Chapter 2: Early African Societies and the Bantu Migrations
1. What similarities did Mesopotamian and Egyptian/Nubian societies have in terms of interactions with other
cultures?
-drew on agricultural surpluses to organize formal states, support specialized laborers, and develop distinctive
cultural traditions
-Egyptians/Numbians traded w/ and competed against Mesopotamians, Phoenicians, Africans, etc. connections
with other societies/occasional warfare (on and off)
-not at all isolated
-all intermingled a lot with other societies
2. How were the Indo‐European and Bantu migrations similar?
-not mass movements of people; not a continuous migration resulted in gradual spread of Bantu languages and
ethnic communities (became foundations for further expansion)
3. How did the development of early Sudanic societies compare to the earliest societies in Mesopotamia, in
terms of settlement, cultivation of crops, and political organization?
-sedentary
-domesticated animals
agricultural productivityrapid increase in population throughout Nile (Egypt and Nubia) realized they needed
more sophisticated ways to irrigate, etc. for agriculture beyond the flood plains
-formation of small-scale states/monarchies ruled by kings (seen as divine or semidivine) [similar to those in Sudan
after 5000 B.C.E.]
-religious beliefs reflected agricultural society; recognized single divine force as source of good/evil (associated it
with rain, important in any agricultural society) –same in Mesopotamia?
4. Why was the Nile River so important for agriculture in Egypt and Nubia? What happened to the Sahara
region?
-river so important b/c when waters receded after a flood, they left behind a layer of thick fertile silk deposits that
greatly supported agricultural economy
5. Who were pharaohs? What do the pyramids tell us about the pharaohs’ power and status in Egyptian society?
-divine leaders of Egypt; power passed through families
-first claimed to be gods living on earth, but later viewed rulers as offspring o Amon (sun god)
-in the beginning, pyramids were a big deal and only for pharaohs, but as time went on more people were able to be
buried in tombs and the quality of tombs decreased, suggesting that the power of the pharaoh/respect for him or her
was falling
6. Describe the relationship between Egypt and Nubia/Kush.
-Egypt controlled must of what was known as Lower Nubia, or the last between the first and second cataract.
Therefore, Nubians had to move south to Upper Nubia in order to build their kingdom, called Kush (not as powerful
as Egypt, but still powerful/formidable).
-Nubians assimilated into Egyptian society, despite other political tension/hostility (i.e. Nubian mercenaries in the
Egyptian army, intermarried)
7. How did Egypt unify for the first time in the Old Kingdom?
-c. 3100 B.C.E.: Egyptian rulers drew on agricultural/demographic advantages + large population + broad
floodplains to unify territory b/w Nile delta and first cataract (all under guy named Menes, sometimes associated w/
early Egyptian ruler Narmer)Menes founded city of Memphis, which became the capital/cultural and political
center of ancient Egypt
Why did it break apart?
-people in Egypt became so prosperous on their own that they didn’t necessarily feel the need for a pharaoh, so the
central power decreased until it disappeared completely (period of unrest from 2160-2040 B.C.E.)
8. Who were the Hyksos? Why were they successful? Why did the Hyksos turn the Egyptians into imperialists?
-Hyksos (“foreign rulers”) were from southwest Asia and put pressure on Egypt
-They were successful because of their better use of technology, such as the use of bronze weapons and horse-drawn
chariots (Egyptians only had wood weapons because they hadn’t really needed an army or armed force because
natural barriers had usually protected them from invaders)
-
9. Describe the structure of Egyptian society. How did it compare to that of Mesopotamia?
-cities/dense populationspecialization of labor
-clearly defined social classes
-patriarchal societies (rulers were typically adult males)
-writing to preserve gov records/commercial information
10. How did the ruling policies/organization of Egypt differ from those of Mesopotamian city‐states? What does this
say about social mobility (the ability to rise up in social status) in Egypt?
-cities not as prominent in early Nile River valley societies as in Mesopotamia, but several major cities still formed
in Egypt and Nubia
-well-defined social classes (like Mesopotamia)
--peasants/slaves relatively the same role: provided hard labor to make agricultural society possible
-ruling class organization = much diff than Mesopotamia
--M: series of urban kings; E: pharaoh is supreme central ruler
--M: depended on nobles who had been given positions by birth; E: depended on prof military
forces/elaborate bureaucracy of administrators and tax collectors who served the central gov
E: individuals of common birth could attain high positions in society through gov service, but not in
Mesopotamia
11. Describe the status of women in Egyptian society. How is Queen Hatshepsut both unusual AND emblematic of
women’s roles?
-women played a larger role than in Mesopotamia, but still very patriarchal
-women who took power as pharaoh and is always depicted with a specific type of beard associated with pharaohs
12. Compare the adoption of bronze and iron metallurgy in Egypt vs. Mesopotamia.
-Egypt/Nile societies much slower to adopt metal tools/weapons than Mesopotamians
-by 3000 B.C.E.: bronze production flourished in Mesopotamia, but not until after 7th century did bronze become
widespread in Egypt
13. Describe the role of trade in Egyptian and Nubian society. With whom did they trade? What technologies made
this possible? How did trade affect these cultures?
-traded with Mesoptoamia early, but after 3000 B.C.E. were active throughout eastern Mediterranean basin
-specialized labor and efficient means of transportation encouraged development of l ong distance trade
-offered gold, silver, linen textiles, leadther goods, and dried foods (i.e. lentil)
14. What was Egyptian formal writing called? Why was it eventually abandoned in favor of other writing systems?
-hieroglyphics
-too complicated and only used in former situations/by priests, but most people used the hieratic (“priestly”) script—
simplified cursive form of hieroglyphics
15. Describe Egyptian religious beliefs. Who was Amon‐Re? Osiris?
-gods had important role in the world
-proper cultivation of gods important community responsibility
-by new kingdom, amon-re thought of as a universal god who presided over all the earth
-Osiris: associated with immortality and honored him through a religious cult that demanded observance of high
moralstandards
16. Why did Egyptians mummify their dead?
-Mesopotamiand thought death was the end of existence, Egyptians believed in an afterlife that people wanted to be
prepared for
-they would have their heart weighed against a feather
-eternal life eventuall thought of as available to normal mortals as well as the ruling class
17. Why do you think Egyptian religious cults and rituals were so common in Nubia?
-aggressive pharaohs of New Kingdom imposed Egyptian rule on southern lands Egyptian religious cults
especially prominent an Nubia
-b/c both so intertwined politically and commercially (?)
--Egypt wary about Nubian kingdoms that could threaten Upper Egypt (political); some products Egyptians
wanted only available in southern lands, i.e. gold, ivory, ebony, and precious stones (commercial)
--Nubians wanted to protect independence (political); wanted to profit by controlling trade on Nile
(commercial)
18. Where did the Bantu‐speaking peoples originate? How did they make a living?
-homeland = weset Africa (Niger River Valley
-traded regularly—gave huntering/gathering people in tropical forests pottery and stone axes for meat and other
forest goods
19. Describe the spread of the Bantu peoples. How did it occur, and where did they go?
-slowly spread into south and into west African forsest
-after 2000 B.C.E. expanded rapidly to south toward Congo River basin and east toward Great Lakes
20. Why did the Bantu migrate? Describe their interactions with the people in the areas into which they migrated.
How did this affect the development of agriculture in Africa?
1. why did the migrations take place?
a. Population pressures
b. type of gov they had; instead of a strong centralize gov over a large area, they were
organized into small villages run by clans and elders of each clan in charge;
sometimes elders could cooperate, but as they settled those villages came into
conflict and rather than engaging in constant warfare, often some of these villages
would move to another area that would be good for agriculture and be good for their
culture
