavalry and
their taming and use of elephant. Moroe’s potters paid more attention to naturalistic
representation of animals like lion. Meroe was a splendid city with a beautifully decorated
temple of the sun. After the destruction of Meroe, the Nubian descent of the kunshite were
converted to Christianity.

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Plan of the lessons

I- Culture and civilization

Chapter I: Culture and civilization

Chapter II: Nubian civilization

Kingdom of Kush (1700-1600 BC)

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