History Reference's Collection 2

HISTORY REFERENCE’S
COLLECTION FOR FORM ONE

BASED ON THE 2010 TANZANIA SYLLABUS
COVER DESIGED BY © BY EDWIN B. MASSAI, 2019.

EDWIN B. MASSAI.
Table of Contents
DEDICATION AND FOREWORDS ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
To teachers and students of history. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Essential Questioning ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5
WHY AFRICANA HISTORY?.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
TOPIC ONE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
SOURCES AND IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY ................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
CONCEPT OF HISTORY ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
ORIGIN OF THE TERM HISTORY .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
MEANING OF HISTORY .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
CLASSIFICATION OF HISTORY ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING HISTORY. ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
SOURCES OF HISTORY/HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE/WAYS OF RECONSTRUCT HISTORY ............................................................................................... 10
8. ANTHROPOLOGY: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
9. ELECTRONIC SOURCES. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
DATING HISTORICAL EVENTS ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
TOPIC TWO .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21
EVOLUTION OF MAN, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................................................................. 21
BRIEF ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF MAN. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
SUMMARY OF EVOLUTION OF MAN ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 26
The changes which Homo sapiens underwent as a break - off from apes to modern man. ................................................................................................................... 26
From apes to homo sapien sapiens. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
1) Aegyptopithecus - An Early African Monkey ................................................................................................................................................................................. 27
2) Dryopithecus Africanus (proconsul) ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
3) Kenyapithecus (Ramapithecus) ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
4) Australopithecus (southern ape) ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
5) Homo habilis (“Handy Man”) - “man with ability”. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 28
6) Homo erectus (“Upright Man”) ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
7) Homo sapiens (“Wise Man” thinking man) ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
8) Homo sapiens sapiens...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29
IN SUMMARY STAGES OF MAN’S EVOLUTION ........................................................................................................................................................................ 29
SUMMARY ON MAN’S TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT (FROM STONE AGE TO IRON AGE) ..................................................................................... 30
DEVELOPMENT OF STONE AGE. .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30
THE EARLY OR OLD STONE AGE (PALEOLITHIC AGE - 1,750,000 – 750,000 YEARS AGO) ........................................................................................................ 30
THE LATE STONE AGE / NEOLITHIC (NEW STONE AGE). ....................................................................................................................................................... 32
TOPIC THREE ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND THEIR IMPACT ....................................................................................................................................... 34
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
A. AGRICULTURE ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
How agriculture started? ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
B. HANDCRAFT INDUSTRIES AND MINING IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA. ........................................................................................................... 39
C. TRADE IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41
LONG DISTANCE TRADE. .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 42
THINGS THAT NO TEACHER CAN TEACH YOU ONLY A GOOD TELLER CAN TRY. ................................................................................................. 48
The African in the New World ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 48
Their Contribution to Science, Invention and Technology................................................................................................................................................................... 48
TOPIC FOUR ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 52
DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SYSTEM ........................................................................................................................................................... 52
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52
1. KINSHIP OR THE CLAN ORGANIZATION. ............................................................................................................................................................. 52
BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 1

2. AGE SET ORGANIZATION. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
3. NTEMI (MTEMI)SYSTEM........................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
4. STATE ORGANIZATION ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 54
AFRICA: THE PASSING OF THE GOLDEN AGES ............................................................................................................................................................... 57
1. THE EARLY BEGINNINGS .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57
2. THE NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATION — THE RISE .................................................................................................................................................................... 57
3. THE NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATION — THE GLORY ............................................................................................................................................................... 58
4. THE NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS — THE DECLINE .......................................................................................................................................................... 58
5. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — GHANA ............................................................................................................................................... 59
6. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — MALI ................................................................................................................................................... 60
7. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — SONGHAI ........................................................................................................................................... 60
8. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — THE DECLINE .................................................................................................................................... 60
THE OLD CONGO .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 61
THE STATES OF THE EASTERN REGION KANEM-BORNU AND HAUSA STATES ...................................................................................................... 63
THE ORIGIN OF KANEM-BORNU .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 63
STRUCTURE KANEM-BORNU GOVERNMENT ........................................................................................................................................................................... 64
DECLINE OF KARNEM-BORNU ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 64
THE RISE OF HAUSA STATES ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 64
Factors for the rise of the Hausa states ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 64
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FOREST STATES ................................................................................................................................................................. 64
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF ASANTE EMPIRE .......................................................................................................................................................................... 65
(a) Remote causes ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 65
(b) Immediate causes ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65
WHY DID THE EMPIRE LAST SO LONG? ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 65
THE FALL OF ASANTE EMPIRE .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66
THE RISE AND FALL OF OYO STATES ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 66
Expansion ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 66
Structure of the government................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 66
The economic base of Oyo kingdom ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66
THE DECLINE OF OYO-EMPIRE .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 67
SUMMARY OF CENTRALIZED STATES IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA ..................................................................................................................................... 67
SUMMARY ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF SUDANIC STATES ........................................................................................................................ 69
FOREST STATES ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70
SUMMARY OF RISE AND FALL OF CENTRAL AFRICAN KINGDOMS ................................................................................................................................... 71
KONGO EMPIRE ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 71
MWENEMUTAPA KINGDOM ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 71
THE LUBA STATE ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 72
THE LUNDA STATE ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 72
DEVELOPMENT OF STATES IN EAST AFRICA ........................................................................................................................................................................... 72
1. The Karagwe Kingdom .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 72
2. Buganda State in Uganda ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 73
3. The Kimbu Empire .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 74
4. Nyamwezi Kingdom ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 74
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75
© EDWIN B. MASSAI, 2019.

DEDICATION AND FOREWORDS
This work is highly dedicated to my good students, thanks be to the Most-high and my beloved parents. I cannot thank
enough most of my friends for their sincere trust towards me, things that toughen me spiritually, physically and mentally.
Today, in the way that God gifted me I feel so relief by producing this work just trying to pay some favor to God’s
beloved people. To you my beloved brother and sister, I think I highly owe you this work as blessing and gift bestowed
to our house towards our future generation. My most desired one, best part of me, my beloved fiancé, you pushed me
directly and indirectly thinking how hard you have been working just to help those helpless students around you. Your
advice has met me on this edge of making something that at least will lessen your daily task, I will love to see you
handling one side a holy book another side my work, our work to be precise as in your absence I would never do this
kind of work. If it was a dream, you make it a living one. Lastly, all my fellow teachers, especially those who see this
work as a solution to our book scarcity, make it through by interpret the enriched knowledge hidden in here, that is the
only way that you can enjoy the blessing that God gave you. With a lot love, feel free to comment or add anything of
important for its betterment.
INTRODUCTION
My feet have felt the sands
Of many nations,
I have drunk the water
Of many springs.
I am old
Older than the pyramids,
I am older than the race
That oppresses me,
I will live on...
I will out-live oppression.
I will out-live oppressors.
"DETERMINATION"
By John Henrik Clarke.
July 16, 1998
First of all, I must declare interest, I am a teacher, a teacher of history and geography that enrich me with knowledge of the world
culture and literature. I need to know my history, but this little I know I must share just for the love of the Most-high. One may ask,
why African history and not the rest of the world? The answer is not as you may think, may be is for the love of Africa, or may be is
hatred over the white race; NO, the TRUE answer is simple; the truth must be told and shared. This goes hand with hand with the
response towards the suggestions of most notable history teachers, writers and singers or poets on how to correct the intention
mistakes or errors done in our rich black history. This is out of racism rather admiring my origin and my color. It is not bad thing to
tell my fellow black brothers and sisters how blessed they are, to be born black. Nothing to be shamed about. That is why we as
black people should go through our own history once again.
There is no way to go directly to the history of African without taking a broader view of African world history. In his book Tom-
Tom, the writer John W. Vandercook makes this meaningful statement:
A race is like a man. Until it uses its own talents, takes pride in its own history, and loves its own memories, it
can never fulfill itself completely.
History, according to John Henrik Clarke, is a clock that people use to tell their political time of day. It is also a compass that people
use to find themselves on the map of human geography. History tells a people where they are and what they are. Most importantly,
history tells a people where they still must go and what they still must be.
The role and importance of ethnic history is in how well it teaches a people to use their own talents, take pride in their own history
and love their own memories. In order to fulfill themselves completely, in all of their honorable endeavors it is important that the
teacher of history of the Black race find a definition of the subject, and a frame of reference that can be understood by students who
have no prior knowledge of the subject. This is why we need to level the truth from the past so that as a people, black people can
have such lost happiness that purposely mistakenly to keep them away from any good. It hurts not to be in any part of all good things
like civilization but bad things and all bad fade memories that other races feel proud to talk about. If people swept you out of your
own history, nothing you can do to refute their arguments that they era our creators. We who have the chance to re-correct our history,
not our past, we must do that with pride.

The following definition is paraphrased from a speech entitled. "The Negro Writer and His Relation To His Roots," by Saunders
Redding, (1960):
Heritage, in essence, is how a people have used their talent to create a history that gives them memories that they can
respect, and use to command the respect of other people. The ultimate purpose of history and history teaching is to use a
people's talent to develop an awareness and a pride in themselves so that they can create better instruments for living
together with other people. This sense of identity is the stimulation for all of a people's honest and creative efforts. A people's
relationship to their heritage is the same as the relationship of a child to its mother.
You must love history and Africa as an appreciation of the well done work of our ancestors. Today most of us (Black people
especially of Africa), we love the oppressors than we love ourselves. This is a result of the oppressors’ conspiracy to rule their former
masters (the black people) who were also the world political, social and economic master mind of all time. This is undeniable fact to
the white supremacists and their puppets. The only thing that these people, the oppressors did to make their plan work perfect, was
to infuse their education system into our education systems. Then we became proud of their awards as PhDs’ holders and professors
while we keep feeding our own people poison of their minds. This is a discomfiture act ever done to our beloved mother Africa than
any. It is the wickedest thing that has been done than mass killing that the white people ever done to black people. What a nation
without a history of her own? We even cherish the white’s daftness and covetousness with pride and joy than our own beautiful
stories and heroic life we had. Our wars, that were the signs of pride and expression of power, we call them ferocious and primitive
and non-sensible wars but their civil wars (the so called great wars, world war I and II), we are calling them “the wars of emancipating
the world” and even put them in our education system as a very bad acts in the world rather than a source of African emancipation
from colonialism. We participated into their wars to help them win. Did they even recall our brave assistance? Instead they increased
sufferings of our people till we decided to get rid of them. We have to see the wars in the perspective of the answer of God and His
wrath against their treachery than seeing their wars on their perspective.
At this juncture, I only thank God for being an opener towards understanding of history. You do not need to a professor nearby you
to tell you the evils that have been done to you or to understand or have a deep knowledge about our past. Most of them today they
are incapable of telling any truth as they know nothing of the past but money and personal pride. It is a very shame act of killing our
people that I can never be part of. I join other people with courage to speak the truth about black people at any cost. Good teachers
are hard to find I admit, but it does not mean they are not present. Though they are few in this big populous world, I found some that
have helped me to bring this truth to you. The history of our past must be revealed, not written because it is already in writings long
before Jesus was known.
I have a clear conscious that, many shall ignore what I am doing, but those few shall be served from agony and pain of forgetting
our past. It might be unworthy to revive at this time in this manner, but time will tell. It doesn’t matter how many will take time to
agree with what I am about to propose and write; but I did my part of exposing the lies and prejudices that we black people have
been through for centuries now. The only one thing that I can propose for now and future is, true history of black people must be
taught at all level of education in our country. People should know their true history because by that, freedom will have a total
meaning. How can you be free if you being subjected by other people’s history? How can one be a patriot without knowing the worth
of his past? How can you fight without a cause? I feel blessed to have the knowledge of the past from a lot of people that I would
love to share with you their visions and narrations about Africa, and may be with a grace from God, you may join our course towards
reviving our true past.
People especially scholars, do fear to expose the lies about white supremacists not because they will endanger their lives but because
of greed and selfishness, in their minds they think one day a white man will be their friend and make them billionaires. Keep
dreaming, keep poisoning our people, yet the day won’t come. Go back through our history of the past if there is any loophole for
your dream to be fulfilled. We have a lot of scholars, writers and politicians doing more talking than writing and more talking than
acting. We have enough actors. We have enough people to talk about us and to beg. We now need people who understand what real
liberation is all about and who will act to make positive change for black people. Something to bear in mind is that, if there is a
superior race in the world, it damned well is not white people. I am well clear on this point all my life. Because, no people can do to
other people what they have done to the world. European culture has produced people who are terribly insecure and frightened. No
one on this earth should tremble at the sight of them. I would fear because a coward has the upper hand and not because he is brave.
He is not brave. That is something I will never get out of my mind. We born geniuses, we born brave and strong mentally, spiritually
and physically, let them fear us, roar black man roar high and pride, be happy to teach our people the true history that they fear us to
teach. That is a sense of patriotism and nationalism.
To teachers and students of history.

Start loving who you are by knowing where you came from and why you still here. This is by having good time to review the work
of best teachers of history, and I will start by review the essential parts from some writings of our true Afro-American historian and
true Africa patriot, Prof. John Henrik Clarke.
An article from Portrait of a Liberation Scholar; Almost from the beginning as a child I started to raise essential questions inside
myself about the things I observed, and about the things people declared "true" and literally dared me to question. These who would
impose the "truth" on me had no control over me when I was alone. I would question their truth and keep my conclusions to myself
I did not argue with them about what I thought or felt because I never told them. I lived inside myself seemingly forever and hoped
for the day when I could speak my mind.

Essential Questioning
The earliest and most persistent question that came to my mind while growing up in a strict Baptist household and a very religious
family was why do we use God to excuse so many man-made things, so much man-made misery? People in my family, community
and race attribute to God a lot of things which are ungodly, and then claim that God will straighten them out in the by-and-by. We
seem not to want to understand that God did not mess things up in the first place. We have made a folklore out of this limited view
of God and out of God-dependency as a spiritual necessity when we gave up on ourselves or others. We say that we have done all
you can for them and then leave them alone. God will fix it by-and-by. Why must God fix something that God did not initiate and
did not cause? What kind of God is this, or, more precisely, what kind of faith is this?
I believe that if God was merciful enough to give you a brain, two functioning hands, and two legs where you put one in front of
the other, then God has given you the facility to take care of yourself, to be responsible for your actions and for what happens to
you. This is as self-evident to me as abilities to taste and to distinguish between a flower and an ear of corn. We use God as an
excuse for not taking responsibility for our lives. This was not an anti-God argument. We have drawn the wrong conclusions from
religion. Instead of being a source of liberation, our religions have become psychological traps. It is ironic that people have to leave
religion as it was (and still is) practiced in order to understand and appreciate its meaning and to enjoy its benefits.
While in Baptist Sunday school, I began to look at the images they presented of God—that God was all loving, and that God was
universal. If these claims are true, why do some people work very little and have so much, and why do others work so hard and
have so little? If he is merciful, show me the mercy in this case? As a child, I could not ask these questions externally because I
would be slapped down and it was impolite. I would be called "child of the devil."
Something grew in me early that I would have to grow to adulthood to understand. I am as religious as any person on earth and I
had something that was above religion—spirituality! I was spiritual and that spirituality is the big umbrella under which religions
function and out of which religions came. To be truly spiritual makes you a part of all religions without having to adhere to the
mythology in any of them. But while growing up I had to brood and keep these impressions to myself. I had not worked out the
images of all those white angels, a white God and white saints. I could not understand how of all the people who died down through
the years, why not a single black or brown person got into heaven? Heaven was snow-white and even the devil was red.
What I grew up brooding over and confused by were the millions of impressions, ideas, and beliefs that see myself and my people
outside the context of history. It appeared that we had no place in history, no place in religion, had contributed nothing to civilization
and, therefore, could not exist or be acknowledge as of value as human beings in the present. This is what drove me to study history
seriously and at an early age in my life. After reading the Bible my curiosity led me to encyclopedias, almanacs, and out of town
newspapers. I used to even read movie magazines. Since I had good memory, I could remember the names of all of the movie stars,
as well as the names of the stars' wives. This was pure nonsense and rubbish of no meaning to black people or to anyone else.
Devoting my mind to nonsense occurred in school as well. Because I was a good student, I had to memorize all of the state capitals.
I had to ask essential questions inside myself amidst a clutter of irrelevant information that those around seemed to think important.
The similar situation or to be precise, is a scenario that most of curious people born with. He gives us some answers that may be
could be of help if well considered. Let us continue with another writing about Africa.
WHY AFRICANA HISTORY?BY John Henrik Clarke (January 1987)

Africa and its people are the most written about and the least understood of all of the world's people. This condition started in the
15th and the 16th centuries with the beginning of the slave trade and the colonialism system. The Europeans not only colonialized
most of the world, they began to colonialize information about the world and its people. In order to do this, they had to forget, or
pretend to forget, all they had previously known about the Africans. They were not meeting them for the first time; there had been
another meeting during Greek and Roman times. At that time, they complemented each other.
The African, Clitus Niger, King of Bactria, was also a Cavalry Commander for Alexander the Great. Most of the Greeks' thinking
was influenced by this contact with the Africans. The people and the cultures of what is known as Africa are older than the word
"Africa." According to most records, old and new, Africans are the oldest people on the face of the earth. The people now called
Africans not only influenced the Greeks and the Romans, they influenced the early world before there was a place called Europe.
When the early Europeans first met Africans, at the crossroads of history, it was a respectful meeting and the Africans were not
slaves. Their nations were old before Europe was born. In this period of history, what was to be later known as "Africa" was an
unknown place to the people who would someday be called, "Europeans." Only the people of some of the Mediterranean Islands and
a few states of what would become the Greek and Roman states knew of parts of North Africa, and that was a land of mystery. After
the rise and decline of Greek civilization and the Roman destruction of the City of Carthage, they made the conquered territories into
a province which they called Africa, a word derived from "afri," and the name of a group of people about whom little is known. At
first the word applied only to the Roman colonies in North Africa. There was a time when all dark-skinned people were called
Ethiopians, for the Greeks referred to Africa as, "The Land of the Burnt-Face People."
If Africa, in general, is a man-made mystery, Egypt, in particular, is a bigger one. There has long been an attempt on the part of some
European "scholars" to deny that Egypt was a part of Africa. To do this they had to ignore the great masterpieces on Egyptian history
written by European writers such, Ancient Egypt, Light of the World, Vols. I & II, and a whole school of European thought that placed
Egypt in proper focus in relationship to the rest of Africa.

The distorters of African history also had to ignore the fact that the people of the ancient land which would later be called Egypt,
never called their country by that name. It was called, TA-MERRY or KAMPT and sometimes KEMET or SAIS. The ancient
Hebrews called it MIZRAIN. Later the Moslem Arabs used the same term but later discarded it. Both the Greeks and the Romans
referred to the country as the "Pearl of the Nile." The Greeks gave it the simple name AEGYPTCUS. Thus the word we know as
Egypt is of Greek origin.
Until recent times most Western scholars have been reluctant to call attention to the fact that the Nile River is 4,000 miles long. It
starts in the South, in the heart of Africa, and flows to the North. It was the world's first cultural highway. Thus Egypt was a composite
of many African cultures. In his article, "The Lost Pharaohs of Nubia," Professor Bruce Williams infers that the nations in the South
could be older than Egypt. This information is not new. When rebel European scholars were saying this 100 years ago, and proving
it, they were not taken seriously.
It is unfortunate that so much of the history of Africa has been written by conquerors, foreigners, missionaries and adventures. The
Egyptians left the best record of their history written by local writers. It was not until near the end of the 19 th century when a few
European scholars learned to decipher their writing that this was understood.
The Greek traveler, Herodotus, was in Africa about 450 B.C. His eyewitness account is still a revelation. He witnessed African
civilization in decline and partly in ruins, after many invasions. However, he could still see the indications of the greatness that it
had been. In this period in history, the Nile Valley civilization of Africa had already brought forth two "Golden Ages" of achievement
and had left its mark for all the world to see.
Slavery and colonialism strained, but did not completely break, the cultural umbilical cord between the Africans in Africa and those
who, by forced migration, now live in what is called the Western World. A small group of African American and Caribbean writers,
teachers and preachers, collectively developed the basis of what would be an African-consciousness movement over 100 years ago.
Their concern was with Africa, in general, Egypt and Ethiopia, and what we now call the Nile Valley.
In approaching this subject, I have given preference to writers of African descent who are generally neglected. I maintain that the
African is the final authority on Africa. In this regard I have reconsidered the writings of W.E.B. DuBois, George Washington
Williams, Drussila Dungee Houston, Carter G. Woodson, Willis N. Huggins, and his most outstanding living student, John G.
Jackson (now deceased; editor). I have also reread the manuscripts of some of the unpublished books of Charles C. Seifert, especially
manuscripts of his last completed book, Who Are the Ethiopians? Among Caribbean scholars, like Charles C. Seifert, J.A. Rogers
(from Jamaica) is the best known and the most prolific. Over 50 years of his life was devoted to documenting the role of African
personalities in world history. His two-volume work, World's Great Men of Color, is a pioneer work in the field.
Among the present-day scholars writing about African history, culture, and politics, Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan's books are the most
challenging. I have drawn heavily on his research in the preparation of this article. He belongs to the main cultural branch of the
African world, having been born in Ethiopia, growing to early manhood in the Caribbean Islands and having lived in the African
American community of the United States for over 20 years. His major books on African history are: Black Man of the Nile, 1979,
Africa: Mother of Western Civilization, 1976 and The African Origins of Major Western Religions, 1970.
Our own great historian, W.E.B. DuBois tells us, "Always Africa is giving us something new ... On its back bosom arose one of the
earliest, of self-protecting civilizations, and grew so mightily that it still furnishes superlatives to thinking and speaking men. Out of
its darker and more remote forest vastness came, if we may credit many recent scientists, the first welding of iron, and we know that
agriculture and trade flourished there when Europe was a wilderness.
Dr. DuBois tells us further that, "Nearly every human empire that has arisen in the world, material and spiritual, has found some of
its greatest crises on this continent of Africa. It was through Africa that Christianity became the religion of the world ... It was through
Africa that Islam came to play its great role of conqueror and civilizer."
Egyptian and the nations of the Nile Valley were, figuratively, the beating heart of Africa and the incubator for its greatness for more
than a thousand ears. Egypt gave birth to what later would become known as "Western Civilization," long before the greatness of
Greece and Rome.
This is a part of the African story, and in the distance it is a part of the African American story. It is difficult for depressed African
Americans to know that they are a part of the larger story of the history of the world. The history of the modern world was made, in the
main, by what was taken from African people. Europeans emerged from what they call their "Middle-Ages," people poor, land poor and
resources poor. They raided and raped the cultures of the world, mostly Africa, and filed their homes and museums with treasures, then
they called the people primitive. The Europeans did not understand the cultures of non-Western people then; they do not understand
them now.
Africa came into the Mediterranean world mainly through Greece, which had been under African influence; and then Africa was cut
off from the melting pot by the turmoil among the Europeans and the religious conquests incident to the rise of Islam. Africa, prior to
these events, had developed its history and civilization, indigenous to its people and lands. Africa came back into the general picture
of history through the penetration of North Africa, West Africa and the Sudan by the Arabs. European and American slave traders
next ravaged the continent. The imperialist colonizers and missionaries finally entered the scene and prevailed until the recent re-
emergence of independent African nations.
Contrary to a misconception which still prevails, the Africans were familiar with literature and art for many years before their contact
with the Western World. Before the breaking-up of the social structure of the West African states of Ghana, Mali and Songhay and

the internal strife and chaos that made the slave trade possible, the forefathers of the Africans who eventually became slaves in the
United States lived in a society where university life was fairly common and scholars were held in reverence.
To understand fully any aspect of African American life one must realize that the African American is not without a cultural past,
though he was many generations removed from it before his achievements in American literature and art commanded any appreciable
attention.
Africana or Black History should be taught every day, not only in the schools, but also in the home. African History Month should
be every month. We need to learn about all the African people of the world, including those who live in Asia and the islands of the
Pacific.
In the twenty-first century there will be over one billion African people in the world. We are tomorrow's people. But, of course,
we were yesterday's people too. With an understanding of our new importance we can change the world, if first we change
ourselves.
TOPIC ONE
SOURCES AND IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
CONCEPT OF HISTORY
“History is a clock that people use to tell their time of day. It is a compass that they use to find themselves
on the map of human geography. It also tells them where they are, and what they are. Most importantly,
an understanding of history tells a people where they still must go, and what they still must be”. John
Henrik Clarke.
ORIGIN OF THE TERM HISTORY

The word ’History’ is derived from the Greek noun ‘Historia’ meaning ‘inquiry or research.’ Aristotle regarded it as a
“systematic” account of a set of natural phenomena, whether or not chronological ordering was a factor in the account.
Learning by inquiry about the past of mankind was later developed into a discipline by the Greek
historians Thucydides and Herodotus (who is popularly known as ‘Father of History’). Since then, history is being defined
differently by different scholars.
Herodotus (484? -425 BC), Greek historian, born in Halicarnassus (now Thucydides (circa 460-c. 400 BC), Greek historian
Bodrum, Turkey). known for his History of the Peloponnesian War, a
He provided information about ancient Greece, North Africa, and the Middle conflict in which he himself had been an important
East. Herodotus traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean world, participant. This book earned him a reputation as one
observing the different peoples he encountered and studying the military of the foremost historians of antiquity.
history of the region. Known as the father of history, Herodotus produced a Antiquity means ancient (old) history, especially the
narrative compilation of his findings, entitled History. period of time during which the ancient Greek and
Roman civilizations flourished
MEANING OF HISTORY
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, history refers to all events that happened in the past. We can talk about the
history of many things, such as countries, people, towns, animals, plants or buildings. For example, the fact that you were born on a
certain day in a certain year is history.

According to E.H. Carr, in his book What is History? (1961), defined History as a continuous process of interaction between the
historian and his facts, an unending dialogue between the present and the past. He adds, “The historian without his facts is rootless
and futile (useless); the facts without their historian are dead and meaningless”.
History may also be defined as a branch of knowledge which deals with past events of human beings and their response to their
environment over the years.
R.G Collingwood, in his book The Idea of History (OUP 1994), defined history as a “science concerned with the human actions in
the past, pursued by interpretation of evidence for the sake of Human self-knowledge”
History is a science because it involves finding out things about the past Humankind. It uses scientific methods to try and find out
the origins of man and how man survived in his environment. For example, why he was a toolmaker, why he domesticated animals
and plants? how did man start to use fire? These are questions that provoke scientific curiosity.
History also includes the study of past human activities that influence present and future human achievements. For example, after
discovering fire, man discovered how to cook food? The various cooking methods used today developed from those discoveries.
History is the endless study of past human events and activities. Human history gets longer with every passing moment. Something
that is happening now will be history the next minute. The events happen today will be history tomorrow and in the years to come.
Example, your joining on form one this year, it will be your history in the rest of your life. It is recorded and it can be r emembered
in the future, that is history.
From the above definitions in narrowing them down, one can also say: -
 History is a record of human activities.
 History is an account of events that took place in the past.
 History is the past of anything; of earth, man, disease or animals
 History is a branch of knowledge dealing with past events
 History is a science concerned with past Human actions
 History is a narration of continuing events of man from the past to the recent time (i.e. present)
Since History at secondary level is specifically concerned with the past as it relates to humankind and his response to his environment
over the years, therefore, the following definition can be used to conclude its meaning.
 History is an academic discipline which uses a narrative (in written or unwritten form) to examine and analyze the sequences
of the endless story of mankind’s actions and past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and effect that
determine them.
Closely related to the term history is the term PREHISTORY.
Prehistory refers to the unrecorded history- those activities that humans engaged in before writing and drawing were invented as
ways of storing information. Such information is gained from songs, myths, stories, artefacts, fossils and the language of a people.
According to Carr, E.H (1961). Not all past events are historical events and not all which are said about the past are historical facts.
Some people, either purposely mistakenly, the truth about the past or their misunderstanding of historical facts or event, misinform
people about the past. And always, misinforming people in any occasion, intentionally or unintentionally, is the beginning of
poisoning the society. Teaching is mechanization or feeding of the brain. The health of the brain depends on the right food you give
the patient. Like in the hospital, poor dosage may adversely affect the patient.
For example, today most of students have been taught that the first man was a monkey and the world Tanzania is a blending of two
words, Tanganyika and Zanzibar. When lies dominates the society, is becoming a cancer that only few may survive. Today, it is very
hard to convince people that, the old Israelites were not white people. Because intentionally people had to be fed wrong information
that today is fact to most people.
“Not all facts are historical facts. But the distinction between historical and unhistorical facts is not rigid or constant; and any fact
may, so to speak, be promoted to the status of a historical fact once its relevance and significance are discerned…. Facts cannot be
derived from values. This is partly true, but may also be misleading, and requires qualification. When we seek to know the facts, the
questions which we ask, and therefore the answers which we obtain, are prompted by our system of values”.
A clue to this problem of facts and values is provided by our ordinary use of the word 'truth' - a word which links the world of fact
and the world of value, and is made up of elements of both.
It may be a fact that I went to Dodoma last week. But you would not ordinarily call it a truth: it is lacking of any value content. On
the other hand, when people say that all men are created equal, you may feel that the value content of the statement predominates
over the factual content, and may on that account challenge its right to be regarded as a truth. Somewhere between these two issues,
valueless facts and value judgements still struggling to transform themselves into facts - lies the realm of historical truth.
“The historian, is balanced between fact and interpretation, between fact and value. He cannot separate them. It may be that, in a
static world, you are obliged to pronounce a divorce between fact and value. But history is meaningless in a static world. History in
its essence is change, movement, or progress”. Carr, (1961)

A historical event needs to have recorded evidence in order to be referred to as a historical fact must have the following
Characteristics.
 They must have evidence.
 Historical information must be written or unwritten.
 Historical events only concern man.
 Historical events dwell mainly on the past happenings.
 Historical events must contain elements of truth.
 Historical events must be guided by the principle of “Time and Space”, which means where and when did it take place?
CLASSIFICATION OF HISTORY
The study of humankind’s past can be classified systematically into three;
 Social history- dealing with the traditions, values and cultural practices of a people
 Economic history; dealing with the means of livelihood of a people, such as hunting, gathering, agriculture and trade.
 Political history; dealing with the control system in a society, for example maintenance of law and order, leadership and
security.
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING HISTORY.

While discussing the meaning of history, we have seen that it touches on our past, present and future. It is important to study history
because it helps us:
1. To know the origin of man and his achievements and development up to the present time. Studying history helps us to
answer questions like: Where did man come from? How were our ancestors different from us?
2. To learn how to analyze information and search for the truth. History requires us to assess historical information and events.
In this way we develop critical minds as we think of why, when and how things happened.
3. To know the past achievements and failures of man. We can use lessons from the past to improve the present and the future.
For instance, after learning about past droughts we realize the importance of having food reserves and taking care of the
environment to prevent aridity.
4. It also allows us to develop an understanding of the events, conditions and factors that shaped the past and those, which
have shaped the present conditions of the world in order to predict the future. For instance, after knowing how the world
wars occurred, it will be easier for one to look the present situation and predict the result of present situation if not contained.
5. To learn how people, depend on each other. The actions of one person can affect many other people. For instance, a quarrel
between two people can lead to enmity between two communities and even cause war.
6. Historical knowledge makes the present comprehensive, which is why journalists and writers of sensational stories spend
some time explaining the history of a particular incident; it is only when one knows the past of a person or an incident that
the present can became meaningful.
7. Develop an understanding and appreciation of the cultural, political, economic and technological advancements made by
African societies before and after colonial rulers. By learning history, we understand our backgrounds and other people's.
This way we learn to tolerate the differences between us. This is important for peace in the society.
8. Develop the basic skills of critical thinking, reasoning, judgment, empathy and effective participation in human
developmental activities. Acquire skills in historical issues also will assist you on becoming professional in history, some
people such as archaeologists and historians study history for career purposes.
9. Studying history also helps us to understand and appreciate the efforts made and strategies used by African people to regain
their independence and resist neo-colonialism
10. Develop, understand and appreciation the need for African unity, cooperation and interdependence, conflict resolution and
effective participation in social, economic and political development of Africa.
11. It also helps us to develop an understanding of the relationships between African’s development problems and foreign
intrusion, colonial domination, cultural subjugation and economic exploitation at various stages in history.
12. Acquire knowledge for its own sake as you enjoy a novel with fiction, a film with an interesting plot. It is not clear why
people are interested in these ventures and in the same way, people do enjoy to know the history of particular topics.
13. Develop our patriotism, history students know their heroes and heroes and traitors. This makes history a sensitive subject
in places where political leaders are not sure of their legitimacy. We learn more about Tanzania and what it means to be
Tanzanian. When we know more about our country's struggles and aims, we can take greater pride in our achievements and
know how to help meet our national goals.
14. Enlightens people about the advantages of certain economic practices for example, the way the development in the world
today is measured by the industrial revolution that took place in Europe in 1750.
15. Understand the level of development at different stages of human development. Without history, it is very difficult to
determine or to tell what humans were doing in the past.
16. To learn when and where important events took place. For example, we know when our country got her independence and
where the independence ceremony took place.
17. Understand how African societies were formed, how they developed and the factors that influenced this development.
18. Helps us learn about technological transformations, for example primitive livelihood to advanced livelihood (using of stones
and wood tools to iron tools)
19. Understand how humans adapted to their environment and how the struggled to earn a living from the environment. This
therefore looks at the long struggle of man by exercises of his reason -to understand the environment and to act up on it.
20. Understand the relationship that existed between humans, and between humans and the environment.

SOURCES OF HISTORY/HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE/WAYS OF RECONSTRUCT HISTORY
Sources of history refer to the avenues that can be used to get historical information. It requires inter-disciplinary Sources of history
approach in order to get the actual historical information.
These are the ways in which historical information can be obtain or constructed.
To construct history means to write or to collect some historical facts so as to tell it to the people who are unware of those facts/truth
of the past.
Historical knowledge can be constructed or obtained through the following sources.

1. Oral tradition
2. Historical sites
3. Written records/documents
4. Archives
5. Museums
6. Archeology
7. Anthropology
8. Linguistics
9. Electronic sources (Audio and Audio-Visual)
1. ORAL TRADITION
Oral traditions refer to historical information that is handed down by word of mouth, usually by elders, from one generation to
another.
This forms a very important source of historical information especially where exists a non-literate society who might not be able
to read.
Oral Tradition or Word of Mouth, is a preservation of personal and cultural history in the oral communication of stories, songs,
and poems. By retelling or reenacting a tale learned from another, it is kept alive for a new generation.
Oral traditions include folk tales, proverbs, songs and stories. Songs, proverbs folktales and stories told to a younger generation
have been very instrumental in the passing of information from one generation to the other. For example, a song about our
struggle for independence in Tanzania during TANU, passes very important information to the younger generation, who not yet
had born at that time.
Types of oral tradition.

There are two major types of oral traditions:
(a) Cultural practices

These are in the form of religion, music, jokes, riddles, proverbs, poems and superstitions. They are used to pass on a society's
attitudes, beliefs and customs.
(b) Narration of past events

This is the telling of stories about people and events in the past. The narrations can be in the form of epics and myths.
A myth may be broadly defined as a narrative that through many retellings has become an accepted tradition in a society, while
an epic is a long series of event.
According to Lynch, P. A (2004). Africa has a long and rich oral tradition that survives to this day. Cultural beliefs, traditions,
histories, myths, legends, and rules for living have been passed down orally from generation to generation. The keepers of the oral
tradition are bards—tribal poet-singers and storytellers. Bards (like poets and songsters) are charged with remembering and passing
along a culture’s history and tradition through story and song. Almost all existing epics come from recordings of live performances
by African bards (known by the French term griot in western Africa).
African storytelling has always been an interactive process, in which audiences are encouraged to help tell the story. Songs are an
important part of the story. Often, a bard will team up with a singer to perform myths and legends. The bard will act as the narrator,
introducing the characters and telling their stories. At times, the singer will take over and lead the audience in what is known as a
“call and response” style of storytelling. Taking the part of one of the characters, the singer will sing a line or two and then encourage
the audience to respond with a specific refrain.
For example, in a tale about an orphan who visits her mother’s grave, the call and response goes something like this:
Singer: “Oh Mother, I am hungry, I am hungry.”
The audience (responding as the dead mother): “My daughter suffers. My daughter suffers.”
Singer: “My older sister gives me rotten cornmeal to eat.”
The audience: “My daughter suffers. My daughter suffers.”
Because they are part of an oral tradition, African myths and legends are flexible and creative, depending on who is telling the story
and why. Tribal elders may use a particular legend to teach religious beliefs or reinforce proper behavior, while children often tell

the same stories for their own amusement. For example, a storyteller who wants to warn children about the dangers of wandering off
may tell a folk tale in which a disobedient child is shredded to bits by a sharp-toothed lion.
Choosing the same tale to teach mothers to keep track of their children, the storyteller might create a character of a foolish mother
whose laziness is responsible for her child being eaten by the lion. A child who tells the same story to a group of friends might want
to emphasize how clever children are, making the disobedient child outsmart the lion by doing something silly, like farting in its face
to get away. An adult telling the same story might show the father saving the child from the lion by diverting the lion’s attention
with a whistle.
European explorers, anthropologists, and missionaries were also sources of information about African religions, customs, traditions,
and mythologies. One of the most important of these persons—in terms of the quantity of records of African culture he gathered and
published—was the German explorer and ethnologist Leo Frobenius (1873–1938). Between 1904 and 1935, Frobenius led 12
expeditions to Africa. His collections of African epics, legends, myths, and folk tales—which include the famous Soninke and Fulbe
epics—were enormous and were published in 12 volumes.
Finally, present-day religions are an important source of African mythology. The mythologies of African cultures cannot be separated
from African religions.
Functions of oral traditions

(a) Preservation and Continuity: Through oral traditions, familiar ideas are repeated in a familiar manner. Stories, songs, poems,
riddles and proverbs can be passed on from generation to generation in the same form. In this way, oral traditions function as
a channel through which cultural aspects of a community are passed on. This ensures continuity of the community's practices
and beliefs. In this way it preserves historical information and cultural values of the society.
(b) Education: Oral traditions contain teachings such as honesty, respect, truthfulness, courage and diligence. Some oral
traditions talk about dangers and how to avoid them. Others have practical lessons, such as the use of herbs to treat wounds.
(c) Validation: Oral tradition helps to justify a society's culture. For example, stories or songs could be used to explain why
certain rituals are performed or why certain values are held in high regard. Oral traditions provide explanations when accepted
patterns are doubted or violated. They provide guidance and give warnings of repercussions.
(d) Entertainment: Oral traditions are enjoyable way of passing time. They provide excitement and fun. For instance, people
can tell stories or jokes or sing songs as they work. This makes the work less tedious.
(e) Control: Through oral traditions, society can express approval or disapproval of people's actions. For example, age-mates
can tell riddles or sing songs about their friend who is misbehaving. Such actions help to control behaviour because people
want to be accepted and approved of by their social groups.
(f) Escape: At times, oral traditions can be used as a means of escape from harsh conditions. These conditions include frustration,
repression, drought, floods, famine and epidemics. In such cases, oral traditions can provide hope for the society. For example,
during a period of drought people can tell myths of how heroes brought rain to the community in the past.
(g) For research: It helps researchers in data collection about historical past events.
ADVANTAGES OF ORAL TRADITION

1. Oral traditions can give us information that cannot be obtained easily from other sources. For example, an old man who
participated in either of the world wars can talk about his personal experiences. He can talk of what the battleground was
like, what songs the soldiers sang and how he felt on coming back home. Such information cannot be captured as effectively
using other sources.
2. Oral traditions supplement other historical sources of information. For example, a story about a certain king who once lived
in a certain area can give archaeologists an idea of where to dig in order to get remains from that kingdom.
3. Oral traditions are easy to learn and remember.
4. They can easily be passed onto many people because no special skills are required.
5. Oral traditions are entertaining. They combine enjoyment and learning.
6. It preserves and reveal historical information which are not recorded
7. Both illiterate and literate people can obtain historical information.
8. Within oral tradition, there are warning and teachings.
9. It is the easiest and cheapest method of obtaining information.
10. It is live source, since it involves physical interaction.
DISADVANTAGES OF ORAL TRADITION

1. Oral traditions rely heavily on human memory. The person providing informations may forget or omit some facts or details.
This makes historical information provided through oral traditions rather unreliable.
2. People can mix up the progression of happenings as information is passed on from generation to generation. As a result, the
dates and order of events may be forgotten or confused. This distorts the correct chronology of events in history.
3. The presenter may exaggerate facts, making it difficult to differentiate between the truth and what is imagined.
4. Information may be biased in favour of certain things. For example, the presenter may focus on the successes of the
community and leave out the weaknesses or failures.
5. This tends to be an expensive method of gritting information. The researcher may need to travel far in order to collect
information, therefore requiring money for transport, accommodation and other expenses. Furthermore, the researcher may
need to pay the informant a token for the information.
6. Using oral traditions can be time-consuming as the historian may need to interview an individual or several individuals for
a long time in order to collect adequate historical information. It is also important to have accounts of the same event from
different people in order to validate the facts.

7. The researcher's questions may limit the information
given in the answers.
8. It needs much attention and power of memory
9. False information can be given by storyteller.
10. Narration of historical events are centered to those
people of status i.e. Kings, Queens, Chief. White
talking little about common society.
11. There is a language problem when narrator uses
vernacular language.
12. It is difficult to distinguish what is real and what is
imaginary information.
13. Translation is very difficult because some languages
are no longer in existence.
2. HISTORICAL SITES
Are special places where by the past human remains can be
found and shown to the public. It is a place where the
remains of once lived human in the past can be found.
They comprise man’s physical development, tools that were
made and used from time to time.
In these areas we find /see past human products and animal EAST AFRICAN HISTORICAL SITES
bones.
Examples of historical sites in Tanzania include Isimila, Olduvai George, Kondoa Irangi, Bagamoyo, Zanzibar, Kilwa, Mafia,
Engaruka, Kagera etc.
In Uganda Nsongezi, Biggo, Ntubi, Rusinga Island, Magosi and Ishago.
In Kenya. Lake Rudolf (Turkana), Lake Naivasha, Njoro, Olongesailie, Lake Magadi, Lamu, Mombasa and Mt. Kenya
FUNCTIONS OF HISTORICAL SITES

(a) Preserves historical information for the coming generations.
(b) They are useful sources of information and to reconstruct history.
(c) They are the symbols of social cultural heritage to the society concern past human tools, rock, paints etc.
DISADVANTAGES OF HISTORICAL SITES

1. They help for practical historical learning e.g. through observation of past human tools, rock, paints.
2. Used to reveal past settlement patterns, levels of technology, economic development of political organization reached by
the past societies.
3. Acts as centers of tourism.
4. They help in transforming theoretical teaching of history to practical historical learning.
5. It acts as the resource centers to researchers.
6. It provides employment opportunities e.g. guiders
DISADVANTAGES OF HISTORICAL SITES

1. It brings confusion to interpret the remains found in historical sites
2. Many of historical sites are found on remote areas hence difficult for many people to visit them.
3. ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY.

This refers to the scientific study of past human remain.
 It is the study of material remains of man’s past through scientific methods. Such materials may include weapons, tools, utensils,
clothes, beads, art works or remain plants and animal, like bones and charcoals.
 Archaeology is the study of man’s past through scientific analysis of the remains of material remains of his culture, e.g. weapons,
tools, houses, clothing, utensils, paintings sculpture, pottery, coins, jewelry, cutlery, beads and work o arts.
 The one specializes in archeology is called ARCHAEOLOGIST.
 The archaeologist reconstructs the activities and way of life of people who lived in prehistoric times from various evidence
remains of the material culture.
 Archaeology involves excavations (digging) of the remains of man’s past historical sites and interpretation. The famous
archaeologist in East Africa was Dr. Louis Leaky with his wife Mary Leakey.
 Examples of archeological sites in East Africa include: - In Tanzania Lake Natron, Olduvai Gorge, Isimila, Engaruka, Kaole
and Kilwa. In Kenya there are Koobi Fora, Olorgesaille, Kariandusi and Lewa Downs. In Uganda there are, Kafu Valley, Ntusi,
Nsongezi, Lohi and Magosi.
 Archaeologists can determine the age of fossils past remains of plants and animals) using various methods such as carbon-14
or statistical dating. Through this way, they know how long ago certain things happened or certain objects were used.
 Archaeology involves the use of carbon 14 dating to determine plants and animal remains. Other items that can be used in
archaeology include remains of charcoal and carbonized seeds, remains of cloth or garments, remains of dwelling laces.
After studying the available artefacts, the archaeologist formulates his concept of a people’s civilization at the time the artefacts were
used. The existence of artefacts in an area can enable the historian to deduce the material culture of the people who lived in the past.

Paleontology is the scientific study of the evolution and structure of extinct plants and animals (fossils) through scientific
examination of fossil remains.
Historians and archaeologists work with natural scientists like paleontologists, geologists and ecologists and chemistry in discovering
fossils, getting information about soil structure, interpreting man’s relationship to his environment and dating of fossils.
Methods used by archaeologists and paleontologists in discovering a historical site.

1. By looking at areas where tectonic forces (faulting) or erosion have occurred. In such areas, surfaces which may give
important clues to the point of finding fossils and artefacts are exposed.
2. Use of vision. Sometimes vision may help them find on the surface a small part of an early settlement such as a few stones
in a regular pattern.
3. Use of historical research. A place that may be mentioned in a historical document or in an oral narrative may give a clue
to the geography of the area and open up further inquiries into the past civilization of such a clue.e.g Omo River Valley,
Olduvai Gorge, Ur and Babylon.
4. Use of experience. An archaeologist may also use his long experience and skill to identify a potential site for archaeological
excavation.
5. By serendipity (chance) or accident: During cultivation and building construction, farmers and builders may accidentally
expose ancient objects that could arouse the curiosity of researchers. For example, ‘Nyayo ya Mungu’ in Tanzania was a
single footprint on a rock surface that was found in 1995 and became evidence of the existence of early human beings.
FUNCTIONS OF ARCHAEOLOGY
1. Gives important information about man through different stages.
2. It is a useful method of revealing soil covered historical remains.
3. It arouses curiosity of searching past man historical information.
4. Archaeological remains provide evidence of the material culture during a certain period of history, for example the tools
people used and the clothes they wore.
5. Archaeological methods are used to date materials from the past. This gives a sense of time to historical events.
6. Archaeologists recreate past events using actual objects. For example, past settlement patterns can be traced from the
arrangement of ruins. Also, the remains of animal's teeth can tell a lot about its feeding habits.
7. Archaeology complements other sources of history. For example, if oral traditions state that a certain area was sacred,
finding archaeological remains of altars and idols in the ground would help to validate these claims.
8. By comparing remains from different sites, archaeologists can determine past relations between groups of people, for
example trade, war or migration.
ADVANTAGES OF ARCHAEOLOGY
1. It helps people to know when and how people lived in a certain place.
2. It helps us to know and reveal the technology, pastoral, agricultural and commercial activities of the past man.
3. It reveals religious beliefs of the past man
4. We can know the past relationship between different people such as trading activities, migration, marriage, birth, death and
political relation.
5. Archaeology complements other sources of history and ensures authenticity or truth of information. For example, if there
is a narrative told of an ancient wealthy or trading city, archaeological remains of gold objects in that area would give
validity to the story.
6. Archaeology gives us detailed information on material culture that other sources may not have. This means, past objects
tell us about the life and culture of past people; for example, the type of ornaments people wore or money they used.
7. Using archaeological methods, objects can be dated to give an idea of when they were used and therefore when certain
things happened.
8. Through excavation, we get knowledge of artifacts e.g. Pottery, building etc. because, Archaeology is a source of varied
information
9. Archaeology gives a sense of time, as the artefacts are dated.
10. It provides information of varied nature depending on the materials found on the site. For example, if tools, weapons, coins,
bones, rock paintings and other items are located, at a site, a lot of information maybe deduced.
DISADVANTAGES OR LIMITATIONS OF ARCHAEOLOGY
1. It consumes time because of excavation.
2. It cannot reveal the past people’s language.
3. It cannot give out the out reasons for historical events such as wars.
4. Poorly interpreted remains can bring false information
5. It cannot tell anything about the past social organization
6. Archaeology cannot be used to study recent history. It is limited to the study of ancient history.
7. Archaeology is expensive because it requires hired labourers to dig the site, collect the artefacts and take them to the
laboratories for close examination. Archaeological equipment is also costly.
8. It is sometime difficult for archaeologists to locate an archaeological site.
9. Some artefacts and fossils are fragile and can therefore break or disintegrate during excavation. This may result in distortion
of the analysis of the artefacts.
10. Archaeology is only limited to the study of the ancient period and therefore cannot be used to study recent history.
11. Archaeological information may sometimes be inaccurate since it is often bases on inferences (conclusions) and
reconstructions.

12. With archaeology, it may not be easy to accurately determine the date when events took place. It is only estimated through
the method of dating fossils.
13. There are very few archaeological experts and facilities for interpreting archaeological evidence in Tanzania. Quite often,
artefacts excavated from Tanzania are taken to European countries for dating and analysis. A good example are the
dinosaur’s bones which discovered in Kilwa, till to date they are preserved in Germany
What things do archaeologists use to construct the activities of people who lived in pre-history times?
1. Looking for regions of tectonism (faulting) associated with fossils and artifacts.
2. They look for unique features e.g. stone patterns.
3. Remains of fossils and artifacts dug out by farmers and constructors.
4. They dig, excavate for artifacts and fossils.
5. They study artifacts and fossils found.
6. They make research in regions associated with evolution of man e.g. rift valley.
7. They classify the artifacts and fossils.
8. They use chemical and scientific methods to find ages of their findings e.g. carbon 14-dating method
What problems face archaeologists in their work of re writing history using unwritten sources?
1. The exercise is too expensive.
2. It is dangerous and tedious. Animals like wild dogs can attack scientists.
3. Identification of the site is not easy because some artifacts are buried.
4. Some artifacts can be destroyed in the process of digging.
5. Dating of fossils is difficult.
6. Personnel are few hence more work.
7. Poor infrastructure in rural areas where their researches are mainly based
8. Archaeologists may suffer from diseases caused by changes in climate.
9. Sometimes the climate of their residence differs from that of the place they are taking research. This creates discomfort.
4. ARCHIVES
These are places where collection of public and private
documents and old record are preserved. These
documents include personal letters, early travelers and
missionary records, traders’ writings, personal and
government files, political parties’ documents, etc.
Archives are a collection of historical documents or

records, especially those carrying classified information
of a government or an organization, which after a period
of time are accessible to the public.
They are also places where government, public and other

historical records are kept. -they are resource centres for
information.
FUNCTIONS OF ARCHIVES
1. Archives preserve public and private records that
have enduring value to the society.
2. The public makes the records in archives available for use.
3. However not all records can be viewed by everyone.
4. Archives collect records of enduring value from various places. For example, the nation archives have records from different
regions of the country.
5. The archives staff maintains registers of the record in the archives.
6. Archives have facilities for restoring damaged documents of enduring value.
7. Archives have facilities for restoring damaged documents of enduring value.
8. The historical information in the archives ensures continuity. For example, company policies from previous years can still
guide the employee today.
ADVANTAGES OF ARCHIVES
1. Easy to identify ideas and literacy level of the past man.
2. It is easy to identify the exact date of historical event.
3. It used to store historical information.
4. Easy to get historical information from different places and different people.
DISADVANTAGES OF ARCHIVES
1. It may lead false information, if author is biased.
2. Illiterate people cannot get historical information.
3. It is not easy to get information of society whose information is not documented.
4. It is difficult to get remote information from archives.
5. It is nonrenewable once disrupted either by wind or o

5. MUSEUMS
These are places or buildings where information and
objects are preserved it involves all terms, which shows
culture, political economic and technological
development from the past to the present. Objects can be
early coins, clothes, and mineral cowries, religious and
ceremonial symbols. Museum can be national, Regional,
District and village. e.g. National Museums in Dar es
Salaam, Bagamoyo, Butiama, Kalenga Iringa.
FUNCTIONS OF MUSEUMS
 Preserve historical documents and objects.
 Shows concrete remains of objects.
 It is the place for tourist and study tour.
 It is the center for cultural and national identity.
ADVANTAGES OF MUSEUMS
 It preserves objects, which are used as the teaching aids.
 Museum preserves culture and national identity.
 It used by researcher (source of information)
 It acts as tourist center.
 People learn about technological development.
 Enable learners to arouse creativity.
DISADVANTAGES OF MUSEUMS.
 It needs knowledgeable people.
 It is possible to distort information through biases by the museum attendant.
 Poor preservation of the past items e.g. coins, pieces of cloth, slaves chain can distort information.
 It needs extensive care to maintain its beauty or origin.
6. WRITTEN RECORDS
Are the documents, which comprise written historical information. This includes books, letters, maps, magazines, journal,
newspaper, minutes of meetings and conferences. Written records can be found in libraries, schools, colleges, universities,
internet cafes, offices etc.
These are sources in which letters or any other symbols have been put on the surface for the purpose of communication. They
include books, archives, constitutions, journals, novels, plays, newspapers, magazines, documentaries, dairies, annual reports,
periodical and paintings.
Types of written records

Written sources are classified into two;
a) Early manuscripts. A manuscript is an author’s handwritten or typed text that has not yet been published. Early manuscripts
include stone tablets and scrolls. The bible and Quran are based on these two.
b) Printed sources. They include books, journals, novels, plays, newspapers, magazines, documentaries, dairies and annual
reports. Photographs employ both electronic and printing processes but basically fall under printed sources
Works of fiction such as films plays and novels are important source of historical information. (Fiction is literature in form of prose,
especially novels that describe imaginary events and people).
Since work of fiction involves feelings and emotions, they can give more information about history. Also reading good historical
novels arouses interest in history and gives the reader intellectual fulfillment.
Newspapers convey new or fresh events, which with the passing of time becomes history.
The ancient, prized manuscripts of Timbuktu, one of the largest written records of Islamic and African history from the 13 th to 18th
centuries, have long been housed in the city’s libraries. However, the collection was moved to Bamako by a team of historians after
militants occupied Timbuktu and threatened to burn the manuscripts.

Book of the dead papyrus Stone tablet with writings
ee
FUNCTIONS OF WRITTEN RECORDS
1. Written records provide pictures of society.
2. These records reflect public opinion at the time of writing. For example, the letter to the editor in newspaper expresses the
readers’ feelings on current issues.
3. Written records serve as stores of a large variety of information, including discoveries, government policies, statements,
religious beliefs, fashion, speeches and agreement.
4. In-depth reports of daily events are kept as written records. For example, in a diary, newspaper or biography.
ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN RECORDS

1. Written records preserve history since events are recorded for future reference. They are a store of information.
2. Written information can reach or be distributed to all literate people all over the world.
3. Written sources are less costly compared to those of anthropology or archaeology.
4. Unlike oral tradition sources which are largely dependent on human memory, written sources are more accurate as
information is preserved exactly as it was recorded.
5. Written records may be written or translated into different languages thus reaching different people all over the world.
6. Written records are in most cases reliable as biases and prejudices coming from authors can be limited. This can be done
by comparing written material with statistical data from other sources.
7. It is easy to get information.
8. Easy to make references
9. It is helpful in doing researches.
10. They can be kept for long time
DISADVANTAGES OF WITTEN RECORDS
1. Where an author omits essential information for one reason or another, a written source may be rendered quite unreliable.
2. Written information may be misunderstood or misinterpreted by readers either with the intention of discrediting others or
to suit one’s needs.
3. Writers at times are biased since the write from their particular point of view. For example, the writings of early explorers
and missionaries.
4. Written records are only limited to literate people within the society. – are not useful to illiterate people in the absence of
literate members of the society.
5. At times, depending on the society involved, acquiring written records may be very costly.
6. Reading written records is often time-consuming.
7. It is difficult to read everything from written records
7. LINGUISTICS
This refers to the scientific study of languages.
Historical linguistics is the study of language as it changes in the course of time. It seeks to trace the principles of language
change and establish the current genealogical classification of a particular language.
Such a study helps in discovering language form, content, vocabulary and historical experiences of the people who speak the
language.
Distribution of language and relationship between languages is important to a historian. People who speak related languages
may be assumed to have a common origin, be connected, or had been in close contact at some time in the past.
Variations between languages of the same family can show how long ago the break in contact occurred.
ADVANTAGES OF LINGUISTICS
1. It helps to get information from various sources.
2. It helps to determine dates of historical event e.g. “Aluta continua” (Period of struggle for independence in Mozambique)
3. Through linguistics, Facts can be obtained about the movement of people and their relationship. Such information helps
experts to correctly group languages according to language families.

4. It helps us understand communities better as people with a common language may have common origin. It is good for
establishing facts on origin, migration and settlement.
5. Linguistics complements other sources of historical information. For example, language as a medium of communication
helps those using oral tradition to gather information from various sources.
6. Language has enabled historical linguists to discover links between different people which were previously unknown. E.g.
it is now known that the Bantus had a common origin and possibly spoke one language. However due to long periods of
separation between various Bantu groups, through migrations, these groups may not understand each other’s language today.
7. Linguistics helps in the dating of migration of people. Language drawn from a parent language will change in a certain way
and rate through time. When comparing parent language with derived language, it is possible to know how long the derived
language has developed independently from the parent language. E.g. Sheng language and Kiswahili (parent language)
LIMITATIONS OF LINGUISTICS
1. The present language may be corrupted.
2. It is time and money consuming; learning a language takes a long time therefore delaying acquisition of information.
3. There is a danger of omitting a word when translating a language. In the process, vital information about a
people’s history may be lost.
4. Inaccurate information can be passed on where wrong words are borrowed from other languages.
5. Some words may just be difficult to understand.
6. Some languages have become archaic (old-fashioned) and irrelevant hence difficult to translate.
7. Misinterpretation of words may make them difficult to understand.
8. Linguistic analysis for classification purposes may fail to take into account languages with time.
9. One word may have different meanings in different languages. This can easily confuse a researcher.
10. Lack of original speakers in the language under study limits research findings.
11. Some languages are hard to write or understand like of the bushmen like Hadzabe, Tindiga, Sandawe and Khoikhoi
8. ANTHROPOLOGY:
Anthropology is the study of all aspects of human
life and culture. Anthropology examines such topics
as how people live, what they think, what they
produce, and how they interact with their
environments. It can also be defined as, the study of
the society’s cultural systems, beliefs, ideas etc. The
study can give important information about
movements, settlements and production activities of
the past.
This is the study of human beings, their origin,

development, customs, beliefs, and social attributes
like music, dance, drama, and religious beliefs and
practices.
Anthropologists (are the people who study

anthropology) try to understand the full range of
human diversity (varieties or mixture or differences) Origins of Anthropology
as well as what all people share in common. The modern study of anthropology had its origins in the European exploration and
colonization of lands in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. European
contacts with vastly different peoples sparked an interest in understanding and
Anthropologists have to live among the people under explaining human diversity, the goals of anthropology.
study in order to experience their way of life in order
to understand and explain structures of societies,
forms of social organization, institutions, descent, marriage, forms of government, systems of inheritance, religious customs and
cultural values.
The anthropological description of the beliefs and customs of a people will help the historian to determine the cultural past of the
people
Anthropologists ask such basic questions as: When, where, and how did humans evolve? How do people adapt to different
environments? How have societies developed and changed from the ancient past to the present?
Answers to these questions can help us understand what it means to be human. They can also help us to learn ways to meet the
present-day needs of people all over the world and to plan how we might live in the future.
ADVANTAGES OF ANTHROPOLOGY
1. Helps the historian to find traces of the past in the present social structures of the society, forms of social organization, cultures,
etc.. Therefore, using the current reliable information helps us to understand how the past was.
2. Helps the historian to reconstruct the past elements of all cultures. The historian studies the information and research techniques
used by the anthropologist to arrive at a certain conclusion.
3. Anthropologists assist historians to determine the cultural past of the people.
4. It also gives a deeper understanding of a particular aspect of a people’s culture.

Generally, anthropology enables a comparison of social institutions of various societies which helps the historian in tracing the
original homeland of social features.
DISADVANTAGES OF ANTHROPOLOGY
1. It is an expensive method as it involves living among the people. who under study may try to behave differently when the
researcher is around. A researcher may therefore miss important details.
2. It is a time-consuming method of acquiring information. It is difficult for a researcher to adapt to the environment since the
people they are studying may be of a totally different culture. Where they succeed in adapting, they face the risk of losing their
own culture.
3. A comparison of the social institutions of various societies over a wide area might indicate the influence of one culture upon
another and the time when these cultures developed and spread which may create misunderstanding and hatred between the
different societies
4. The works of anthropology are very limited to time and environment. In the present people may be living in a condition far
different from what their ancestors lived; in the long run the anthropologist will not get the necessary information required in
his study.
5. The knowledge of the anthropologist in this case is very important as one can easily exaggerate or underestimate or interpret
basing on his knowledge a thing that will affect the whole process of trying to reconstruct history. This therefore means that
objectivity of history does not mean objectivity of facts but interpretation.
6. This method is too tiresome. The anthropologist has to live among the people and learn their culture which enables him to
understand all the different aspects of life of a given society and to determine whether it is authentic and worth studying.
7. Generalization; anthropologists may generalize some characteristics which doesn’t either exist or match the particular society
which makes some historian to approve some idea concerning particular explanation. Under this circumstance one may conclude
that, some historian may become bias to reveal the real truth about certain culture. For example, the idea of physical appearance
of some African tribes and the technological advancement of African societies before the coming of foreigners.
9. ELECTRONIC SOURCES.
These include Audio sources such as Radio, audio books and other recorded sounds in electronic devices, like tape, flash, memory
cards, etc.) Visual only sources like slide show with picture and details and Audio-visual like Microfilms, Videos/cinema.
Television, Projectors, slide show with sounds, etc.)
Radio.
This is an authoritative source of historical information SOME ELECTRONIC DEVICES THAT CAN BE USED TO GET
that captures words and emotions of an event as I was. HISTORICAL INFORMATION
For example, radio news on the president’s speeches
gives listeners the actual information on national
matters. However, radio lacks the vividness found in
television and films.
Audiobook, audio recording of a person reading a
book, story, or other written text. People can listen to
audiobooks on cassette or compact disc; they can also
access them through the Internet by downloading audio
programs to their computers.
Audio visual, include microfilms, films, videos, radio,

and television Microfilms.
Microfilms are films on which extremely small

photographs (microphotography) of documents and
printed matter are stored. They are tinny but when magnified can be clearly read. The importance of converting documents into
microfilms is for preservation purposes and saving storage spaces.
Films/Videos carry indisputable historical facts as action is recorded live. They also give better understanding of some aspects of
the social history of a given people with regard to their music, dress and leisure activities. Videos and films make the past come
alive.
However, since films are acted, they can sometimes be unrealistic as they may not present facts but an exaggerated version of an
event.
Television on its part gives good historical information as it depicts the situation as it was Databanks and databases.
Databanks are large stores of organized information which can be accessed in number of ways. E.g. if it is a book, information can
be accessed through an index, a table of content or by browsing.
Electronic databases are stored in computer and facilitate easy and faster retrieval of information. One can search for information by
use of a number of search terms.
Information in a database can be printed when required but can also be accessed instantly on computer.

Limitations of using electronics as a source of information in history and government.
1. They are Subject to bias since most audio visuals contain foreign materials carrying the bias of the producer.
2. Some are limited to the literate only e.g. information in data bases and microfilms can only be accessed by literate people and
even computer literate people only.
3. The information may be inaccurate only giving what is appealing to the public.TV crew depict only what they want to.
Censorship may leave out vital information.
4. Electronic sources of information are too expensive; most people cannot afford e.g. TV, Radios.
5. Some acted films are unrealistic and therefore contain exaggerated information
DATING HISTORICAL EVENTS

Historians usually divide time into several categories, namely
 Day – is a duration of twenty-four hours (24hours)
 A week – is a duration of seven days (7days)
 Month – is the duration of four weeks (4 weeks)
 A year – is a duration of twelve months (12 months)
 A decade – is a duration of ten years (10 yeas)
 A century – is the duration of one hundred years (100 years)
 A millennium – is the duration of thousand years (1000 years)
 A generation – is the average differences on ages between a child and his/her parent.
 Age – is the period based on man’s economic activities and type of tools used e.g. stone age, iron age, industrial age, science
and technology age, etc.
 A period – is determined by one continuous event lasting for number of years
For example, Period of slave trade in East Africa and other parts of the world. Or Period of long distance trade or Period of colonial
rule in Africa.
Some points are chosen in order to divide time. Those points include: -
Year ZERO – is the year when Jesus Christ was born. Year after ZERO year is known as Anno Domino (A.D) meaning the year of
the Lord. All years before zero are called (B.C) meaning (Before Christ)
BCE which means Before the Common Era, may be used to denote past periods.
CE means, Common Era; it denotes present or continuing time.
Muslims start their calendar at Hijra A.H, (Al Hijra or after Hijra) this is when Prophet Muhammad S.A.W (born in the year 570
A.D. and died in the year 632 A.D.), in the year 622 A.D. fled from Mecca to Medina while he was spreading Islam.
Muhammad left Mecca just as his enemies were preparing to murder him, and he arrived in Medina eight days later.
“Hegira or Hejira (Arabic hijrah, means “flight”), specifically, flight in 622AD of Muhammad from Mecca
to Yathrib (now Medina), both in what is now Saudi Arabia; by extension, the term is applied to any similar
flight or emigration. Caliph Umar I, selected the year of the Hegira as the first year of the Muslim era. Hence,
ad 622 became 1 ah (anno hegirae) in the Muslim calendar, which Umar systematized in 639”. Microsoft
Encarta, 2009
WAYS TO DETERMINE DATES

Dates are instrument in a science of history. The dates in history can be of estimation or approximation or assumed which, it can be
called relative dating or it can be absolute dating which gives an exact time of a time or an event or both. These dates or times in
history can be determined either by local/old/non-scientific methods or scientific/modern methods. Within those methods there are
many techniques that can be used todetermine dates, however, at this course, the following will be discussed.
1. Recalling events: - here important events are recalled/remembered e.g. drought, famine (hunger/starvation), floods, birth,
eruption of diseases, wars, natural disasters like earthquakes, etc.

2. By studying languages: - Some names or words help people to remember dates of some events. E.g., Word “Karafuu” started
when Cloves were introduced in Zanzibar. Word “Pesa” which is used both the Indians of Asia and the Swahili people to denote
money, gives us a clue that people in one time so many years ago, had relationship or contact.
3. Radiocarbon dating or Carbon-14 Method; is a scientific method of determining dates was developed by American chemist
Willard Libby and his colleagues in 1949, and it quickly became one of the most widely used tools in archaeology. Radiation
from space produces neutrons that enter the earth’s atmosphere and react with nitrogen to produce the carbon isotope C-14
(carbon 14). All living organisms accumulate this isotope through their metabolism until it is in balance with levels in the
atmosphere, but when they die they absorb no more. Because the nucleus of C-14 decays at a known rate, scientists can determine
the age of organic substances such as bones, plant matter, shells, and charcoal by measuring the amount on C-14 that remains
in them. Radiocarbon methods can date sites that are up to 40,000 or 50,000 years old. These methods have revolutionized
archaeology over the past half-century. For instance, radiocarbon testing of materials from early farming settlements at Jericho,
in what is now Jordan, dated these settlements to as early as 7800 BC, indicating that they are more than 3500 years older than
was once thought.
4. Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, This method of dating events and conditions of the recent past is based on the number,
width, and density of annual growth rings of long-lived trees. By tree rings, through dendrochronologists (people who specialized
on studying tree rings), one can be able to date accurately events and climatic conditions of the past 3000 to 4000 years.
1. Chronometric dating or the use of calendar, refers to the assignment of calendar year dates to artifacts, fossils, and other
remains. Obtaining such dates is one of archaeology’s greatest challenges. Archaeologists who specialize in prehistoric periods
use a variety of both well-established and experimental methods for absolute dating of ancient cultures.
2. Dating to Objects of Known Age or historical documents. This is one of the simpler ways to determine the absolute age of
an object that confirm the date, or both. The earliest recordings of dates, documented in writing or some other form of readable
notation, come from about 3000 B.C. in Southwestern Asia. In other areas, people did not begin to record dates until far more
recently.
3. Artifacts with known dates, such as coins or pottery of a well-known period, provide archaeologists with comparisons that
allow them to assign dates to other sites and cultures that did not have writing. For example, during his excavations of Knossos
in the early 1900s Sir Arthur Evans also studied pottery vessels found in Egypt that were made by the Minoan inhabitants of
Bronze Age Crete. Knowing the dates of the sites in Egypt where the vessels were found, Evans determined that the Minoan
civilization, one of several to rule the island of Crete, flourished between 2000 and 1250 BC
METHODS OF SHOWING DATES/TIME IN HISTORY.

Orders of events: ways showing order of events, period and ages, among them are-
1. Time graph S/N PERIOD A.D EVENTS
2. Time chart 1 1884-1885 The Britain Conference
3. Time line 2 1914-1918 The first World war period
4. Family tree 3 1939-1945 The second world war period
4 1961 Tanganyika become independent
5 1962 Tanganyika became republic
6 1992 Introduction of multipart system in Tanzania.
AN EXAMPLE OF TIME CHART

d. An example of a family tree
TOPIC TWO
EVOLUTION OF MAN, TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
BRIEF ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF MAN.

The 'cradle of humankind'
The English naturalist Charles Darwin first proposed his theory of evolution in 1859 (The Origin of Species). When he applied his theory to the origins of human
beings (The Descent of Man, 1871), he suggested that the birthplace of humankind was prob4bly Africa. At the time Darwin's ideas provoked great controversy
in Europe. This was partly for reasons, Darwin challenged the Biblical notion that God created humankind and all other modern living creatures in a single,
spontaneous week of creation. Darwin's publications also came at a time of heightening European imperial expansion. His writings thus flew in the face of
European notions of racial superiority. Many Europeans found it hard to accept that their own most ancient ancestors had originally come from Africa. Since
the 1950s, however, scientific research in the dry savannah grasslands and woodlands of Southern, Eastern and Northern Africa have provided sufficient
evidence to confirm the truth of Darwin's proposition: Africa is indeed the 'cradle of humankind'. And, what is more, it seems that Africa is the origin not only
of the human species itself, but also of many of the more important technological innovations developed in the ancient world of early human prehistory. Africa
is the only continent in which evidence has been found for man's early evolution. The material evidence for human evolution depends largely upon the recovery
and examination of ancient bones, fossils, stone tools and other artefacts.
SHILLINGTON, K. 2005, pg. 1
Even in prehistory period, people were in great desire to know their origin. Prehistory is the time before written records appeared,
which occurred about 3000 BC. Prehistory includes the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Societies without written records
preserved their history through stories and myths passed orally from one generation to another. Through stories and myths which
were passed orally, people were telling their children and their generation about their origin, origin of sin and hardship of man, and
so on. Throughout history, philosophers, religious thinkers, and scientists have attempted to explain the history and variety of life on
Earth. During the rise of modern science in western Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, a predominant view held that God created
every organism on Earth more or less as it now exists. The increasing interest in the study of fossils and natural history, allowed the
beginnings of a modern evolutionary theory to take shape. Early evolutionary theorists proposed that all of life on Earth evolved
gradually from simple organisms. Their knowledge of science was incomplete, however, and their theories left too many questions
unanswered. Most prominent scientists of the day remained convinced that the variety of life on Earth could only result from an act
of divine creation. Therefore, origin of man can be explained under three categories of theories, which attempt to explain the origin
of man namely, theory of creation, the mythical theory and the theory of evolution.
1st THEORY OF CREATION.

This theory explains that there is super natural power that creates everything. This super natural power is God. Refer from the Holy
Bible and Qur'an e.g. from Biblical knowledge (Genesis chapter 1:26) it says that: - God created man by using soil; at first, they
created a man and then later a woman. These two creatures established their relationship and this marked the beginning of human
family. Adam and Eve, in the Bible, are the first man and woman or progenitors of the human race. The biblical account of the
creation of human beings occurs twice: in Genesis 1:26-27 and in Genesis 2:18-24.

2ND THE MYTHICAL THEORY.
Among African communities, there are myths about their origin all of them pointing to the fact that the first man was created by
God. However, their beliefs are more in hearts than written form. African communities are rich in oral traditions about the origin of
Man and relation to their gods. Something to bear in mind is that, these beliefs their stronger than the Christianity and Islam in most
of communities. The following are few tribes of Tanzania and on how they explain the origin of man, according to Lynch, P. A
(2004).
Every culture has its creation account—a story that explains how the universe, Sun, Moon, stars, Earth, humans, animals, and all that
forms the world came into being. Almost universally throughout Africa, one Supreme Being was held to be responsible for the
creation of everything in existence. Creation accounts are as diverse as the cultures of different tribal groups. One of the themes of
African creation accounts is the “cosmic egg myth,” in which an egg was the beginning of life. A second theme is that of the sacred
word through which creation proceeds or that is given to humanity by the Creator.
Origin of Human; The creation of human beings is mentioned in many accounts. In some African myths, humans were in existence
from the beginning (sometimes in spirit form) and lived in the heavens with the Creator. At some point, the Creator allowed the
humans to descend to Earth to live. In many tales that describe how humans were created, they were made from clay.
The Shilluk tribe of Sudan explains differences in peoples’ skin color with a creation tale about Juok, their supreme god. Juok
traveled to different parts of the Earth to use local clay to make each race of men. When he traveled north, he found light-colored
clay, which he used to make Europeans. Traveling east, he found reddish-brown clay, which was used to make Arab people. In
Africa, Juok found rich black clay, which he used to create African people.
A similar “clay man” creation myth from the Nuba tribe in northern Sudan offers a different reason for racial differences: the
temperature the Creator used to bake his clay men in the oven. The first batch was left in the oven too long and came out black; these
men were sent south on the Nile River to live in Ethiopia. The second batch was taken out too soon and became white men, who
were sent north. By the third batch, the Creator had finally figured out how long to bake his clay men, who emerged perfectly reddish
brown in color. The men of the third batch pleased the Creator so much that they were allowed to stay in the Sudan.
Arebati, the Efe and Mbuti Creator, made the first human from clay, covered the clay with skin, and poured blood into the skin to
bring the human to life. In the Yoruba tradition, Obatala, the representative on Earth of Olorun (the Supreme God), made humans
out of clay, and Olorun breathed life into them. Ama, the Creator figure of the Jukun of Nigeria, is described as building humans up
bone by bone in the way a potter builds a pot from strips of clay. Woyengi, the female Creator of the Ijo of Nigeria, created humans
from soil.
In some traditions, human life began in or under a tree. For the Damara and Herero of Namibia, the first humans originated from the
omumboronbonga tree. A man and a woman were first to emerge, followed by oxen. According to the Nuer of Sudan, humans were
created under a tamarind tree. According to the Mbuti of Democratic Republic of the Congo, a chameleon, hearing a strange noise
in a tree, cut open its trunk. Water came out in a great flood that spread all over the Earth. The first man and woman emerged with
the water. In other emergence myths, people came out of a hole in the ground or a cave.
According to the Shangaan of Zimbabwe, n’wari, the bird god, bored a hole in a reed and laid an egg in the hole. The first human
hatched from this egg. In the zulu creation account, people grew on reeds in a primordial swamp. For the Thonga people of
Mozambique and South Africa, the first humans also emerged either from a reed or a reedy marsh.
In one of the more unusual stories about human origins, Bumba, the Bushongo Creator, vomited up humans. In another unusual tale,
told by the Yao of Malawi and Mozambique, a chameleon found the first humans in a fish trap. Mungu, the Nandi and Swahili
Creator, made humans from the light of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. To have deep knowledge about this theory, let us examine some
of tribes and their belief in creation and origin of human beings.
In Eastern Africa, Mulungu (Mlungu, Mungu, Murun-gu) is the widely spread name of the Supreme God and Creator; many peoples
worshiped him as a sky god whose voice was thunder. In a creation account of the Kamba of Kenya, the first man and woman
emerged from a termite hole, and a second pair—along with a cow, goat, and sheep—were thrown down from the heavens by
Mulungu. From these four people and their children came the clans of the Kamba, Kikuyu, and Maasai.
Among the Nandi and the Swahili of Kenya and Tanzania, The Creator who they call Mungu, made the heavens and Earth. In the
beginning, Earth and sky were the same, until Mungu placed the sky above the Earth. He created the Earth’s waters and the rain.
Then Mungu created fire and the Sun, Moon, and stars. From the light that these created, Mungu made human beings. When he
placed humans on Earth, the harmony of their lives was linked to the movements of the heavenly bodies. This harmony was
sometimes disrupted when a snake approached the Moon and swallowed it. It was the responsibility of people on Earth to intervene
with the snake on behalf of the Moon and force the snake to vomit up the Moon.
According to the Nyamwezi people of Tanzania, Mulungu (The Creator) could not be reached by worship. Communication could
take place only through a hierarchy of spirits that served as intermediaries between humans and the Supreme God. The first people
rejected a medicine that would have given them immortality because the first woman advised them that following death they would
return to the spirit world. The Nyamwezi did not associate death with Mulungu. Instead, an evil spirit was believed to bring death
and misfortune to humans.

The Pare of Tanzania, calls their god Kiumbi who is the Supreme God and Creator, lived in the sky. As is the case with many
African deities (gods), Kiumbi had once been close to the humans he had created. However, when humans disobeyed his orders,
Kiumbi withdrew to great distance. The only way people could reach him was through the ancestors, who served as the mediators
between the god and humanity. In an attempt to reach Kiumbi and restore their former closeness with the Supreme God, people tried
to build a tower to the sky. The higher they built the tower, the farther away Kiumbi went. Angered by the people’s attempts to reach
him, Kiumbi sent a famine to Earth. Everyone died except a young boy and girl who became the new parents of the human race.
According to the Shangaan of Zimbabwe, n’wari, the bird god, bored a hole in a reed and laid an egg in the hole. The first human
hatched from this egg. In the zulu creation account, people grew on reeds in a primordial swamp.
For the Thonga people of Mozambique and South Africa, the first humans also emerged either from a reed or a reedy marsh. In one
of the more unusual stories about human origins, Bumba, the Bushongo Creator, vomited up humans (see bushongo creation account).
The Makua of Malawi and Mozambique, calls their god Muluku; The Supreme God and Creator, who made the Earth and created
the first humans. According to myth, after he created Earth, Muluku dug two holes. A man emerged from one hole and a woman
from the second. He gave them land and the tools they needed to live and instructed them in how to cultivate crops, care for the land,
and use what the Earth gave them. However, instead of working the land, the people went into the forest to live off what they could
find there. Muluku then summoned two monkeys and gave them the same tools and instructions. The monkeys followed his
instructions and pleased him. He cut off the monkeys’ tails and attached them to the humans, saying that from that time on the
humans would be monkeys, and the monkeys would be humans.
In the Herero (Namibia) their god is known as Mukuru; The ancestor god and Creator of the Herero people. Mukuru was considered
a benevolent god who brought life-giving rain, healed the sick, and supported the elderly. When people died, it was because they
were called home by Mukuru. The Herero viewed their tribal chief as the incarnation of Mukuru and believed that he continued
Mukuru’s task as a bringer of culture.
Modimo is the name of Sotho (Lesotho, South Africa) Supreme God, Creator, and head of the Sotho pantheon of gods. As in the
case of many other African deities, Modimo was a god with dual aspects. He was viewed as both father and mother of humanity, as
being in the sky and also in the Earth. When a lightning bolt appeared to enter the Earth, it was said that Modimo was returning to
himself. Modimo was a powerful god, feared for his vengefulness and his control of fire, but at the same time he was seen as remote,
intangible, and unknowable. According to one myth, Modimo lived in a hole in the ground that was also the home of the dead.People
had both their beginning and their end within the Earth.
Makoni in Zimbabwe, on creation account says, in the beginning, Maori, the Supreme God and Creator, made the first man and
called him Mwuetsi, “Moon.” Maori placed Mwuetsi at the bottom of a lake (the sea in one version of the legend) and gave him a
ngona horn (an antelope horn symbolic of the crescent Moon) filled with ngona oil. Mwuetsi begged Maori to let him live on Earth.
Maori allowed him to do so but warned him that he would regret it; the end would be his death.
In the tribes of Anang and Efik of Nigeria. The Supreme God and Creator, who lived in the sky, is known by the name of Abbasi or
Abasi. Like many other African gods, Abassi had a dual nature and was effectively two gods: Abassi Onyong, “the god above,” and
Abassi Isong, “the god below.” According to the Efik, humans could communicate with the Supreme God through Abassi Isong.
The Anang said that Ikpa Ison, a fertility goddess and earth spirit, kept Abassi in touch with earthly activities by means of a vulture.
Spirits played important roles in Anang and Efik religion and mythology. These spirits included spirits of ancestors, guardian spirits,
and evil beings. Fifty-four spirits called nnem had significant religious, social, political, and economic functions. They brought
sacrifices to Abassi so that he could decide how to reward the humans who had made the sacrifices. Abassi created the world and
the first man and woman. Because Abassi did not want anyone to compete with him, he decided that the people he had created could
not be allowed to live on Earth. His wife, Atai, disagreed with him. She insisted that Abassi allow the couple to settle on Earth.
Abassi finally permitted them to do so but with two conditions: They could neither grow their own food nor have children. To make
it unnecessary for the couple to grow crops or hunt, Abassi rang a bell to summon them to the sky, where they ate all their meals
with him. The woman, however, began to till the soil and produce food. Her husband agreed that the food she grew was better than
the food Abassi gave them, so he joined her in the fields. The couple stopped having meals with Abassi. In time, they also began to
have children. Abassi told Atai that he had been right about not letting humans live on Earth; they had forgotten him. Atai reassured
him that humans would never be his equal. To keep people in their place, she sent death into the world.
As it is seen above, most creation stories assume the eternity of matter or even of the world itself. However, these myths hold that
the world in its precreation state was uninhabitable and must be organized either by the action of cosmic forces or by creator deities.
Certain images of the primal, or precreation, state of the universe are common to a number of mythological traditions. Some myths
represent the primal state as a void. Others depict it as a chaos of indistinct elements. Still others present it as a primeval sea, or as a
cosmic egg containing all things in embryonic form.
Some creation myths reflect the environmental circumstances of a particular culture. For example, in Mesopotamia, located between
the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, a dependence on irrigation systems and the perpetual threat of flooding were a pervasive feature of
life. Accordingly, the action and control of the waters played a major role in the mythology of Sumer, an early Mesopotamian
civilization. In Sumerian mythology, the primeval sea, personified by the goddess Nammu, is the source of the gods and of the
cosmos. When the gods decide to destroy their human creations, they do so by sending a flood (Deluge).

Creation mythologies explain the actual formation of the world by a variety of processes. These processes include the sacrifice of a
primal being (for example, a giant or serpent); a struggle between supernatural powers; the blending or coalescing of elements,
particularly water and earth; the incubation of a cosmic egg; and the uttering of a divine word. In myths that credit primary creation
to gods, such as the Greek deities Uranus (sky god) and Gaea (earth goddess), these deities often become hazy, remote figures in
later mythology, and stories often recount their overthrow by their own offspring. For example, in the Greek tradition, Zeus succeeded
his father Cronus and grandfather Uranus to become ruler of the gods.
It is now clear that, through mythology people my elaborate the origin of man in different way.
3rd THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION OF MAN

Evolution of Man is the gradual changes development of plants and animals from a simple form to a -more complex form. In
biology, evolution means the complex process by which the characteristics of living organisms change over many generations as
traits are passed from one generation to the next. The science of evolution seeks to understand the biological forces that caused
ancient organisms to develop into the tremendous and ever-changing variety of life seen on Earth today.
Evolution can be defined as the process of change in living organisms over a number of years, frequently involving the beginning of
new species from earlier species.
According to Charles Darwin, man transformed from simple life slowly over millions of years through environmental mutation,
natural selection, isolation and adaptation.
1. Mutation was a stage of abrupt change.
2. Natural selection is an instinct by which the stronger species out competes the weaker for resources.
3. Adaptation is where the surviving species isolate themselves from others as they adapt to new environment through body changes
and technological changes e.g. ability to grow crops and make shelter.
Darwin’s theory of natural selection comprises the following points.

1. All organisms or creatures are uniquely different and this uniqueness is based on heredity factors which an organism has from
birth.
2. Although many young organisms are produced, few manage to develop to maturity.
3. The organisms that manage to grow to maturity and reproduce are those that are able to constantly adapt to the existing
environment.
4. In view of the limited resources, even after mutation, Darwin argued that only the fittest organisms survive as the weak species
become extinct. This theory is popularly known as ‘survival for the fittest’.
According to Darwin, isolation and adaptation is the final stage in the evolution process. Having survived through mutation and
natural selection, the merging species increase in number. This leads to search for basic needs and in the process a species may be
isolated from the rest and then finally adapt to the new environment.
The theory of evolution holds that Humans belong to the animal kingdom and that man has evolved over the years. Man is a primate
just as apes like gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys. However, man belongs to the family of hominidae, while apes belong to the
family of pongidae. Man, according to Darwin developed over the years from his ape-like ancestors.
Evolution and adaptation of man

The earliest Mammals live on trees for two reasons;
a) There was more supply of food o trees such as insects, leaves and birds’ eggs
b) Security. Animals were more secure from their enemies while up on trees Man evolved from this kind of animals
Archaeological evidence points at East Africa as the cradle of mankind.
Reasons why East Africa is regarded as the place where man first evolved
a) Evidence from archaeologists’ show that the earliest apes first evolved around lake and rift valley areas. And if man evolved
from apes, then the first man must have appeared in East Africa.
b) The savanna landscapes found in East Africa favored evolution while the conditions elsewhere (forests and deserts) Were
unfavourable.
c) The bones and weapons and tools which archaeologists are finding are proofs to this. These findings are widespread in Olduvai
Gorge, Olorgesaillie, and Ngorongoro and around lakes of East Africa.
d) The discovery of remains of early hominids and their material culture which form a pattern of human evolution prove this. E.g.
we can trace the evolutionary process from dryopithecus to ramapithecus to Australopithecus to Homo habilis to Homo erectus
to Homo sapiens.
Important archaeological sites found in East Africa.
In Tanzania; - Olduvai Gorge, Eyasi, Isimila, Apis Rock and Garusi
In kenya;- Rusinga Island, Fort Ternan near Kericho, Kariandusi near Elementaita, Gambles cave, Olorgesaillie, Kobi For a near
lake turkana, Hyrax Hill and Njoro River cave.
In Uganda; - Nsongezi, Napak, Magosi, Paraa, Ishanga, Mweya and Nyabusora
In Ethiopia; - Omo River Valley and Hadar.

Over a long period of time, man’s ancestors lived in thick forests. Later about 15 million years ago, the forests transformed into
savanna grasslands causing man’s ancestors to change both physically and mentally so as to cope with the new environment.
Let us hear the story; (a reading text)

“In terms of evolution modern human beings belong to the primate family of 'hominids'. Hominid is a general biological name for
human or humanlike creatures with enlarged brains and the ability to walk upright on two legs. For tens of thousands of years’
modern human beings have been the only surviving hominids. But in the early stages of human evolution there were a number of
different hominid species. From the evidence of fossils, it appears that many millions of years ago the earliest form of hominid
evolved away from the other main family of primates, the great African forest apes: the gorilla and the chimpanzee.
There are significant gaps in the fossil evidence and so little is known about the earliest hominids. But it appears that sometime
between about ten million and five million years ago they moved out of the tropical forest into the more open savannah grasslands
and woodlands of East Africa. There they began to develop the techniques of standing and walking on two legs (bipedalism). Exactly
how and why they started doing this we do not know for sure, but in terms of survival and evolution it had a number of distinct
advantages. In the open savannah standing upright enabled them to see over the grassland and spot predators such as lion and leopard
who hunted them for food. Those best able to stand upright thus survived longer, reproduced more and passed this advantage on to
their descendants. A further highly important advantage of two-legged walking was that it left the hands free to carry food and use
tools. Fingers no longer needed to be short and strong for hanging on to branches in the forest. The early hominids were able to
evolve elongated fingers for performing intricate (complex or complicated) tasks and, eventually, for making their own tools.
The fossil record of the past five million years is continually being expanded with finds of early hominid fossils from Eastern and
Southern Africa as well as the Sahara. The evidence up to 1.5 million years ago forms a complex story of evolution and extinction
of numerous related species of early hominid. Most of these belong to the genus known as Australopithecus (`Southern ape'). They
were largely scavengers, some vegetarian, others meat-eaters, and had a brain capacity less than a third that of modern humans. They
were tool users rather than tool makers: they did not shape their own tools, but rather used whatever suitable sticks and stones they
found available.
An important change occurred about 2.5 million years ago with the evolution of the first tool makers. Because of this important
change these hominids have been designated Homo habilis (`handy man'), the first of the genus Homo. A number of animals, such
as chimpanzees, use sticks and other implements to assist in their searching for food. But the ability to make and shape one's own
tools and to use these tools for hunting as well as searching does seem to set the Homo line apart from other animals and the
Australopithecines. It is thought that modern humans are descended from Homo habilis, although their brain capacity was still barely
half that of modern human beings. Their stone tools, known as Oldowan (from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania where they were first
discovered), were simple chopping and cutting tools, made by chopping flakes off a volcanic pebble to form a sharp edge. Some of
the flakes thus removed were probably also used for cutting or scraping skins and perhaps for whittling sticks. The final shape of the
tool, however, was determined largely by the structure of the stone.
Some of the late species of Australopithecus continued to live alongside Homo habilis, but they found it increasingly difficult to
compete for food with the more efficient Homo species. By the time of the next major evolutionary advance, 1.5 million years ago,
the Australopithecines had all become extinct.
The next hominid to evolve in the Homo line was Homo ergaster (1.8 million years ago), from whom was descended the better-
known Homo erectus (`upright man') (1.5 million years ago). This was the first hominid to make specific and precise stone tools, to
a predetermined shape, requiring a major advance in brain-power. Homo erectus had a brain capacity two-thirds that of modern
humans.
Homo erectus was the first hominid to move out of Africa into Asia and Europe. Evidence of his remains, or the tools he made
between one million and half a million years ago have been found all over Africa, Southern Europe and Asia, even as far away as
China. The lost remains of 'Peking Man', first discovered in 1927, were probably late examples of Homo erectus.
The tool for which Homo erectus is best known is the land axe', usually referred to as Acheulian' after the place in Southern France
where one was first discovered. The hand axe was a tough, sharp, heavy tool, chipped on both sides and shaped to a deliberate point.
It could have been used for slicing, chopping or digging. Despite the origin of the name, the vast majority of Acheulian tools have
been found in Africa. Archaeologists have found some beautifully-made examples of the hand axe which must have been the product
of hours of skilled labour. Some may even have had symbolic ritual functions. There are certainly signs of some form of ritual or
early religion with the beginnings of the deliberate burial of the dead. Furthermore, with Homo erectus of the Acheulian period we
have the first sign of the use of regular, seasonal camps and cooperative hunting efforts as opposed to simple scavenging. They were
also the first hominids to learn the control and use of fire for roasting meat and probably for warmth. One of the most striking features
of the Acheulian `toolkit, whether in Africa, Asia or Europe, is the degree of similarity in shape and construction of tools, especially
the hand axe. This can be taken as further confirmation of the theory that the species Homo erectus all originally stemmed from one
source, and that source was Africa.
Fossil discoveries on a remote island of Indonesia in 2003 suggested that an evolutionary descendant of the Asian Homo erectus
might have survived into historic times. But there is some doubt about this evidence and it still seems likely that sometime between
1.5 million and 200,000 years ago Homo erectus and all other early hominids became extinct. They were replaced by an early or
archaic form of Homo sapiens (`wise man'), with a brain capacity nearly that of modern humans. This evolution again occurred in

Africa and nowhere else, although some of these early Homo sapiens also moved out of Africa into Asia and Southern Europe. With
the emergence of early Homo sapiens from about 200,000 years ago, the pace of technological change quickened. This period is
usually referred to as the 'Middle Stone Age'.
In this period bone began to be used for making certain tools while stone tools were more varied and precise. Regional differences
in their style and manufacture became more apparent. A new technique was developed for striking stone flakes from a pre-prepared
'core'. There was thus less waste and the makers were able to concentrate on selecting only the best, most suitable kind of stone, such
as obsidian, a hard volcanic glass-like rock capable of producing a particularly sharp edge. The flakes themselves were touched up
and improved to produce better 'knives' and scrapers. Some of their shaped stone points were probably used as spear-heads, attached
to wooden shafts by vegetable glue and twine. This and other evidence suggests positive advances in individual hunting techniques.
There was greater use of fire and camps became more organised. Shelters were built out of branches, grass and stones, and in the
cooler climates of Northern and Southern Africa people sought shelter in caves.
Sometime between about 120,000 and 90,000 years ago the final evolution into fully modern human beings, Homo sapiens sapiens,
occurred in the savannah woodlands of Eastern and Southern Africa. These people had the same brain capacity and ability to think
as modern human beings. They were, in effect, the same as us. The only thing they lacked was our learned experience and
accumulated knowledge. They were thus the original pioneers in the development of human thought, philosophy, religion and
technology. Although population levels were still very low by today's standards, by 60,000 years ago Homo sapiens sapiens were to
be found across most of the African continent and had begun to move into Asia and Europe. By 10 000 BCE, (Before the Common
Era) they had spread to all the major regions of the world. Apart from the possibility of some species' survival in remote and isolated
parts of the world (mentioned above), it can generally be assumed that by the time Homo sapiens sapiens had spread to the whole of
the rest of the world, all other earlier Homo species had become extinct.
Since the earliest Homo sapiens sapiens came from tropical Africa, they were probably brown-skinned and similar in appearance to
one or more of the many variations of African peoples today. As they spread throughout Africa and colonized the other continents
of the world, they adapted to variations in climate and environment. Those in the heat of tropical Africa developed the darkest skin
to protect them from the harmful rays of the direct tropical sun. Those moving to cooler climates developed paler skins in order to
absorb more of the beneficial rays of the less direct sunlight. The so-called ‘racial differences’ between the various peoples of the
world are thus literally only skin-deep, local adaptations to climate and environment. All human beings belong to the same species,
and the origins of that species are to be found in Africa”.
Human Evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated from apelike ancestors. Scientific evidence shows
that the physical and behavioral traits shared by all people evolved over a period of at least 6 million years. The scientific study of
human evolution is called paleoanthropology.
- Humans are primates which means, the first man belongs to the family of primates that included Ape, Gorilla, Monkey and
Chimpanzee. Physical and genetic similarities show that the modern human species or Homo sapiens, has a very close
relationship to another group of primate species, the apes. Humans and the so-called great apes (large apes) of Africa—
chimpanzees (including bonobos, or so-called pygmy chimpanzees) and gorillas—share a common ancestor that lived sometime
between 8 million and 6 million years ago.
- The earliest humans evolved in Africa, and much of human evolution occurred on that continent. The fossils of early humans
who lived between 6 million and 2 million years ago come entirely from Africa.
- One of the earliest defining human traits is bipedalism.
- Bipedalism is an ability of an organism to walk on two legs as the primary form of locomotion.
- It evolved more than 4 million years ago.
- Other important human characteristics—such as a large and complex brain, the ability to make and use tools, and the capacity
for language—developed more recently.
- Many advanced traits—including complex symbolic expression, such as art, and elaborate cultural diversity—emerged mainly
during the past 100,000 years.
Scientists have discovered the bones and artifacts of early humans in many parts of Africa and Eurasia. The earliest humans, known as australopithecines,
lived only in Africa. The modern human genus, Homo, also evolved in Africa, but several middle and late Homo species migrated to Europe and Asia.
Early forms of Homo sapiens, or modern humans, lived in Africa and Asia. Only fully modern humans populated the rest of the globe.
SUMMARY OF EVOLUTION OF MAN

The changes which Homo sapiens underwent as a break - off from apes to modern man.
a) The skull size of the early human beings became larger indicating bigger brains. For example, Australopithecus, who lived
between 5 and 1 million years ago, had a brain capacity of 530cm3. Homo erectus who lived later on had an improved brain
capacity of between 775 and 1225cm3.
b) Their jaws and teeth became more powerful compared to earlier forms indicating their use in tearing and cutting tough fibres
and even the need for defence as a weapon. The size of the jaws and teeth became smaller.
c) They developed a refined speech as compared to earlier forms.
d) They were taller with less hair on their body.
e) The forearms and hands underwent some changes. They developed a thumb for grasping objects. Their arms and hands became
shorter, more appropriate for an upright posture.
f) Their leg and foot formation also changed. Their feet and toes were smaller than earlier hominids in order to support the weight
of the rest of the body while motionless or mobile. The toes were no longer in need for holding onto branches.

From apes to homo sapien sapiens.
Between 40 and 25 million years ago, the first apes appeared on earth. The first man (Austropithecus) appeared around 4.5 million
years ago.
The following are the stages through which the evolution of man passed.
1) Aegyptopithecus - An Early African Monkey
- Aegyptopithecus was reconstructed from a monkey-like skull found at Fayum Depression in Egypt. He forms earliest
evidence of probable man's ancestors.
- Its Teeth were those of a herbivore
- It had a Small, about 4kg and was named Egyptian ape.
- It was highly adapted to forest life. Had stereoscopic vision.
- It could jump skillfully from one tree to other using hands. It Dated 33 million years
2) Dryopithecus Africanus (proconsul)
- Its Remains were found at Rusinga Island within Lake Victoria by Mary and Louis Leakey in 1948.
- Its Skull appearance was more close to modern man than to Aegyptopithecus.
- He had a quadrupedal movement like a chimpanzee. He had a Smooth forehead
- He had long teeth like other animals. The shape of his teeth and jaws indicated that He ate fruits.
- It is his remains that strengthen the belief that East Africa was the first homeland of mankind.
3) Kenyapithecus (Ramapithecus)
- He is believed to have appeared between 15 and 12 million years ago
- First remains found Fort Ternan in Kericho District, Kenya, in 1961 by Dr. Louis Leakey and Mary. Other fossils found at
Samburu Hills, near Lake Baringo as well as in the Lake Turkana basin.
- The equivalent species found in the Siwalikis Hills in northern India near New Delhi was named Ramapithecus
- He had small canines and could occasionally walk on twos without falling.
- The creature was small and weighed 36kg with bigger brains than earlier hominids.
4) Australopithecus (southern ape)
- By 4-2m years ago a series of species known as australopithecines begin to appear. Perhaps it was the earliest homid closer
to modern man.
- The pelvis and leg were similar to that of modern humans.
- They were bipedal and this was important in defence, grasp of objects and vision of an impending danger from a distance.
- His Brain size was smaller than that of a human but larger than gorilla’s.
- He was one of the hairiest hominid that ever existed.
- He was Short but strong with a low forehead. Had large teeth and skulls
- His remains were first discovered at Taung in Botswana by Raymond Dart in 1924.
- The broken up skull found in East Africa at Olduvai Gorge in 1959 by Mary Leakey, was called Zinjanthropus ‘Nut-Cracker
man ‘since it had big jaws that suggest it kept on chewing.
Other fossils found in South Africa, Omo River Valley, Laetoli in Tanzania, near L. Turkana and Baringo in kenya and L. Natron
Four types of Australopithecines that have been identified
a) Australopithecus Afarensis
b) Australopithecus Anamensis
c) Australopithecus Africanus.
d) Australopithecus Robustus
a) Australopithecus Anamensis
- He is aged between 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago and is believed to be one of the oldest Australopithecines.
- Evidence of his existence is obtained from the Reconstruction of Material consisting of 9 fossils from Kanapoi in Kenya
and 12 fossils from Allia Bay in Kenya found by Dr. Meave, Leakey, Dr. Allan Walker and the four fossil hunters (Kamoya
Kimeu, Wambua Mangao, Nzube Mutiwa and Samuel Ngui.)
- The fossil remains (comprising a lower jaw) were named A. Anamensis in August 1995 in a leading British Scientific
journal.
- He had relatively large canines.
b) Australopithecus Afarensis
- The homid was aged between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. Its Name is derived from Afar Depression in Ethiopia.
- He had Apelike face and human-like teeth.
- He was small in stature and Bipedal, but walked bent over, not fully upright.
- They had very small brains -Brain capacity from 375 to 500 cc – (Its Brain was the size of an orange.)
- They had a bony ridge over the eyes, a low forehead, a flat nose, and also they had no chin.
- Remains found at Laetoli in Tanzania and Tugen Hills in Baringo District.
c) Australopithecus Africanus (A. Gracilis)
- Africanus existed between 3 and 2.5 million years ago.
- A. Africanus was slenderly built, or Gracile (Gracile means slender) with a height of 1.5m.
- Was significantly more like modern humans than A. Afarensis, with a larger brain and more humanoid facial features.
- Had large teeth, jaws and skull
- Africanus has been found at only four sites in southern Africa — Taung (1924)

- Sterkfontein (1935), Makapansgat (1948) and Gladysvale (1992).
d) Australopithecus Robustus
- He Lived between 11/2 - 2mya in South Africa.
- He is the biggest and most recent Australopithecine. - weight 68kg. He had more robust skull, jaws, and teeth.
- He ate fruits, nuts and raw tubers- was apparently a vegetarian.
- His Remains were found primarily in cave deposits at Swartkrans and Kromdraai in South Africa.
- His Average brain size was about 530 cc
- The East African A.Robustus was named A. Boisei
5) Homo habilis (“Handy Man”) - “man with ability”.
- He is the earliest known species of the genus Homo; that is, the first human species.
- He lived 2.5 -1.5 million years ago
- He was the First Homo specie to create and use stone tools for hunting and daily life. Homo habilis depicted the ability to
make better tools than his predecessors. That is why he was referred to as man with ability.
- His Brain size was -500 -800 cc; -the Brain shape is more humanlike.
- He was capable of rudimentary speech.
- He was about 127 cm (5'0") tall, and about 45 kg (100 lb) in weight, although females may have been smaller
His fossils were found in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania in 1964 by Dr. J. Leakey. Also at Hadar and Omo River Valley in
Ethiopia and kobi fora along L. Turkana by Benerd Ngeneo in 1972.
6) Homo erectus (“Upright Man”)
- He was BIPEDAL- standing about 4-5 feet tall with a larger brain (700-1250cc).
- He lived between 2 million and 200,000 years ago.
- He was clever as illustrated by his ability to make Acheulian tools such as the hand axe which
was used as an axe, knife or even as a scraper. He was the First hominid to invent and use fire.
- Their skeletons were larger and showed that they were quite heavily muscled
- They were omnivorous like many other early hominids.
- Only had hair on their head and back like are men that we have today
 Remains found in Hardar, Ethiopia where the skeleton of a female ‘Lucy’ were found.
 Other fossils were found near Nariokotone River on the north western shores of Lake Turkana by
Kamoya Kimeu in 1984.
 Also at Olorgesaillie near Magadi, Isimila near Iringa in TZ and Tenerife in Algeria.
 The most famous Homo Erectus fossil was found in a cave in Zhoukoudian, China and became Homo Erectus
known as Peking Man/Java man
7) Homo sapiens (“Wise Man” thinking man)
- Their Main difference with their hominid ancestors is their extreme intelligence–they were the smartest hominid that ever lived
with a Brain capacity of 1000-1800cc
- They lived between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago
- They improved their way of life by making a variety of flint, bone, wood and stone tools (microliths).
- They hunted, gathered and fished. Later on, they domesticated plants and animals
Their Remains were found at Eliye Springs, Kanjera and Kanam in Kenya, Bodo and Omo River Valley in Ethiopia and Ngaloba in
Tanzania.
Three sub-species of Homo sapiens existed;
a) Rhodesian man
- The sub-species Was discovered in Zambia, hence the name Rhodesian man
- He had straight legs and walked with long strides.
- Rhodesian man’s Brains and skull were very similar to those of modern man.
b) Neanderthals.
- His Remains were found in Neander valley, Germany (1856).
- They Lived in caves and valleys
- He was 5 feet and 5 inches tall-much stronger, heavily built and more aggressive too.
- He Had very thick eyebrow ridges like the other hominids
- He Made clothes from animal skins.
- They would scrape animal fat so they can use the skin as clothing.
- They were probably the First humans to bury their dead.
- He was most likely the most intelligent hominid other than modern humans.
- He was a nomad, gathering and hunting deer, wild pigs and wild sheep. Their weapons were used to impale animals; therefore,
to kill them, they had to approach the animal and get very close. This was dangerous and probably caused injuries and even
fatalities.
- Communication was key in hunting because they had to work as a team. They had the ability to use complex speech; however,
their sentences were probably basic. Instead of painting on cave walls they painted their faces.
- Other remains were found in Asia in France, Belgium, Gibraltar, Italy and former Yugoslavia.
- They became extinct about 30,000 years ago.

c) Homo sapiens Cro-Magnon
- He was almost identical to modern humans although quite muscular and taller. Had long, low skull and a wide face, a sharp,
rising forehead, bushy eyebrows and Prominent chins
- They had a big brain capacity and had very complex thinking
- He was hunter-gatherer, painter and lived in caves
- He Knew how to make clothes
- His Fossil remains were found in Western Europe.
- Their skeletons still remain in France today
- They Became extinct around 10,000 years ago
8) Homo sapiens sapiens
- Homo sapiens sapiens are modern day humans. The evolved about 50,000 years ago.
- They have big brains and a more advanced faculty for curiosity and intelligence
- They have a large brain capacity. They do not just think, they plan ahead, make accurate forecasts, study the star and the galaxies
- They have made inventions that have made life more comfortable.
- They are Around 5 feet 6 inches tall and Walk fully upright
- They have Minimal hair on our bodies (replaced by clothing)
We have clothes that are made from brands, factories, we also sew or knit our own clothing. The growing knowledge of genetic
structure and functions has enabled human beings to clone animals using genes obtained from existing animals, thereby producing
offspring that looks exactly like the original e.g. the work of Dr. Wilmut Ian at the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland that led
to the first cloned sheep named dolly. Scientists are making attempts to even clone humans.
More recent discoveries of early man include the Toumai found in Chad in 2002 dating about 6 to 7 mya.
In 2000, another discovery was made in Baringo, Kenya (millennium man) and is believed to date 6mya. The discovery was made
by Martin Pickford and Eustace Gitonga of the National Museums of Kenya.
IN SUMMARY STAGES OF MAN’S EVOLUTION

1. PRIMATES
(Ape, Gorilla, Monkey, Chimpanzee)
Characteristics
- Their bodies were covered with lots of hair.
- They walked on four limbs
- They lived in dense forest.
- They had poorly mental abilities.
- They totally depended on nature e.g. ate raw food
2. AUSTRALOPITHECUS AFRICAN FAMILY.
This stage started about 12million years ago (B.C) when primates changed to near man. This stage is divided into two; Zinjanthropus
and Homo habilis.
A. Zinjanthropus (“zinj” means “black” and “anthropus” means “man”)

 Fore limbs were free from walking.
 Hind limbs were used for standing and body balance.

 Man started to design, make and use tools.
 Man becomes skillful.
B. Homo habilis
 It lived between 1,500,000 and 750,000 BC.
 Homohabilis become more skillful man, because was systematic tools maker.
 Homohabilis believed to be the direct ancestor of modern man.
 He had bigger brain and he was more systematic toolmaker.
 The skull of those creatures was discovered at Olduvai Gorge and in Eastern and Rudolf in Kenya.
3. HOMO ERECTUS.
During this stage, man was fully moving upright. He becomes more skillful tools maker than Homo habilis. Its fossils have been dug
up in Olorgesaille and near Lake Turkana in the Kenya, Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
4. HOMO SAPIENS
Its characteristics
 He is a true man of today
 Has a large brain in size
 Has less thick jaws
 He was highly skillful man
 He made tools by using stones and bones.
NB: Archaeologist Dr. Leakey in Olduvai Gorge has supported the theory of evolution in 1959
Basic characteristics of human evolution.
(i) Development of man’s ability to design make and use tools.
(ii) Ability of man to walk on two limbs. (Bi-pedalism)
(iii) Ability of man to think.
(iv) Ability of man to domesticate plants and animals.
5. HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS.

Homo sapiens is a modern man. Homo sapiens are believed to have evolved into Homo sapiens sapiens about 50,000 years ago. This
man has a large brain and great intelligence.
SUMMARY ON MAN’S TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT (FROM STONE AGE

TO IRON AGE)
DEVELOPMENT OF STONE AGE.
Stone Age: This is historical period in which man made and used stone tools. It is a period based on man's economic activities and
type of the tools used. E.g., Stone Age, Iron Age, Science technology age etc.
This refers to the early period of human history when man’s tools and weapons were mainly made of stone and to some extend wood
and bone
Stone Age is divided into three ages: -

1) Old stone age - Paleolithic period - 1,750,000 to 750,000 years
2) Middle stone age - Mesolithic period - 750,000-50,000 years.
3) New Stone Age - Neolithic period- 50,000 - 1,500 years
THE EARLY OR OLD STONE AGE (PALEOLITHIC

AGE - 1,750,000 – 750,000 YEARS AGO)
This is the first period of Stone Age. It existed between 1,750,000 B.C and
750,000 B.C. The Paleolithic is the longest of all stone ages.
The hominid species who lived side by side were Australopithecus, Homo
habilis and Homo erectus
The Tool Traditions was called Oldowan tools / pebble tools. The tools were
named after Olduvai Gorge where they were found. They were made by
Australopithecus, Homo habilis and Homo erectus. They were also known as
pebble tools because they were made of stones. Among the finds at Olduvai were
the chopper, fist hatchet (core tools) and several flake tools. Such tools were also
found at Kobi near Lake Turkana, Omo River Valley in Ethiopia, and Kafu
Valley in Uganda, Shaba province in Zaire and in Algeria, Tunisia and morocco
- Australopithecus or “Southern Ape” didn’t have the intelligence to make
sophisticated tools, so they may have made tools out of bones that they
found. Australopithecus afarensis mostly used tools that they found or that
nature had created, example was a stick, which they stuck into a termite
mound, then the termites clung to it letting the ape pull out the stick
covered in food. He is however also credited for making Oldowan tools.

Homo habilis and the Oldowan Tradition.
They made stone tools for chopping, scraping, and cutting. Making of Choppers (lower left) involved knapping a few flakes off the
core. Both cores and flakes were used. The Knapper could strike a spherical piece of stone until Flake falls off opposite side. The
Tool would then be flipped over and procedure repeated. Several blows would create a cutting edge
Requirements reflect Intelligence Planning, foreknowledge of design and Knowledge of breakage pattern of rock. There must also
be Hand-eye coordination
The second phase of the Old Stone Age was marked by tools called Acheulian tools, named after the site of St. Acheul in France.
Others found in Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Kenya, the tools were found at Kariandusi, Olorgesaillie,
Kilombe, Chesowanja, Mtongwe, Isenya and Lewa Downs
They were made by Homo erectus.
Homo erectus and the Acheulian tool technology.

Signature tool: a well-designed hand axe and cleavers
The Hand axe had multiple uses, from cutting, skinning, scraping animal skins, digging and sharpening bone and wood.
Characteristics of Acheulian hand axe.

1. It was Bifacial: both sides were knapped
2. Symmetrical in breadth
3. Shaped to a point on one end
4. The edge is thin and sharp
5. Broad end is curved, but edge is still sharp.
6. The early stone tools were pebbles and chopping.
7. Man used these tools for killing and skinning animal flesh, digging up roots, cutting tree branches, and for defense.
8. Man obtained his food by hunting and gathering. In this period, man had low ability to control his environment.
Process of Manufacturing Acheulian Hand axes

Dozens of flakes were removed from the core, from 25 to 75. Each flake blow must be precisely positioned. The Core must be turned
over again and again to maintain symmetry and to keep edge straight. All the exterior rind (cortex) was removed. It was a demanding
task-The hand axe was Symmetrical and finely shaped.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY OR OLD STONE AGE

In East Africa Stone Age sites are found at Olorgasaille, Nsongezi and Olduvai.
- Man lived primitive life depending on nature.
- Man made and used crude (poor) tools.
- Man lived by hunting and gathering.
- Man ate raw food i.e. meat
- Man walked up right.
- Man lived in caves.
- Man did not wear clothes.
OLD STONE AGE-HUNTING AND GATHERING

The early Stone Age people lived in small groups and were able to hunt for food using sharpened rocks and sticks. They used simple
hunting methods of chasing wild animals and throwing stones at them. They also made traps by digging large pits on the paths used
by animals. They ate raw meat from small animals like lizards and rodents. Women gathered edible fruits, eggs and roots- had a
balanced diet.
THE OLD STONE AGE-SHELTER AND CLOTHING.

Humans during this period found shelter in caves and tree-tops.
Their bodies were hairy enough to keep them warm- lack of clothing was therefore bearable during this period. Moreover, the
savannahs were also warm enough.
They also preferred the grasslands because they provided them with the much needed water and food.
The Australopithecus had a very small brain and that limited the actions they could do. The
Australopithecus were very hairy so they didn’t need any clothes. Australopithecus diet was mostly made up of fruits and vegetables
they found. If Australopithecus found a dead animal, it would scavenge of it but the Australopithecus afarensis couldn’t cook the
meat and kill the germs.
THE MIDDLE STONE AGE (MESOLITHIC).

This stage covered the period between 750,000BC to 50,000 BC. This period man improved his stone tools. Tools were -smaller,
sharper and easier to handle. Tools used during this period were spear, Arrows, Needles, Stone picks, Knives etc. These tools were
used for; digging up roots, killing and skinning animals, cuttings & chopping.
They period was characterized by superior brains and ability of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Great improvements were
witnessed.

TOOLS
Signature tool; Sangoan tool made using Lavallois method
The tool was named after Sango Bay site on L. Victoria-Tanzania
The Lavallois technology.
It involved using cores of smaller stones to hit bigger ones. The tool maker would draw outline of flake on stone module and Strike
out flakes and blades of desired shape. The rock would be prepared beforehand to control how rock breaks when struck. The flakes
and blades were then trimmed into a variety of knives, scrapers, spear points, choppers and daggers.
Also Mousterian tools (specialized stone tools and weapons) were made.
Tang- the first tool with a handle was invented in this period- 40,000 years ago in northern Africa.
THE DISCOVERY OF FIRE.

Man who was scratching pieces of wood using his hands discovered fire. The more he continued scratching, the pieces of wood got
heat the smoke come out, the scratch caused friction of scratched wood and led to emission of fire.
IMPORTANCE/EFFECTS OF FIRE TO MAN DURING THE MIDDLE STONE AGE

The following were the effects resulted after the discovery of fire during the Middle Stone Age
 Man started to eat roasted food i.e. meat
 Man started to live in cold areas.
 Man used fire to clean bushes
 Man used fire to provide light at night.
 Fire used to kill small animals e.g. rabbit
 With fireman increased working hours.
 Man use fire to attract prey.
 Man used fire for defense from dangerous animals like lion.
MESOLITHIC – FOOD AND CLOTHES.

Homo erectus were considered the first true hunters. Because of better tools (Hand axe), fire and axes, they could hunt larger game
such as deer, rhinos, pigs, elephants; buffaloes etc. and cook their food.
People learnt to wear animal skins and make waist-belts and necklaces. They also painted themselves with red ochre and oil.
MESOLITHIC – SHELTER.
Man used identifiable shelter. An example was found at Orangia in South Africa. Man also used rock shelter (rocks scooped out to
make hollows). Later man lived in caves with entrance covered with animal skins to keep wind and rain away (e.g. Matupi Cave in
Zaire and Gambles cave near Nakuru.
MESOLITHIC – LANGUAGE AND ROCK ART
Families lived in small groups for security reasons. There were distinct languages to enhance communications.
Rock paintings: - Pictures of animals were painted on walls and rocks. Examples of Cave paintings were left behind at Kondoa and
Singida areas in north Tanzania and at Apollo II cave in S.A. This pictures signified men believe in magic (arrows piercing animals
he hoped to kill).
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
There was efficient group organization as evidenced by the ability to carry out large-scale hunting. Language invention further
strengthened the social bonds and cultures of early man
THE LATE STONE AGE / NEOLITHIC (NEW STONE AGE).

This period was marked with the Emergence of Homo sapiens and homo sapien sapiens.
THE NEOLITHIC TOOLS
Man became a Very skilled toolmaker-they made tools known as microliths- (small piece of sharp stone tool). For example, a crescent
or a lunate which had a straight sharp cutting edge and a curved blunted back.
Their weapons include stone axes, knives, spears, harpoons, wooden bows, and sharp, stone-tipped arrows, hooks, needles, and bone
fish hooks
NEANDERTHALS were the first to create the pointed tip on hunting spears and harpoons
In East Africa, late Stone Age started from around 50,000 BC to the first millennium AD. In this stage,
- Man used better tools compared to the previous stone ages. Tools become sharper and smaller. The tools were still largely
made of stone but they were far better than those of earlier periods were
- Tools were stone exes, blades, spears, arrows, etc.
- Man started permanent settlement.

- This period marked the beginning of settled communities. In areas such as Kondoa Irangi, paintings and drawings in the carves
proved this fact. The paintings and drawings show the shape of tools used and animal hunted.
THE NEOLITHIC SHELTER

- Earlier sapiens used caves as their homes instead of
building one. Later, they made permanent
- homes that looked like tents or tepees, out of tree branches,
grass, mammoth bones, and
- animal skins. They used or made some sort of paint to use
on their cave paintings.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

- Man domesticated plants and animals though he continued
to hunt and gather.
- Man changed as from Nomadic lifestyle to settled
stationery lifestyle; a.k.a.sedentary
- Population also increased due to balanced diet and
adequate food
THE NEOLITHIC GOVERNMENT

Due to settled life and improved settlement, rules and laws Microliths and other artefacts of the African Stone Age
were set up as a basis of government. Some people also a) Oldowan tools from the Olduvai gorge (Early Stone Age)
b) Middle Stone Age: the characteristic Acheulian handaxe, from Kamoa, southern Congo
specialized in leadership, religious activities as well as c) Late Stone Age tools: (i) microliths; (ii) axe and arrow heads; (iii) decorated bored stone for
making of crafts weighting a digging stick; (iv) bone harpoon heads
THE NEOLITHIC RELIGION

- Man’s language and religious beliefs developed as a result of depending on natural forces like rain. They began to ponder over
issues like life and death.
- Evidence is found at Hyrax Hill and Njoro river Cave where human fossil remains were found buried with items such as tools
and seeds or food.
- The practice of burying someone with his possessions implied a belief in life after death.
- Neanderthals were the first to bury their dead. They also seemed to have a conception of an afterlife as shown by the actual
burial site at La Ferrassie, France, with seven tombs including a man, a woman and several children’s graves lying side by side.
THE NEOLITHIC ART AND CRAFT

Humans specialized in crafts such as basketry, pottery and later smelting. Evidenced by this horse’ head carving to the right.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LATE STONE AGE.

- Man used better tools compare to the previous ages.
- Man started to domesticated plant and animal.
- Man became food producer.
- Increase of population.
- It was beginning of settled communities and villages.
- This period marked to be primarily on division of labor.
Example: women become child bearers and cares while man for protecting the families and hunting
Informal education started in this period.
Reading text.
Homo sapiens sapiens initiated a further significant advance in Stone Age technology. The main distinctive feature of this 'Late Stone
Age' was the development of the microlith, meaning literally 'tiny stone'. Stone flakes were shaped and reshaped into tiny precise
points and blades, sometimes in specific geometric shapes such as triangles and crescents. The thick edge of the blade was chipped
back to make it steeper and stronger. These 'backed' blades were almost certainly hafted on to wooden shafts to form spears and
even arrows. One of the main advances in hunting technology during this period was the development of the bow and arrow. This
enabled a great improvement in hunting techniques. Late Stone Age people also made a wide range of fine bone tools: awls, needles,
fish-hooks and barbs for arrows or harpoons. Furthermore, there is evidence of considerable artistic development from eggshell
beads to adorn the person to the great works of rock painting and engraving found across many parts of Africa.
THE IRON AGE.

Iron Age is believed to have started during the 1st millennium A.D. This was the period when manmade and used Iron tools. The
discovery and use of iron improved man’s standard of living. Iron tools were discovered about 3000 years ago.
The first people to make and use iron tools in Africa were the people of Ethiopia and Egypt. Iron skills and knowledge were not
uniform or the same in Africa.

Famous iron Sites
The first important towns for iron smelting were Meroe in Sudan, Axum in Ethiopia, and Nok area in West Africa.
In East Africa, it is believed that man started to use iron from the first millennium A.D e.g. Iron discovered earlier in Engaruka,
Uvinza, Karagwe, Ugweno and Western shores of Lake Victoria.
Iron tools included iron spears, arrows, Axes, Hoes etc also, Iron technology helped early African societies to produce and use iron
tools as well as to produce better weapons for defense.
THE RESULT/EFFECTS/ IMPACTS OF USING IRON TOOLS

 It led to increase in food production. Man could now clear his areas for
cultivation.
 Increase in population due to more food.
 There was emergence of specialization i.e. Iron workers (black smiths) and
food producers.
 It led to the emergence of complex villages / development of political
organization as kingdom and states.
 Tools were highly improved and more efficient,
 It led to the improvement of security due to better weapons like arrows, spears
and pangas
 It resulted to the development of trading activities due to surplus production
TOPIC THREE
DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND THEIR IMPACT
INTRODUCTION
This topic will focus on the different economic levels of development achieved by man from the period of pre-history up to 19th
century. Also to examine the factors that influenced the existed economic activities as well as the impact of such activities on the
respective society. The economic activities that were practiced in pre-colonial Africa, pre-historical Africa included:
1. Agriculture which involved the growing of crops and rearing of animals.
2. Handcrafts industries which depended on skills or hand to make and produce goods.
3. Mining concerning with the process of extracting underground minerals for man’s use.
4. Trading involving the buying and exchanging of goods and services.
5. Fishing, lumbering, Hunting and gathering all these differed from area to area. Basing on the environment and the skills
that the people living in a given community were gifted with.
A. AGRICULTURE
Definition of agriculture
It is the domestication of plants and animals. The modern definition of agriculture includes animal husbandry, fish farming and bee-
keeping.
The beginning of Agriculture
The domestication of plants and animals began over 10,000 years ago during the Neolithic period in Africa to be started about 6000
years ago. The use of discovered tools and weapons led to the development of crop cultivation and domestication of animals. True
plant domestication probably began when the weakest plants were rejected and only seeds from the strongest plants were set aside
for re-sowing mainly yielding grasses (cereals) and the same applied to animal domestication.
Why man domesticated plants and animals
a. The increase of human population needed regular food supply -natural environment could no longer provide sufficient food.
b. Climatic changes-increased drought, threatened plant life and animal life making natural food scarce.
c. Competition for existing food in the natural resulted in inadequate wild food/over hunting of animals.
d. Hunting and gathering was increasingly becoming tiresome.
e. Calamities such as forest fires or floods sometimes destroyed vegetation or drove wild animals away.
f. Development of settled life. Man had to stop a life of movement in search of food and water.
g. Development of tools (microliths) e.g. sickles wooden plough, etc.
h. Availability of varieties of indigenous crops e.g. wheat and barley.

How agriculture started?
There are two theories that explain how agriculture started;
1. The Independent theory. Agriculture developed independently in different parts of the world especially along river
valleys.
2. One Place Theory/Diffusion Theory-Crop growing and animal keeping developed among people of South East Asia.
Then the idea spread to the rest of the world.
CROP GROWING AGRICULTURAL DEVELEPMENT IN AFRICA

The transformation from hunting and gathering to
growing of food crops was a gradual development. The
first crops were grown by man in areas where they
existed naturally.
- Since men did the hunting and females were
responsible for the food gathering, women
learned how to plant seeds, as well as process
and prepare the food.
- Neolithic women noticed new grain plants
grew when they accidentally spilled grain
seeds. They tried scattering seeds on purpose
– it worked!
Earliest crops to be domesticated were barley, wheat,

sorghum, millet, rice, maize, yams, cassava, potatoes,
bananas and grapes. Since they grew in different
environments, there were many centres of agricultural revolution. For example; - Middle East, Indus valley in India, Nile valley, The
yellow river valley in China and The Danube Valley in Europe.
WHEAT
Originally grown in South-west Asia
Initial type was brittle wheat-then replaced by a non-brittle type in 7500BC called emmer. Wheat then spread Mesopotamian plains
by 6000 BC to Egypt by 3000BC, then to Mediterranean region, central Asia, India and Southern Europe.
BARLEY
This was the first cereal to be domesticated. Initially grew wildly at Mureybat on the Euphrates in Syria between 7000- 6000 BC.
Another evidence of growth found at Ali kosh (Iran) and Jericho(Jordan). Then spread to Egypt at Fayum in 4500 BC. Then spread
to India and china by about 2000 BC.
SORGHUM AND MILLET.

Originated from Africa at Hoggat in Southern Algeria as early as 6000 BC. Spread to west Africa to around Sudan area between Nile
and Chad, by 1500 BC. Finger millet originated in East Africa. Later the two spread to Asia and China.
RICE.
Originated in Asia where currently is a stable food- in Thailand at about 3500 BC. Then spread to India, Europe and Japan. The
African variety was grown along the upper Niger around 1500 BC
MAIZE
Origin- Central America at about 5000 BC at Tehuacan in Mexico. In Africa, was introduced by the Portuguese in 15 th c.
YAMS
The first root and tuber crop to be domesticated- 9000 BC in South East Asia. The African variety, the white guinea yam was grown
in Ivory Coast.
DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS
The Dog was the first animal to be domesticated. The next animals were the sheep, Goats, cattle and camels. Animal domestication
Began through establishment of ties between man and animals during hunting or when fetching water.
Dog
Assisted humans in hunting, driving away dangerous animals and herding livestock
Goats
The Goat was First domesticated in South west Asia in5000 BC. Evidence of this is found at Tell Abu Hureyra, Tepe Ali Kosh, and
Deh Luren Khuzestan in South-west Iran. Also in Iraq, upper Tigris valley, Turkey and South Jordan. Goat domestication was in
Egypt in 5000 BC.

Sheep.
Sheep was domesticated after the dog. Fossil evidence of sheep keeping has been found at Zawi Chemi Shanid in Iraq
and dating to about 9000 BC. Sheep were also kept in Syria, Egypt and Saharan region then to West Africa. Sheep was
also kept in Indus valley and yellow river valleys.
Cattle.
Cattle was first domesticated in South-west Asia as early as 5800BC in turkey and then in Iran and irag. It then spread to Ethiopia
and North Africa from Asia. The short-horned cattle originated in Mesopotamia then spread to Africa and Europe.
Camel
Though camels are associated with North Africa today, the original home has been traced to North America from where it spread to
South America and Asia. The Asian and s. American species became the ancestors of the Alpaca and Illama. Two types of camels
exist today- the one-humped (found in Middle East, Northern china and Africa), and the two-humped camel (found in central Asia.)
Camels were domesticated about 3000 BC to 2500 BC
Importance of the domestication of animals

a) Some of them like cattle, sheep and goats provided man with regular food i.e. Milk, meat.
b) Animal Hides or skin were used as clothing and beddings
c) The horns were used for communication.
d) Hooves and bones of animals were used as containers and as drinking vessels.
e) Some of the domesticated animals like the camel, donkey and horses were used for transport.
f) Domestic animals like the oxen and the donkey were used to plough land for farming.
g) The dog protected man against dangerous animals.
h) Some of the domesticated animals produced manure which greatly improved agricultural produce.
READING TEXT
Neolithic Revolution in Pre-Colonial African Societies
All the time man was struggling to control nature so as to increase his labour productivity. This in turn led to the domestication of
animals and plants, the Neolithic Revolution, in the latter part of the Stone Age.
The Neolithic Revolution is the term for the first agricultural revolution, describing the transition from nomadic hunting and
gathering to agriculture and settlement as first adopted by various independent prehistoric human societies in numerous locations in
most continents between 12-10 thousand years ago.
The term refers to both the general time period over which these initial developments took place and the following changes to
Neolithic human societies which either resulted from, or are associated with, the adoption of early farming techniques and crop
cultivation.
Socio-Economic Changes Brought by the Neolithic Revolution or impacts of agricultural revolution/development.
Establishment of permanent settlement. The hunter-gatherer way of life was replaced by domestication of crops and animals,
enabling people to live more sedentary lives. Permanent settlements arose, creating new social, cultural, economic, and political
institutions. At first, agriculture was mainly subsistence, people farming for their own consumption (not for sale or profit), and
farmers practised crop rotation (letting fields lie fallow between planting seasons). The need to leave fields in fallow sometimes led
to shifting cultivation, discouraging a strongly fixed sedentary lifestyle. Slash and burn methods of agriculture were closely linked
to shifting cultivation, especially on the frontiers of agriculture where fire not only cleared the land for crops but could act as a
temporary fertilizer. Similarly, the domestication of grazing animals like sheep and goat encouraged the use of fire to convert forest
land into pasture.
Extension of the division of labour that had existed only along sex and age lines. In particular, in opposition to the moveable personal
and communal property of the nomadic hunter-gatherer, a new way of life began that introduced private property, private ownership
of land and buildings, valuable artifacts (and later accumulated money). A private ownership system was protected by the state that
allowed one man to have control over the livelihoods of others. Systemic slavery also emerged in human evolution in this period in
almost all continents where captured humans were considered as "things", the private property of wealthy individuals and families.
As such, this revolutionary period also introduced inheritance and marriage.
Increase of population. Neolithic societies had a major impact upon the spacing of children (carrying more than one child at a time
is impossible for hunter-gatherers, which leads to children being spaced four or more years apart). This increase in the birth rate
was required to offset increases in death rates and required settled occupation of territory and encouraged larger social groups. These
sedentary groups were able to reproduce at a faster rate due to the possibilities of sharing the raising of children in such societies.
Emergence of specialization of labour. Neolithic Revolution encouraged the introduction of specialization by providing diverse
forms of new labour. The development of larger societies called for different means of decision making and led to governmental
organization.

Food surpluses made possible the development of a social elite who were not otherwise engaged in agriculture, industry or
commerce, but dominated their communities by other means and monopolized decision making.
Spread of diseases. Throughout the development of sedentary societies, diseases spread more rapidly than it had been during the
time of hunter-gatherer societies. Inadequate sanitation and the domestication of animals may explain the rise in deaths and sickness
during the Neolithic Revolution as diseases spread from the animals to the human population. Some examples of diseases that could
spread from animals to humans are influenza, smallpox, and measles. In concordance with a process of natural selection, the humans
who first domesticated big mammals quickly developed immunities against the diseases as within each generation the individuals
with better immunities had better chances of survival.
Agricultural development enabled humans to make use of the energy possibilities of their animals in new ways and permitted
permanent intensive subsistence farming and crop production, opening up heavier soils for farming. It also made it possible for
nomadic pastoralism in semi-arid areas, along the margins of deserts leading to the domestication of camel. Overgrazing of these
areas, particularly by herds of goats, greatly extended the areal extent of deserts.
The specific environment determined the economy that was practised. Thus, people in the grasslands tended to dwell in pastoralism
while those in wetter regions tended to go for agriculture, or at least mixing the two. This was the beginning of regional
differentiation leading to the emergence of trade between different communities.
Production of surplus. Increased food production made it possible for one to produce a surplus a factor that in turn brought about
other changes. It now became possible to extend the division of labour within the community. There emerged a group that was not
directly involved in production, but organizing certain aspects of production. Such people used the accumulated wealth of the group
without being directly involved in its production. Thus, the labour of the producers was being separated from them and being
appropriated by others.
Increased population and warfare necessitated closer union between different communities. This was because either aggression or
defence needed a larger group while increased population reduced the amount of empty land separating the communities. So a
number of related clans and communities joined their territories. This in turn led to the emergence of councils of elders, popular
assemblies and military commanders. So a number of related clans and communities joined their territories. This in turn led to the
emergence of councils of elders, popular assemblies and military commanders.
From Major events in Africa by …
The Relationship between Agriculture, the Environment and Technological

Development
Contributions of technological development to development of agriculture; it was because of development of stone tools into simpler
and later iron technology that man were able to combat his environment and be able to cultivate large area for planting some crops.
This technological development went hand in hand with the use of animals to cultivate large farms.
The increased use of iron tools amongst the different societies of Africa, led to the increase of land for cultivation, which resulted
into increased agricultural productivity. The food storage skills insured an insurance against loss of future crops through natural
disasters such as drought or flood thus food supply throughout the year. Some communities whose soils easily exhausted developed
the use of manure which renewed the land and thus increased production. The development and use of irrigation opened up the once
un-cultivatable to be productive for agriculture once again. Not only did the technological improvement contribute to the
development of agriculture but also the environment had the great bearing on the development of agriculture in Africa.
The reliable rainfall supplemented with the fertile soils in given areas resulted in the development of permanent crop agriculture or
cultivation accompanied with increased agricultural production
Pest free and disease free areas were suitable for both crop and animal husbandry, as they would attract settlement. Also in place
is the availability of iron technology in given societies making it possible for the making of iron tools which advanced on the methods
of production and thus increased productivity.
It ensured man with reliable food supplies, the impacts of agricultural development are immeasurable as it ensured man with reliable
food supplies, permanent settlement, labour specialization and surplus production and thus increase in population.
Farming was not suitable in every environment, the disadvantage of settled farming may also have been apparent through farming
could support a larger population; it left the people more exposed to the dangers of famine caused by natural disasters such as drought
and floods.

The Types of Agricultural Practices in Africa
As we have seen above, successful agriculture depended on the ecology (environment) or natural fertility of the soil, adequate rainfall,
technical skills of the famers and the ability to find most suitable and successful crops. However, this was not a simple task as it
required patience and the ability to learn more from experience. It was the trial and error system that allowed the development of
different farming activities. Such as Permanent crop cultivation, Mixed farming, Pastoralism and Shifting cultivation.
Permanent crop cultivation

This involved the growing of perennial crops as potatoes, bananas, yam, beans and maize on a permanent basis. This was majorly
employed in areas where there was extra land. Not every society could practice this form of agriculture but the environment dictated
the terms.
Areas that received heavy and reliable rainfall were free from pests and diseases, having fertile soil did serve best for permanent crop
cultivation. With the development of iron technology societies which practiced this moved from communalism to feudalism. In East
Africa it was majorly practiced in the interlacustrine regions such as Buganda, Kagera Kenyan highlands, Ankole around Mount
Kilimanjaro, parts of Kigoma and rungwe. In West Africa in the Fante, Yoruba, Ashanti, Ife and Akwam.
With the development of permanent crop cultivation people begn to live in larger, more permanent settlement, the permanence of
settlement quickened the development of instrument production, there were increase in population as a result of improved diet, food
supply became more regular and abundant, brought important social as well as technical changes many developed into centralised
states for example Fante, Benin, Oyo and Meroe.
Mixed farming
This is an agricultural system which involves growing of crops and rearing of animals on the same piece of land. It evolved in areas
which supported both pastoralism and crop cultivation. Crops grown in this agricultural practice included cereals such as millet,
sorghum, cassava and maize animals kept included cattle, goats, sheep, cows and donkey.
The mixed farmers existed because the areas they lived had unreliable rainfall and their soils could easily be exhausted so one thing
had to supplement the other. Mixed farmers in East Africa included the Gogo, Sangu, Sukuma, Kurya and Fipa in Tanzania, Luyia
in Southwest Kenya, the Basoga and Gisu of Eastern Uganda. The relation of production was mainly communal with low production,
division of labour based on age and sex
The mixed farmers in East Africa demonstrated achievement in their practices as they developed centralised political organizations
like the Busoga in Uganda under Omuloki, specialised in different activities. Specialization in these societies resulted into
development of trade, at first it was among the mixed farmers and later it resulted in the formation of long distance trade.
Shifting cultivation
This involves spending a given period of time working on land and moving from one area that is exhausted to a new fresh piece of
land. It was mainly practiced by the people who lived in grassland plateaus for example Miombo wood land savanna in central
Tanzania were the rainfall was little and unreliable and the soil could be easily exhausted
These soils could support the growth of cassava, sorghum, maize, millet, cowpeas, pumpkins plus many more other crops. The
rearing of livestock was made difficult due to the fact that these areas were infected with tsetse flies and other livestock diseases.
The soils that easily became exhausted necessitated people to move from one place to another in search of the fertile piece of land.
However, people in some communities were living a settled life even if they were practicing this type of agriculture.
Pastoralism
This involves the keeping of livestock. The herding of domestic animals (cattle, sheep or goats), which were real and potential source
of food particularly; milk, meat, animal skins and the herds were also exchanged with the different neighboring societies.
Areas with semi-arid and arid conditions like scanty rainfall, (rainfall that is just enough to support the growth of pasture), poor soils
which could only support pastoralism as the major economic activity within the area. In East Africa the dry areas include the lift
valley areas of Tanzania and Kenya comprising of societies like the Maasai, Nyaturu, Barbaig and the karamanjong in Uganda.
Where the people were largely pastoralists their settlement tended to be less permanent as they moved in search of varying season
pastures and water. These people had no centralized political system they used the age set system in their production and they also
kept large herds because of their use value and prestige.
How Agriculture Changed Man's Life?

The development of agriculture changed man's life in various ways, for instance;
 With the development of permanent crop cultivation people began to live in permanent settlement,
 There was increase of population,
 Development of instruments of productions,
 Development of centralized states,
 Development of trade, and
 The division of labour.

B. HANDCRAFT INDUSTRIES AND MINING IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA.
“Until quite recently, it was rather generally assumed, even among well-educated persons in the West, that the African
continent was a great expanse of land, mostly jungle, inhabited by savages and fierce beasts. It was not thought of as an
area where great civilizations could have existed or where the great kings of these civilizations could have ruled in might
and wisdom over vast empires”.
Dr. John Henrik Clarke.
The lies and fallacies of many historians who want to diverge the truth about Africa that it was a dark continent with lack
of any good thing as well as absent of any economic development and everything that everything that is good, is brought
by the white people or foreigners, have no chance in the globalized world we are living today, where we have information
in our finger tips. There are number of evidence and writing that refute that fallacy. Before the coming of the white people,
Africa had already developed scientifically, technologically, economically and culturally. There are number of writings
also that prove the development of the early black people were beyond the boundaries of Africa. It has been noted that,
other races or let say non-black people, learned a lot from the black people around the world who reached their places long
before other races knew nothing of sort. Other writers went a bit deeper and uncover the stolen legacy of black people.
READING TEXT TO PROVE THAT AFRICA WAS DEVELOPED A LONG TIME AGO
BEFORE COLONIALISM OR FORIGNERS
“It must be borne in mind that the first lesson in the humanities is to make a people aware of their contribution to civilization;
and the second lesson is to teach them about other civilizations. By this dissemination of the truth about the civilization of
individual peoples, a better understanding among them, and a proper appraisal of each other should follow. This notion is
based upon the notion of the Great Master Mind: Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The true authors of Greek philosophy were not the Greeks; but the people of North Africa, commonly called the Egyptians;
and the praise and honor falsely given to the Greeks for centuries belong to the people of North Africa, and therefore, to the
African continent. Consequently, this theft of the African legacy by the Greeks led to the erroneous world opinion that the
African continent has made no contribution to civilization, and that its people are naturally backward. This is the
misrepresentation that has become the basis of race prejudice, which has affected all people of color.
For centuries the world has been misled about the original source of the Arts and Sciences; for centuries Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle have been falsely idolized as models of intellectual greatness; and for centuries the African continent has been
called the Dark Continent, because Europe coveted the honor of transmitting to the world, the Arts and Sciences. I am happy
to be able to bring this information to the attention of the world, so that on the one hand, all races and creeds might know the
truth and free themselves from those prejudices which have corrupted human relations; and on the other hand, that the people
of African origin might be emancipated from their serfdom of inferiority complex, and enter upon a new era of freedom, in
which they would feel like free men, with full human rights and privileges”.
From Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy by George G. M. James
Economically, Africa had developed in the in many things. Amongst many things, Africa had the following before the coming of
colonialists.
I. Mining industries
Meaning
These are the industries, which involve the process of extracting underground minerals such as copper, gold, tin and salt mining
industries; or is the extraction of minerals from the underground parent rocks. By the period before and around the 19 th century,
minerals that were being mined in Africa include the following: - Copper, Gold, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Salt.
Most of the minerals were to be taken to handcraft industries where they were then processed into different items. Some other
minerals such as salt were to be consumed directly while some other minerals were to be used as media of exchange in trading
activities. Famous areas in Africa where mining activities were being practiced include the following: -
 Katanga in Zaire where there were copper mines.
 Tshikapa in Zaire, Machili, Lusu, Kalambo falls and Ingombe ilede.
 Gokomere, Mabven, Malapiti and Chivi in the Limpompo valley of Zimbabwe iron was mined.
 Mashona and Matebele lands in Zimbabwe as well as Ashanti in Ghana where gold was being mined.
 Uvinza in Western Tanzania and Taghaza in Mauritania where there was extraction of salts.
II. The Types of Industries and Their Advantages in Pre-Africa

In pre-colonial Africa different hand crafts industries emerged as man specialized on to other activities apart from agriculture. These
included iron making industries, basketry, spinning and weaving cloth making, carving, canoe making and many more.

Types of industries
 Iron industries
 Salt making
 Copper industry
 Handcrafts industries
a. Iron industries.
The said metal working industries were mainly located near their respective mining areas. Prominent societies that were experts in
metal works include:
 The people of Chipembe, and Kalomo in Zambia, the people of Mwavarambo, Phopo and Nkope Bay in Malawi as well as
the Yoruba and the Edo of Nigeria who were experts in iron smelting industries.
 The Shona and Ndebele of Zimbabwe, the Akan and the Asante of Ghana who were famous in gold coast smelting industries.
 The Manganja of Malawi and the people of Taghaza were experts in salt making industries.
The discovery of iron resulted in drastic socio-political and economic changes. The people who were dealing in iron were called
blacksmiths a person whose job is to make and repair things made with iron, learns how to identify rocks containing iron ore.
Methods of obtaining and processing iron

Blacksmiths identified the rocks that were bore iron ore collecting them and smelting the iron found in the trenches or clay furnaces.
They had to use charcoal fuel and maintained the high temperatures in the furnaces by fanning the live charcoal with bellows. The
smelted iron was then shaped into different forms and tools like spear heads, knives, axes, panga and wire. The places where the iron
industries were found included the Venda people of Northern Transvaal, the Mashona people of Zimbabwe, the Iteso of Eastern
Uganda, along Kalambo falls, Futa Djalon, Meroe and many others.
b. Salt making industries

Salt is not only a food ingredient but was also used to preserve food. The increased use of salt resulted into the development of trade
and agriculture as salt led to more food production, the use of salt was found in almost all communities as it was important in different
communities.
Methods of obtaining and processing salt

There are four methods of obtaining and processing salt in different communities, these included:
Traditional method
Under the tradition method salt was obtained from the reeds growing in marshy areas, gathered, dried and burnt to ashes. The ashes
were then collected, filtered and the liquid was boiled to evaporate, the residue was used as salt. The Manganja people settled along
Lake Nyasa commonly used this method.
Mining of salt bearing rocks

Rocks contained salt was dug out and the crystals were used. In here the rocks that contain salt are identified and are dug out, it is
probably the most commonly used method of obtaining and processing salt. Place were it is used include Kasese, Bilma, Taghaza,
Katwe and many others.
Boiling and evaporation

Under this method as the spring waters boil underneath the earth's surface, they do evaporate and spill over the land surface where
they cool to form salt crystals which crystals are used as salt. This was commonly practiced in Uvinza, Shinyanga and also among
the Venda people.
Developed among the coastal regions

Along the coastal regions salty waters were trapped into pans and left to evaporate the heat of the sun. The crystals that did remain
behind after the evaporation of salty waters were then used as salt.
c. Gold industries
Gold is one of the most precious minerals and it was not found in every area as other minerals which makes it precious and valuable.
The communities that mined gold showed drastic social, political and economic developments.
d. Copper industries
The copper industry is believed to be the oldest industry that existed in almost all pre-colonial African societies. Different societies
did participate to the industries due to the fact that the copper existed in their communities.
e. Hand crafts industries

Handcrafts can be defined as the art of using your skills and hand to designs and fashion things, or it's an activity done with one's
hands requiring artistic skills. Such goods may include tools, baskets, and cloth to mention but a few.
i) Cloth making industries (weaving and spinning):

These industries were concerned with making clothes and developed in areas where cloth making materials were available. Spinning
and wearing, making of bark –cloth developed in areas with cotton and appropriate tree barks.

Famous spinning and weaving societies in Africa include Yoruba people of West Africa, Sumbawanga in Tanzania, Malawi,
Mozambique as well as the people found in Lake Rukwa valley in Tanzania as for bark cloth areas North of Lake Victoria,
interlacustrine societies for example in Buganda they used the Mvule tree to make (Olubugo) bark cloth which was very expensive
and it was only the rich and the nobles who could afford it
ii) Basketry and carpentry

Closely associated with agrarian societies whose style of life was more complex and sophisticated and in places that were privileged
with palm and special reeds holding vessels specialised in the making of baskets and mats plus special leather work was needed for
making leather clothes, sandals, bags, and beddings from animal skins and hides. It is associated with pastoralists such as Tuareg,
Beja, Ajar, and Somali who made tents.
iii) Canoe making

The art of making canoes developed in areas bordering lakes, rivers and oceans. Different societies who carried this had their major
economic activity as fishing which in many cases supplemented agriculture.
This therefore means that nature of resources available in a given society determined the nature of handcrafts industry present in that
society.
C. TRADE IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA

Trade refers to the exchange of goods or services with money or other goods or is the buying and selling of goods.
Basis of trade activities in pre-colonial Africa

The development of agriculture brought important economic changes as people were now able to produce surplus food which is
more than needed to feed their own immediate family thus the surplus could be traded between neighboring settlement in exchange
for raw materials luxuries and other items not produced within the community. For example, the Maasai gave the Gweno cattle in
exchange for iron weapons. This way, the Maasai had weapons to use during wars with other communities. The Gweno in turn got cattle
for milk, meat and leather.
It is clear that societies are not fully self-sufficient. Therefore, interactions say between pastoralists with cultivators and
agriculturalists with craftsmen in order to exchange goods are required. The major means of distributions from one hand to another
were through gifts, tributes and taxation.
The exchanges carried out were not aimed at getting profit but it was after the use value of commodities and also strengthening
relations. For example, a person who exchanged his cattle with millet was not in search of profit. Before the emergence of groups of
people who specialized in trade the exchange system was barter this involved.
Methods of trade
Trade was carried out using barter or currency.
Barter trade is whereby goods or services are exchanged for other goods or services. For example, the exchange of cattle for iron
tools between the Maasai and Gweno was barter trade. In Northern Tanzania, the Kisii traded their pots for food from the Pare and
Chagga.
The currency method of trade is whereby money is used. Money is something that is accepted as a measure of value by the people taking
part in trade.
- As societies developed, trade development was also inevitable basing on the fact that some societies were not having specific
resources which could only be obtained through the exchange. Increase in surplus production supplemented with the development
of industries, the presence of safe routes and the regional specialization not forgetting the love for adventure cemented the
development and expansion of trading activities in pre-colonial Africa.
The types of trade, types of commodities and the societies involved.

The expansion of trading activities resulted into two major types of trade emerging in pre-colonial Africa.
1. The local trade (internal exchange relations). This developed within given community.
2. Regional trade (long distance trade). Where there emerged groups of people who specialized and could buy goods from
producers in order to sell them later at a profit.
1. LOCAL TRADE.
Refers to the kind of trade, which is conducted within the same geographical area. In local trade, goods are exchanged between
people living in the same geographical area, such as a town or village.
- This was conducted from the village among the homogenous community, it did not require specific places to act as a market,
there was no need of middle men as goods passed freely from the hands of producers to consumers.
- Local trade was not for profit making but just to obtain essential goods. i.e. pastoral communities like the Maasai needed
vegetables and grains from cultivators like the Nyakyusa and the Chaga.
- In local trade, goods are exchanged between people living in the same geographical area such as a town or a village. In pre-
colonial Africa, this type of trade usually took place between communities that produced different goods. For example,
communities that lived in fertile areas produced a lot of food. Pastoral communities had a lot of cattle. Other groups were skilled
in various crafts such as basketry, pottery or ironworking.

- Many pre-colonial African societies at first developed this trade as it gave them with the commodities they needed with much
ease. For example, there was regular trade between the Luo and Abagusii (found in Kenya). The Luo had goods such as livestock
and dairy products, pots, drums, baskets and colourful-headdresses which they exchanged for the Abagusii's iron implements,
jewellery, grain, soapstone and carvings. In Uganda, the Banyoro supplied salt and iron items such as hoes, knives and spears
to their neighbours. The Baganda, on the other hand, supplied bark cloth and bananas.
Impacts of local trade.

1. Local trade united people within the same area.
2. Some important market centers emerged along the market routes.
3. Local trade encouraged communities to expand production.
4. Intermarriages between the local tribes; Local trade strengthened the bonds between people within the same area.
5. Interaction increase; as trade grew, people from different places met for different purposes out of trade. For example, in the
Bunyoro-Kitara Empire in Central Africa, the Acholi, Alur, Iteso, Langi, Basoga, Kumani, Banyankole, Baganda and Congolese
interacted as a result of trade.
6. Assurance of availability of sufficient commodities; Through local trade, the requirements of the communities such as tools,
weapons, foodstuffs and medicinal herbs were met.
7. Local trade also enabled communities to access new products. People could get the commodities that they did not produce from
communities that produced them. For example, pastoral communities, whose staple diet was milk, meat and blood, learnt how
to eat vegetables from their agricultural neighbours.
8. Transfer and spread of technology; as interaction increased among the local people, some communities learn different technology
from other communities such as, iron technology, pottery, arts (literature, like poetry), basketry, etc.
9. Transport routes were also improved because of local trade. This happened as the communities travelled frequently to trade.
10. Some important market centres emerged along the market routes. For instance, the Maasai of Western Kilimanjaro and
Loitokitok had border markets every ten days.
11. Revenue increased among local governments; in Bunyoro, there were royal markets that were began by the king. These markets
were attended by people from all over the kingdom. The king's officers collected taxes from the marketplace. This was an
important source of revenue for the king.
12. Development of towns and strengthening of some chiefdoms.
13. Local trade encouraged communities to expand production. This was because even when surplus was produced, the communities
would still get a market for it.
2. REGIONAL TRADE.
The Types of Trade, Types of Commodities and the Societies Involved
Regional trade refers to trade conducted from one region to another (Trade conducted between two different geographical regions).
Regional trade involved a wider variety of goods compared to local trade. It was not for profit making. Trade between East and
Central Africa started from the 1st millennium AD as they traded in raffia cloth, ivory and hides, copper from Katanga exchanged
with salt from Uvinza. This was concerned with the exchange of goods with people from different regions. This called for
specialization and dealt with the commodities which were relatively scarce and geographical unevenly distributed among the people
of different ethnic groups. Regional trade involved different regions in the trading process. In East and Central Africa, it came to be
known as long distance trade while in West Africa it was called trans Saharan trade.
LONG DISTANCE TRADE.

Long distance trade was the trade carried out long distance as people/traders had to move for long distance going on exchanging
goods with other societies and the major aim was to get profit for example a salt traders was exchanged salt foe hoes not because he
wanted to use hoes but he wanted re sell them at a profit later.
Professional traders (trade being their major occupation) came from Yao, Chewa and Bissa of Central Africa. Imbangala and
vimbundu from Angola, Dyula merchants and the Marabouts of West Africa. In East Africa the Nyamwezi, Yao and Kamba were
famous long-distance traders, through trading and supplying ivory, slaves and copper to the exterior of East Africa Indian ocean
coast. This organization required fixed places to act as markets and the use of middlemen as the entrepreneurs.
In East Africa it was mainly carried out during the dry season and during the rainy season they settled down for agricultural activities.
By the 10th century AD the Yao and Chewa were exporting ivory and iron to the coast. The Shona of Zimbabwe exported ivory and
gold to the coast which were then exported to the Far East and then return they imported glass wear, cowrie's shells, beads, cotton
cloth and porcelain from the far and Middle East. They used organised caravans for security reasons and distance standard currency
such as bars of iron or copper and slabs of salt.
The long-distance trade was a blessing for many societies in East and Central Africa as it gave rise to the notorious and professional
long-distance traders like Tip Tippu, Mzilikazi, and Mlosi etc
In addition to that prominent rulers such as Muteesa of Bugnanda, Mirambo of Unyamwezi, Kimweri of Usambara and Mkwawa of
the Uhehe were able to conquer and rule weaker and neighboring societies. All this was facilitated by the acquisition of fire arms
and ammunition which were important commodities from the East coast.
Expansion and consolidation of various kingdoms for example Buganda, Bunyoro, Yao and Nyamwezi led many of the participants
to became very rich and famous from the huge profits that were enjoyed from the trade.

The trade acted as a stepping stone for the spread of Islam in the interior of East Africa. Many of the traders preaching Islam at the
same time carrying their trading activities. Slave trade paved its way to the interior as the interior was exposed to traders.
The Main participants of the trade

1. The Kamba.
The Kamba were leading the long distance trade through Northern route in the 19th century. They Kamba caravan brought ivory,
guns, hides and beeswax from the interior. From the Coast they obtained cloth, salt, copper, cowrie’s shells and jewelry.
2. The Yao
Initially, the Yao were farmers and they needed iron hoes in order to cultivate their farms. However, only the Kisii clan amo ng the
Yao knew how to make these hoes. Yao traders got beads and cloth from Kilwa and exchanged these items for iron hoes from the
Kisii. Later, these hoes were used to get other items along the trade routes.
In Tanganyika, Yao and Nyamwezi took part in long-distance trade. In the 19th century, the Yao participated in this trade by capturing and
selling slaves from neighbouring communities. In exchange they got beads, glass, cloth and guns from the coastal traders. The Yao chiefs
such as Mpanda, Mataka, Machemba and Mtalika encouraged this practice as they sought to expand their chiefdoms. The gains from the
long-distance trade enabled them to get better weapons with which to conquer new regions.
Yao's love for travel and trade kept the Arab and Swahili traders from the interior of Tanganyika during the 19th century. This is how the
Yao involvement in regional trade began.
3. The Nyamwezi
Regional trade among the Nyamwezi involved conducting the exchange of commodities between the interior of Tanganyika and the
coast. The Nyamwezi were the most successful long-distance traders in Tanganyika in the 19th century. The Nyamwezi traders
succeeded due to the following factors:
1. There existed a variety of trade items such as ivo , hides and rhinoceros horns in the region.
2. Nyamwezi leaders such as Msiri, Nyungu ya Isla e and Mirambo supported
3. this trade. They helped to finance and provide secalong the trade routes in their territories.
4. Nyamwezi were centrally placed on the route to the coast. They could take advantage of the demand for copper from Katanga,
salt from Uvinza, iron ore from Usangi and Mtunze, and the imports found at the coast.
5. There was a high demand for trade items such as ivory, and later slaves, alone the coast and a reciprocal demand for items from the
coast in the interior.
6. Local trade already existed between various groups in the region. This formed the foundation for the long-distance trade.
7. The prosperity of Zanzibar from around 1800AD contributed to the development of this trade. The Nyamwezi organized trading
caravans which supplied ivory to the
Zanzibaris.
By the 1830s, there were three main trade
routes that passed through Nyamwezi
country:
1. The Southern route which linked the port
towns of Mikindani, Kilwa Kivinje and
Lindi to the interior. It went as far as Lake
Nyasa (Lake Malawi), Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
2. The central route which linked the
Bagamoyo and Saadani ports with the
interior. It went through Gogo country
before it reached Unyamwezi. From there
it split into three:
(a) One branch went to Ujiji on the

shores of Lake Tanganyika and on to
Katanga in the Congo Basin.
(b) A second branch went towards
Uganda. It went as far as Karagwe,
Bunyoro and Buganda.
(c) The third branch went towards Lake
Nyasa. It ended in the areas to the
North and west of the lake.
3. The Northern route which began at the
ports of Mombasa, Tanga and Pangani. It
went through Chagga and Maasai country
and ended at Lake Victoria. One of its
branches went towards Lake Baringo and
Lake Turkana in Kenya.

The central route was the largest and busiest one. It was the one known by most European travellers and missionaries. As a result,
new crops such as rice, maize and cassava were introduced along this route.
Commodities exchanged
Traders from the coast brought cloth, beads, wire and guns. Initially, the trade involved the exchange of ivory from the interior in
return for imports such as textiles and guns from the coast. However, trade in ivory brought the Nyamwezi into contact with slave
traders from the coast. Arabs had started clove plantations in Zanzibar and Pemba and they needed slaves to work in these plantations.
In addition, the Arabs had contacts with European, Indian and American traders who wanted slaves for their plantations abroad.
Consequently, by the 1830s slaves had become a very important trade item.
The Nyamwezi acquired guns from the coastal traders. They used these guns to raid other communities and get slaves. Due to this
trade, Arab traders made Tabora in Unyamwezi their base. Chief Mirambo benefitted greatly from this arrangement. During his reign
in 1860 to 1884, the Arab traders were forced to pay tribute to him.
By the end of the 19th century, Arabs were blocking Nyamwezi traders from the coastal towns. They set high taxes for the Nyamwezi
and favoured Arab and Swahili traders. This led to a decline in the Nyamwezi long-distance trade.
Impact of the regional trade in East Africa

Regional trade in East Africa had both positive and negative consequences.
Positive consequences
1. Some traders in the region became extremely wealthy and powerful. These included chiefs Kivoi of the Akamba, Mataka I of
the Yao and Mirambo of the Wanyamwezi.
2. The East African communities were able to acquire new commodities from outside the region, for example cloth, glassware,
guns and wire from the Middle East and Europe.
3. Several urban centres emerged along the trade routes, including Saadani, Pangani, Bagamoyo, Tabora, Ujiji, Voi and Taveta.
4. Trade routes became established. These routes linked different regions in East Africa. For example, the Nyamwezi trade route
from Ujiji to Bagamoyo via Tabora became the busiest trade route in East Africa in the 19th century.
5. Some African traders established powerful empires in different parts of the continent. These included Chief Kivoi of the
Akamba, Chief Msiri of the Nyamwezi (who settled in Katanga) and Chief Mirambo (who united several Nyamwezi
chieftaincies to create a large kingdom).
6. Many people in the East African region interacted as a result of the trade. For example, the Akamba people established blood-
brotherhood relation with the Mijikenda in order to enhance the trade. Other relations were established through intermarriage.
Chief Mirambo established friendly relations with Tippu Tip (a famous Arab trader) and Sultan Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar.
7. Spread of Islam by the Arabs to the interior Tabora and Ujiji.
8. New food crops such as maize, rice and cassava were introduced in the interior of East Africa as a result of regional trade.
Negative consequences
1. Some communities invaded others in order to get slaves for the trade. For example, Chief Mataka I of the Yao attacked many
of his neighbours in order to acquire slaves. These raids caused insecurity and the loss of innocent lives.
2. Slave raids caused insecurity, enmity and loss of innocent lives in the communities. Wars increased in the region as groups
raided each other and competed for trade commodities.
3. Some communities became preoccupied with slave raiding activities at the expense of other work. For example, some Ngoni
people became mercenaries (ruga ruga) and they worked for whoever could pay for their services.
4. Foreigners used the trade routes to reach the interior. These included colonialists and commerical agents who wanted to exploit
the region's resources.
5. Since slaves were a major trade commodity, many people were enslaved in East Africa. This led to depopulation and
underdevelopment in some areas.
6. Many elephants were killed, as there was high demand of Ivory.
7. Exploitation of African wealth by Europeans and Asians.
8. Foreigners used trade routes to reach to the interior.
TRANS SAHARAN TRADE

INTRODUCTION
The term 'trans' means across. Therefore, 'Trans-Saharan Trade' was the trade conducted across the Sahara Desert. It involved the
exchange of goods between the people of Northern Africa or around Mediterranean Sea, such as the Berbers or Moors (People of
Arab mixture, from today what is called Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco), Carthaginians (People from near modern Tunisia),
Kemetic people (people of Egypt), Phoenicians (From Lebanon) and the Tuaregs, and the communities of the western Sudan and
Savanna region (today, West African countries and partly Northern Sudan).
This trade started long time ago between 3000BC to 2000BC. It became important in the 1 st century AD after the people of West
Africa to discover the use of camel and led to formation of many trade routes but flourished in 7th Century and decline in 15th century
as it was replaced by Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Trans Saharan trade was known as dumb trade because there was no common
language, which was used. Trans Saharan trade was firstly carried out through barter system and there after some media of exchange
like cowrie’s shells, silver, coins, etc. replaced the barter system. However, something to remember is that, the earliest form of
medium of exchange in Trans-Saharan trade was salt.

The word `Sudan' means black. Arabs referred to Sub-Saharan Africa as Bilad al Sudan or Land of the Blacks. In the Trans-Saharan
trade, the people of North Africa referred to the dark-skinned people living to the South of the Sahara as the Zinj. They included the
people of the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai.
Trans Saharan trade is also sometimes referred to as caravan trade. The trade involved different zones ranging from forest i.e.
involving the forest states such as Benin, Oyo, Kanem-Bornu and many more, the savannah belt which involved the Western Sudanic
states such as Ghana, Mali and Songhai, the Sahara Desert and the North Africa, the Mediterranean world and Europe. People
(traders) organized themselves in groups known as CARAVANS
Goods (Commodities) involved in the trade
The goods from western Sudan included:
1. Gold: This was the most important commodity in the trade. It was mined at Asante and Wangara in Ghana, Bornu, upper Senegal
and upper Niger.
2. Slaves: These were obtained from western Sudan either through war or trade. Slaves were in high demand in Northern Africa
and the Middle East where they were used as soldiers and labourers.
3. Hides (skins of large animals): These mostly came from Hausaland where people kept large herds of livestock. The hides were
tanned into leather for making musical instruments, shoes, clothing and accessories.
4. Kolanuts and ostrich feathers: These were also obtained from Hausaland, mainly from the Kano region in modem-day Nigeria.
5. Ivory: This mostly came from Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
6. Gum: This was mostly collected in Mauritania and Senegal.
7. Pepper and dyed cloth.
The commodities from the North included:

Salt: This came from Taghaza, Taodeni, Bilma and Ghadames
Horses: These were obtained from Tripoli in modern-day Libya. The political leaders in the South needed horses for their armies.
Other items of trade from the North included perfumes, spices, dried fruits (dates), glassware, beads, mirrors, needles, firearms,
daggers and cowrie shells.
Organization of the trade
The Trans-Saharan trade involved the coverage of great distances across the desert. The journey from Northern Africa to western
Sudan took about three months. The traders faced dangers such as hostile desert tribes, getting lost, sandstorms and dehydration. For
this reason, it was necessary to plan carefully for large caravans involving thousands of camels and traders, particularly due to the
need for security. Arrangements were made to ensure that the trading caravans set off from the North together. Camels were used as
pack animals because they could survive without food and water for a long time.
- The rich merchants from the North provided trade goods, camels and horses to the middlemen who coordinated the trade. These
middlemen established good relations with the Berbers and Touaregs through whose territories the caravans had to pass.
- The middlemen also contacted the Touareg desert guides (takshifs). Takshifs guided traders on the tricky routes across the Sahara
and acted as guards during the journey. They also guarded the oases where the traders and their camels rested and got fresh
supplies.
- During trade negotiations, the takshifs also acted as interpreters between the Arabs and the people from western Sudan. The
takshifs were paid for their services using trade goods.
- The middlemen carried gifts for the political leaders in western Sudan. This was important as the political leaders protected the
traders and ensured safe passage in their territories. Some famous leaders involved in this trade were Mansa Musa of Mali and
Askia Mohamed of Songhai.
- On arrival in western Sudan, the traders from the North gave their goods to agents. These agents acted as middlemen. They were
trusted people who could be given goods on credit. They sold the goods during the time it took for the caravan traders to go to
North Africa and come back to western Sudan. Some of the communities that acted as middlemen were the Mandinka
(Mandingo), Soninke, Songhai and Hausa.
Trade routes
All the caravan routes in this trade began from the North. Direction the trade routes took was greatly determined by the location of
oases in the desert. The following were some of the most important routes:
1. A route began at Fez, through Marrakech in Morocco, South to Sijilmasa, Taghaza and Wadan, and ended at Audaghost in
western Sudan. Sijilmasa was well placed as a stopover point. It was an oasis where the traders and their animals could rest and
replenish their supplies. Taghaza, on the other hand, was a desert town that produced salt, one of the most valued items in this
trade.
2. A route began in Tunis and went through Ghadames, Ghat, Agades and Gao. From there it passed through Hausaland and Gonja
and eventually ended in Yorubaland in modern Nigeria.
3. A route began at Sijilmasa and went through Timbuktu and on to Gao.
4. There was also a route that started at Tripoli in modern Libya, through Fezzan, ending in Bomu in western Sudan.
5. Central route- This passed Tunis, Ghat, Ghamese, Kano, GAO and Hausa land.
6. Eastern route- This began in Tripoli, Marzul and Bilma.

THE MAP OF TRANS SAHARAN TRADE ROUTES AND IMPORTANT CENTERS
FACTORS THAT LED TO THE GROWTH OF THE TRANS-SAHARAN TRADE

Sample question: - Why Trans-Saharan trade flourished during 7th Century though it started very long time?
The following are some of the factors that contributed to the growth of the Trans Saharan trade:
1. Stability of the communities: Both North African and Western Sudan zone were politically stable. For example, leaders like
Sundiata Keita and Mansa Musa collected taxes and established guides on trade routes. This enabled the people to conduct trade
without fear. Up to the end of the 15th century AD, many traders were motivated to come to Western Sudan for trade.
2. Western Sudan provided goods needed by traders from Europe. These goods included gold, ivory and slaves. Through trading
Western Sudan exchanged her own commodities with goods from Western Europe and Asia. In turn, she got clothes, guns and
other commodities. The surplus production in Western Sudan was adequate to sustain demand for products such as kolanuts and
gold, hides, ivory slaves, whereas Taghaza produced enough salt to meet the needs in Western Sudan. The high production
capacity in the region enhanced the growth of the Trans Saharan trade.
3. Honesty: The Berbers of North Africa and the African traders of Western Africa trusted each other. Traders brought in
commodities without fear of theft and robbery, enabling the trade to flourish.
4. The use of camels for transport suited the desert conditions and facilitated the development of the Trans-Saharan trade. These
animals could not only carry more commodities than horses and human porters, but also endured desert conditions. Camels can
survive without water for a longtime. This convenient means of transport strengthened the development of the Trans-Saharan
trade.
5. Geographical location of the region: The location and climate favored the production of kola nuts and other foodstuffs that were
needed in the community, especially the forest region to the South. The region of Western Sudan had no impassable forests
because many areas were covered by short grassland. These enabled traders to cross the desert without fear or any difficulty.
6. The invention of a medium of exchange contributed to the growth of the Trans Saharan trade. At the beginning, only the silent
barter system of trade was practiced. Later on, cowrie shells were introduced as a convenient medium of exchange. This in turn
facilitated the development of the Trans-Saharan trade.
7. From the Northern part, the Berbers provided capital to many traders who used to cross the Sahara Desert.
8. Removal of language barrier: This was attained after Arabic language became the trader’s medium of communication. This in
turn facilitated the trade by making communication between the traders easy.
9. Absence of competition for trading activities in the region: There were no regular ships that visited the coast of West Africa. As
a result, what was produced from the forest zone was peacefully transported to North Africa through the Saharan desert.
10. Scarcity of commodities like gold and salt.
11. Introduction of horses, which were used in conquest and expansion.
12. Development in production in the West African region - whereby the productive forces had developed to enable production of
the trade goods needed in the trade.
13. Increased production of the trade goods by the ruling classes in West Africa, Arabia, North Africa and Southern Europe.
14. Introduction and use of the camel as a means of transport across the Sahara Desert. This was by 100 A.D and used since the 4th
century A.D. Before the camel, donkeys and horses were used but they proved unfit to the desert environment
15. The conquest and occupation of North Africa by Arabs between 641 and 708 A.D. Besides encouraging use of the whole trade
were very influential in the whole trade.
16. Availability of security to the trade routes crossing the desert. Security was provided by kingdoms and empires of Western
Sudan e.g. Ghana, Mali and Songhai.

17. The urgent need to spread Islam from the Middle East to other parts of the world - notably to West Africa where it was introduced
by the Arab traders. For this many Sudanic states - e.g. The Almoravids which destroyed Ghana Empire by the 13 th century.
18. Political development that during the 7th and 16th century. This includes the Western Sudanic states whose rulers promoted the
expansion of the trade. They ensured this by giving a leading hand, security, freedom of movement and also encouraging people
to prepare the goods that were necessary in the trade a thing that did not existed before.
Impact of the Trans-Saharan trade
Positive consequences
1. The profits from the trade stimulated the growth of strong empires. The rulers in this area imposed taxes on the caravan traders
who passed through or traded in their territories. These taxes and other proceeds from the trade enabled leaders to strengthen
their militaries by buying modern weapons such as guns and using horses in the army. The empires that grew in the region
included Ghana, Mali and Songhai.
2. Western Sudanese rulers established ties with people from the outside world. Using the wealth from the trade, the rulers from
the region could travel far and wide. For example, Mansa Musa went on pilgrimage to Mecca and made many international
connections, exchanging ambassadors with Morocco and Mali. This way, foreigners became interested in western Sudan.
3. Many trading centres emerged along the trade routes. Some of these eventually became urban centres. Examples are Jenne,
Taghaza, Timbuktu, Kumbi Saleh, Gao and Kano.
4. A class of wealthy merchants emerged in both regions. These people led affluent lifestyles using profits from the Trans-Saharan
trade.
5. The trade also boosted many arts and industries. For instance, woodcarving, leather tanning, gold working and cloth weaving
expanded, especially in western Sudan. This was because of the high demand for trade items.
6. The Trans-Saharan trade led to the widespread use of iron tools over large parts of western Sudan. Agricultural production
increased greatly as a result.
7. New foods such as oranges, lemons and rice were introduced in western Sudan. These improved the diets of the local people.
Rice became a staple food in many areas.
8. Population in some parts of western Sudan increased due to prosperity and food security in the region.
9. Trade also led to the introduction of the Islamic faith to the western Sudan belt. For instance, many of the Hausa converted to
Islam.
10. Islamic education was also introduced in western Sudan. Schools, universities and libraries were established in the area. The University
of Timbuktu became one of the greatest centres of higher learning in the region. These institutions encouraged literacy and scholarly
research, leading to a more learned society.
11. The Trans-Saharan trade also introduced the people of western Sudan to the Arabic culture, including the Arabic language,
mode of dressing and eating mannerisms.
12. Arabic architectural designs began to be used in western Sudan. The buildings became bigger and more complex, and longer-
lasting materials such as stone were used.
13. Transport became more efficient because of the introduction of camels to western Sudan. Camels were better suited to life in
the desert than the horses that were used previously.
14. Black people became champions of trade and in Africa and other parts of the world, Europe in particular.
15. Contributed to the formation of West African states and kingdoms, the profits that were raised from trade helped in the
development of different states, these were got through the taking over charge or control over the trade routes and everyone
using that route had to pay tax or tributes. For example, Ghana Empire conquered Audaghast in 990 A.D. in view of controlling
the salt mines in that area, Mali and Songhai extended their control as far as Taghaza and Takedda for economic reasons. It is
therefore true to say that trade facilitated the rise and consolidation of the different states.
16. Improvement of political administrations, the caravan trade also improved political administration of the different kingdoms
through the use and employment of well-educated Muslim traders who had been attracted by the trade. Many of the states were
also applying the Islamic ways of administration in their different areas or jurisdiction
17. Exploitation of natural resources, as the influx of the Whites increased, this marked the beginning of the exploitation of natural
resources that were endowed in Africa. It is also believed that this was the time of unequal exchange between Africa and Europe
began.
18. Provision of constant and regular source of income, the attractive profits from trade provided constant and regular source of
income for the different states. This was mainly raised from the custom duties that imposed on the imports and over goods of
great political importance such as horse and the different metals that were imported into the state.
19. Trade also provided the sources for undertaking wars of conquest and expansion through the supply of effective means of war
fare, such as horses and metals that could be used in the making and designing arms as spears, arrows head and axes.
Negative consequences
1. The Trans-Saharan trade led to increased warfare in western Sudan. This was due to the availability of weapons such as guns and
daggers and the use of horses in war. This led to increased loss of life.
2. There were religious conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslim.
3. Due to the demand for ivory, many elephants had to be killed in western Sudan. This contributed to the destruction of the
environment.
4. Many people in western Sudan were enslaved due to the high demand for slaves in the trade. This in turn caused population and
insecurity in some areas.
5. Some empires collapsed because of the conflicts caused by this trade. For example, Morocco invaded Songhai in 1590, leading
to the downfall of the Songhai Empire.

THE DECLINE OF THE TRANS-SAHARAN TRADE
By the second half of the ninth century, the volume of Trans-Saharan trade started to decline. A number of obstacles or problems
have been identified to explain the decline. These are: -
1. Strong desert winds: The traders could not withstand the hazards of sand storms. Many abandoned the trade as a result. Traders
faced the danger of getting lost in the desert because the routes were not clear. Once traders got lost, they would wander in the
desert for a long time and eventually die of thirst and starvation.
2. Desert robbers who made their living by stealing from trade caravans subjected traders to attacks. In the process, traders lost
their lives and goods. These discouraged traders from participating effectively in the trade.
3. The extreme climatic conditions were unfavorable to traders. The heat and high temperatures during the day and every low
temperature at night due to the absence of cloud cover discouraged traders.
4. Traders faced the danger of highly poisonous desert creatures whose bites could result in death. These included snakes and
scorpions.
5. Traders faced language difficulties. This hampered communication during trade. As such, “silent trade” had to be used initially.
6. The development of the Trans-Atlantic rout across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe: commodities like ivory and slaves were
transported quickly to the coast of West Africa from where they were transported to Europe. Thus, the trade routes shifted from
the Saharan desert to the Atlantic. Instead of the direct route to the North, they went via the coast of West Africa.
7. Commodities obtained from Western Sudan such as salt and gold faced competition from similar goods from other America
cheaply. As result, the volume of Trans-Saharan trade decreased because Western Sudan could no longer claim a monopoly in
production of certain commodities like salt and gold. In addition, gold from Zimbabwe via Sofala port by the Portuguese ended
up in Europe.
8. The abolition of slave trade contributed to the decline of the Trans-Saharan trade. Slaves were the main item of trade. When
slave trade was abolished, trade started to decline.
9. Shortage of water also led to the decline in trade. The oases in the Saharan desert provided water seasonally but they sometimes
dried up. This made it difficult for the traders to cross the Saharan desert.
10. Wars: The war in Morocco and the one between Christians and Muslims disrupted the smooth running of the trade. The
Moroccan invasion of western Sudan in 1591 AD disturbed the growth of the trade by taking gold at Wangara.
Finally, the Trans-Saharan trade collapsed in the 16th century. From this period onwards, West Africa witnessed the expansion
of European occupation on the coast of West Africa.
THINGS THAT NO TEACHER CAN TEACH YOU ONLY A

GOOD TELLER CAN TRY.
There is a notion from white supremacists and their black loving money and their culture; in a broad term their concubines of
economy and their fake life style that, we cannot blame the white people taking our black ancestors to be their dogs, and slaves to
the new lands, far away from home. They say, without them we are poor and we had nothing, we would have never achieved anything
without the mercy of our oppressors. That is rubbish, they have a lot to lose if black people will demand their inventions than them.
They know that, that is why there have been secrets and lies on most of things that the black people did to them than what they did
to us, black people. The people they took, went there with knowledge and gifts of creating things genetically inherited from their
fathers, mother and fore parents. What if that knowledge would have remain at home? What if there would have never been slave
trade? Africa before the coming of white, or Africans lost their hegemony, had an ability of “changing water into a wine”. That
means to create things so as to simplify life. History prove that, black people were the mastermind of the world technology. That
was later proven in new found lands were they went as slaves by inventing a lot of things that today are of great help to everybody.
The following is what an eye witness reveal.
The African in the New World

Their Contribution to Science, Invention and Technology
BY John Henrik Clarke
A lecture delivered for the Minority Ethnic Unit of the Greater London Council, London, England, March 6-8, 1986. It was addressed
mainly to the African community in London consisting of African people from the Caribbean and African people from Africa.
In this short talk on a subject that has many dimensions, and a long untold history, I am really talking about the impact of African
people in the opening-up of the Americas and the Caribbean Islands. The appearance outside of Africa of African people in such
large numbers tells us something about the greatest and most tragic forced migration of a people in human history. The exploitation
of African people make what is called the New World possible, and the African's contribution to the sciences, invention and
technology that made this new world possible, is part of a larger untold story. In the United States alone there is supporting literature
and volumes of documents on this subject.
We need to examine the events in Africa and in Europe from 1400 through 1600 A.D. This is a pivotal turning point in world history.
This was a period when Europe was awakening from the lethargy of its Middle Ages, learning again the maritime concepts of
longitude and latitude and using her new skills in the handling of ships to enslave and colonize most of the world.

Europe recovered at the expense of African people. African people were soon scattered throughout the Caribbean, in several areas
of South America and in the United States. A neglected drama in the history of dynamic social change had occurred in the year 711
A.D. when a combination of Africans, Arabs and Berbers conquered Spain and ruled the Iberian Peninsula for nearly eight hundred
years. The aftermath of the African-Arab loss of Spain and the Arab's use of European mercenaries and equipment wreaked havoc
throughout Africa and broke up the independent nations of inner Western Africa, mainly Songhay. This drama had to play itself out
and the power of the Africans and the Arabs had to decline before the larger drama of the slave trade and, subsequently, colonialism
could get well under way.
Africa was now suffering a second catastrophe. The first catastrophe was the Arab slave trade, which was totally unexpected, and
came over six hundred years before the European slave trade. The second catastrophe was the Christian slave trade which started in
the fifteenth and sixteenth century. Many Christians could not deal with what African religions were before the advent of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam nor could they deal with early Christianity which was a carbon copy of African Universal Spirituality. The
first thing the Europeans did was to laugh at the African gods. Then they made the Africans laugh at their own gods. Europeans
would go on to colonize the world. They not only colonized the world, they would also colonize information about the world, and
that information is still colonized. What they would deal with was a carbon copy of Christianity as interpreted by foreigners. This
was part of the catastrophe before it could recover its strength.
In the Americas and in the Caribbean Islands we find Bartholomew de las Casas, who came on Christopher Columbus' third voyage
and who sanctioned the increase of the slave trade with the pretense that this would save the Indian population. When the Pope sent
commissions to inquire into what was happening with the Indians, many of the islands did not have one Indian left, they were all
dead. It was at Christopher Columbus' suggestion that the slave trade was increased to include more of the Africans, again, under the
pretense of saving the Indians. It was the same Christopher Columbus who says in his diary, "As man and boy I sailed up and down
the Guinea coast for twenty-three years...." What was he doing up and down the coast of West Africa for twenty-three years? The
assumption is that he was part of the early Portuguese slave trade. Now is he still your hero? When you look at the Western hero and
how he became a hero, when you look at all those people they called, "The Great," and find out what they were great for you will
then have a new concept of history. There are a number of good books on this subject. Two of the more readable are by Eric Williams,
late Prime Minister of Trinidad, formerly teacher of political science at Howard University. They are Capitalism and Slavery, and
his last big book, The Caribbean from Columbus to Castro.
The subject of this talk is really "The African Inventor in the New World and His Contribution to Technology, Medicine and Science."
While I may be going the long way round, I'll get to the subject. But you will have to know what happened behind the curtain of
slavery and the consequences of the Africans' enslavement and to what extent Europe recovered from its lethargy and to what extent
Europe exploited people outside of Europe. But the main thing that you have to understand is that the African did not come into
slavery culturally empty-handed. In order to stay in luxury, Europe had to have large bodies of people to exploit outside of Europe
where they could get land and labor cheap. Where they could get control of other people's resources, cheap or for nothing. This is
what apartheid is really all about. It is about Western control of the mineral wealth of the African. Africa is the world's richest
continent, full of poor people, people who are poor because someone else is managing their resources. Do you think that if Africans
had all the gold and manganese and zinc and bauxite and uranium that comes out of Africa they would be going around begging
anybody for anything, drought or no drought? Have you ever sailed down the Congo River and seen all the vast bodies of water
flowing into the sea? The Nile River sustained the greatest civilization the world has ever known, and it rarely ever rains in the Nile
River. Yet this one river sustained civilizations for thousands of years, because Africans, at that time, knew what to do with water,
and how to direct it in the way they needed it.
Still going to my subject, my point is that the African was brought to the Western world and survived through his inventiveness,
imagination and his spiritual attitude. Without these he would have not survived. The African was hit harder than the so-called Indian.
Where one died the other would survive. It is not that one had spiritual attitude and the other did not, they both had spiritual attitude
and they both had culture. But many of the Africans had come out of pluralistic cultures and were more accustomed to the nature of
change.
Now, let's get on to the African's inventive mind. The preface to all of this is to deal with the free African craftsman in the Western
world and how these craftsmen became free, that is, "free" with a question mark! In the Caribbean where Africans were brought in
large numbers, once they were taken over by the British and others their condition as an enslaved people was exploited. A class of
Englishmen who had earned no considerable respect in England, came to the Islands as mechanics. Because their white face was a
premium and because they were given privileges and guns and land and had access to African women, they considered themselves
as belonging to the exploitive class. They literally exhausted themselves. But the Englishmen did not have the skills they found were
needed on the islands and they began to disappear, physically, due to death from exhaustion or return to England. The African
craftsmen began to replace them. We now see the beginnings of the Africans' inventive mind in the Caribbean Islands. The same
thing was happing in parts of South America. Many times the English would bring over English-made furniture and there were some

termites in the Caribbean. Some of these termites are still there, and when the termites began to eat up the soft wood in the English-
made furniture, the African with his meticulous mind began to duplicate that furniture with local hard wood. This was done especially
in Jamaica where they had large amounts of mahogany then. Jamaica does not have mahogany now because the mahogany forests
were overcut to the point where Jamaica now has no considerable variety of mahogany. Some of the most beautiful mahogany in the
world used to come from Jamaica.
As with the disappearance of the British craftsmen, when the African craftsmen began to emerge, something else began to emerge
in the Caribbean Islands. A class of people whose crafts maintained plantations. The Africans say how important they had become
and began to make demands. This is the origin of the Caribbean freeman. These freemen were free enough to communicate with
other Africans, free enough to go back to Africa, and free enough to go to the United States. These freemen from the crafts class
began to mix friendship with another group of freemen in the United States. Now, how did the freemen become free in the United
States? Mostly in the New England states where the winters were so long that it was not economically feasible to support a slave all
year round, when they could be used only for four or five months. Slavery would have been just as brutal as it was in the South if
the weather permitted. In New England the slaves had become industrial slaves. A large number of them were employed as ship
caulkers. In the era of wooden ships, every time a ship came in the caulkers would have to drill something in the holds of the ship to
keep it from eroding and to keep it from leaking at sea. A large number of Africans became ship caulkers and a large number became
industrial slaves and they began to learn basic industrial skills. Professor Lorenzo Green's book, The Negro in Colonial New England
is especially good in explaining the details of this transformation during the period of slavery.
There were also slave inventors, but these slaves could not patent their own inventions. They had to patent them in the name of their
masters.
Soon after the latter half of the nineteenth century, when the Africans understood that emancipation was not the reality they had
hoped for, they began another resistance movement in the hope of improving their condition. They set up a communication system
with all the slaves. There were no "West Indians," no "Black Americans." These were names unknown to us in Africa. We were and
we saw ourselves as one people, as African people.
In the nineteenth century the Africans began the inventive period, and before the beginning of the twentieth century Africans had
already invented some of the things that made life more comfortable for many in the United States. When you study a list of the
numerous inventions of Africans you will find that they would invent things first and foremost to make life better for themselves.
Benjamin Banneker was the first notable Black inventor. When the Africans arrived in the United States, in 1619, the year before
the Mayflower people arrived, they were not chattel slaves, but indentured slaves. Indentured slaves worked so many years and then
they were free. Most of the indentured slaves were whites. Many times whites and blacks did not see the difference in their lives.
They were both exploited, and they both had to work so many years before they were free. Therefore, during this time, there was a
period when Africans and whites saw no difference in their plight and this was before prejudice and color difference would set in.
Many times they married one another and nobody cared; they were both slaves anyway. Out of these marriages came some people
who helped to change the condition of the slaves in the United States. Benjamin Banneker was a product of one of these relationships.
In his mother's time if a white woman had a Black lover and because of her whiteness she worked her way out of the indenture ahead
of her lover, then she came and bought him out of the indenture and married him. No one took noticed.
Benjamin Banneker, literally, made the first clock in the United States. He dabbled in astronomy, he communicated with President
Thomas Jefferson and he asked Jefferson to entertain the idea of having a secretary of peace as well as having a secretary of war. He
was assistant to the Frenchman L'Enfant who was planning the City of Washington. For some reason L'Enfant got angry with the
Washington people, picked up his plans and went back to France. Benjamin Banneker remembered the plans and Benjamin Banneker
is responsible for the designing of the City of Washington, one of the few American cities designed with streets wide enough for ten
cars to pass at the same time. This was the first of many of the African American inventors that we have with good records. There
will be many to follow and I am only naming a few.
James Forten became one of the first African Americans to become moderately rich. He made sails and accessories for ships. During
the beginning of the winter of the American Revolution it was noticed that the tent cloth they were using for the tents was of better
quality than the cloths they had in their britches. James Forten, the sail maker, was approached to use some of the same cloth to make
the britches for the soldiers of the American Revolution. These britches, made by this Black man, saved them from that third and
last terrible winter of the American Revolution. Now, the role of Blacks in the American Revolution is another lecture in the sense
that 5000 Blacks fought against the United States on the side of England in the American Revolution, and the English had to find
somewhere for them to go after the war. They sent some of them to Sierra Leone, but some of them went to Nova Scotia.
Jan Ernest Matzeliger, a young man from Guyana, now called Surinam invented the machine for the mass production of shoes; this
invention revolutionized the shoe industry.

In summary, African Americans continued to create inventions. They revolutionized the American industry. For example, Granville
Woods not only revolutionized the electrical concept, but he laid the basis for Westinghouse Electric Company. Elijah McCoy
invented a drip coupling for lubrication that revolutionized the whole concept of lubrication. He had over fifty patents to his credit
and so many whites stole from Elijah McCoy that anytime a white man took a patent of lubrication system, or anything that related
to it to the patent office, he was asked, "Did you steal it directly from McCoy or did you steal it indirectly from McCoy or is it the
real McCoy?" This is how the word came into the English language, "the real McCoy."
In the closing years of the nineteenth century the greatest talent was that of Lewis Latimer. He was not only a draftsman, but drew
up the plans for the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell was the one who invented the telephone, but the patent that had to be drawn
up, all the moving parts and all of the vital parts, was done by Lewis Latimer, a Black man. Latimer also did a few other things that
don't make me too happy. He improved the Maxim gun that became the forerunner of the present day machine gun. He is also
responsible for the florescent light. He wrote the first book on the incandescent light that you know as the fluorescent light. He
worked with Thomas Edison. He was one of the Thomas Edison pioneers. While Thomas Edison created the principle of the electric
light, his light went out in twenty minutes. But the man who created the filament made the light go on indefinitely. That was Lewis
Latimer, and he deserves as much credit for the electric light as does Thomas Edison. And he and his accomplishments were
completely left out of history. Only Thomas Edison's accomplishments are mentioned.
Not only did African Americans invent a lot of other things, including labor-saving devices, African Americans have played a major
role in getting America into space. In space medicine the leading doctor is an African American woman. The person that designed
the interior of the ship, including the disposal facility, is an African American man. When they sent some astronauts up without
instructing them in his method of disposal of waste matter, a near catastrophe occurred. The space buggy that they used to walk on
the moon was, basically, a Black invention and so is the camera that they used on the trip to the moon.
You might wonder that after all that the African Americans have contributed in making the United States comfortable, even to the
coupling that hold all the weights together when trains are moving around the country, why are they having so much trouble, and
why are they still having difficulty? Principally because we were not brought to the United States to be given democracy, to be given
Christianity. We were brought to labor and once the labor was done, we were an unwanted population in the United States. We were
a nation within a nation searching for a nationality.
When we put all of us together, we are larger, in number, than all of the nations in Scandinavia put together. Their population would
not be as large as the African American population in the United States alone. According to the statistics of the United Nations and
the Jewish Year Book all the Jews in the world would come to less than one-half the number of African American population in the
United States. Yet Israel gets more financial aid than all of the African nations in the world put together. Principally because we have
not developed the political apparatus to put the right pressures on the leaders in the world to make it [otherwise] so.
I see no solution for African peoples, any place in this world, short of Pan-Africanism. Wherever we are on the face of this earth we
are an African people. We have got to understand that any problem faced by Africans is the collective problem of all the African
people in the world, and not just the problem of the Africans who live in any one part of the world. Once we put all of our skills
together, and realize that between the United States, the Caribbean Islands, Brazil and other South American countries there are 150
million African people, and the population of Africa has been counted as 500 million for over fifty years, implying that the African
man has been sleeping away from home, and you know that is not true.
In the twenty-first century there are going to be a billion African people on this earth. We have to ask ourselves, "Are we ready for
the twenty-first century?" Do we go into the twenty-first century begging and pleading or insisting and demanding? We have to ask
and answer that question and we have to decide if we are going to be the rearguard for somebody else's way of life, or do we rebuild
our own way of life, or will we be the vanguard to rebuild our own nation.
We have to say to ourselves when we look at our history, the great Nile Valley civilization, the kind of civilizations we built on other
rivers, the Niger, the Limpopo, the Zambezi, the kind of civilizations that gave life to the world before the first Europeans wore shoes
or had houses that had windows. We need to say to ourselves, with conviction, that, “If I did it once, I will do it again."

TOPIC FOUR
DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
Before the coming of colonialists, the Africans, had their own social and political system of administration, which was interfered
after the interaction with colonialist in 19th century. Since Africa brought civilization in the world from Egypt and all along Nile
valley, how on earth one can claim Africa was a dark continent? The first people to enjoy democracy and humanity from their
government with full political systems like of today, were the African. The African people knew how to rule themselves, how to
settle their disputes (conflicts) and how to choose their leaders. By 1500 A.D most of the African societies, East, Central, Southern,
Northern and North-East Africa in particular, had established permanent settlements. These settlements consisted of hunters,
cultivators, pastoralists and those who mixed agriculture and pastoralism. During this period, four major types of social and political
systems had emerged in Africa. These were: Kinship or Clan Organization, Age Set Organization, Ntemi (Mtemi)ship Organization
and State Organization. In this topic the focus will be on Development of those social and political systems existed in Africa before
the coming of the colonialists.
1. KINSHIP OR THE CLAN ORGANIZATION.

A Clan/ Kingship refers to a group of families in a tribe who claim common ancestry. Clans have existed for many years in all parts
of the world. Kinship is founded on social difference and cultural creation.
A Family is made up of a husband, wife and children. This is the basic and the simplest unit of social organization being the primary
unit of production. Any Clan in African societies, especially agricultural societies comprised several related families. Mainly those
families in a clan shared (i.e. in past times) blood relations. They came from the same ancestors.
Land, tools of production, and other means of production belonged to a whole clan. These were entrusted to a clan head as the
controller for the common good of the clan members.
This type of organization existed in those places where shifting cultivation was the dominant means of production. With shifting
cultivation, nothing was permanent. There were no permanent cash crops. Everybody in these societies had to produce enough for
his livelihood and land was communally owned.
Examples of clan organizations in East Africa were communities found in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, the Rufiji basin, the
Kilombero and Luangnia basins, which included the Pogoro, Makonde, Ndonde, Mwera, Yao, Matumbi, Ngindo and the Ndamba.
In most of these clan organizations, communities lived in communal ways of life by sharing the means of production and distribution
of the produce.
DUTIES OR ROLES OR FUNCTIONS OF THE CLAN HEAD

i. Clan heads controlled the major means of production as they were entrusted by their communities. For example, they
distributed and apportioned land to clan members.
ii. They provided guidance to the members of the clan because they were the ones controlling the customs and traditions of
the clan.
iii. They chose spouses for young men and girls and arranged marriages for them.
iv. They settled disputes among clan members.
v. They protected clan ethics, norms and rituals, which governed the societies.
vi. He was an overseer of the community's food reserve.
vii. He had the religious power. He led people of his community in performing religious ceremonies and offering sacrifices to
the spirits.
viii. To collect tributes from his subjects especially in trading societies like the Nyamwezi.
Types of clan organizations in agricultural societies.

There are two types of clan organizations in agricultural societies; Matrilineal and Patrilineal
1. Patrilineal clan organization societies: This is the system of organization in which the clan heritage was based on the father’s
line and all children bared the name of the father. The husband had to pay substantial bride price in different forms such as cattle,
goats, etc. in order to get the wife, the bride price could be stored as wealth, in this system all the children of the new family
belonged to the father’s clan.
2. Matrilineal clan organization: This is a society where by the husband moved to the wife’s family and children of the new
family belonged to the mother’s (wife’s clan). As a result, clan heritage was based on the mother’s clan. Uncles have to make
all the important decisions concerning the children and the nephews of their sisters. Matrilineal age in Africa was practiced
among the Makonde, Makua, Mwera, the Yao of Tanzania, and the Kamba of Kenya.
Chiefdom or Chieftain Organization

Therefore, the chiefdom organisation system was adopted by many societies that were under clan organisation. This included the
Sukuma, Chagga, Nyakyusa, etc. The functions of a chief in these societies were similar to that of the clan leader the difference is
the chief had a larger area. However, by the 18th and 19th century clan system changed to chieftainship after several came to be
controlled under one leader.

2. AGE SET ORGANIZATION.
This kind of socio-political organization was based on age and sex. Or Age set is a social system or organization which involves the
distribution of labour based on age and sex. This means, in order to fit into the society, one was required to fulfil certain functions. Often,
the main productive activity was based on harsh environments, such as arid grasslands and semi-arid. In these areas, poor soils could not
support an agricultural economy but vegetation could be used for pastoralism.
This was the dominant form of organization in pastoral societies. The best examples of these societies were the Maasai of East Africa,
Hausa and Fulani of West Africa and the Khoikhoi of South Africa. The division of responsibilities and duties was based on age and
sex and was mostly done during initiation ceremonies. Youths were taught special responsibilities. Each age set covered a specific
group, as a result, the whole society was divided into age groups.
Age set covered a specific group of years for example, in the Maasai tribe age is being distributed as follows.
a) Children group aged 0-8 years were regarded as non-producers group. They were not directly involved in production.
b) Youth group 8-18 years their main responsibility was to graze animals, trading young animals and milking cattle they were
assisted by women.
c) Moran group (people between youth and adults aged between 35years) and above these were soldiers of the society
Responsibilities of Moran in Maasai community.

1. To protect the whole society as trained soldiers.
2. To protect livestock against dangerous animals and raiders
3. To increase the number of animals through raiding their neighbors.
4. To travel with their herds in search for water and pastures.
d) Laibons; this is the group of elders aged 40 years and above it consisted of elders who were divided in groups namely; junior
elders and senior elders.
Responsibilities of elders:
- To control livestock and all the properties on behalf of their communities.
- To enable norms and ethics to govern the society.
- They were top overseers of all the spiritual and political matters of the community.
- They were responsible for counseling other members of the society.
- To settle disputes among the society members.
- They were regarded as retired producers of the society but their ideas and skills were highly appreciated.
3. NTEMI (MTEMI)SYSTEM
By 1500 most of the peoples of western Tanzania were ruled by chiefs. These chieftainships were like each other in many ways.
Each consisted of a small group of villages ruled by a single chief whom the villagers had appointed. These chiefs were known by
the same title, NTEMI or MTEMI, a word which comes from the Bantu verb ku-tema, meaning 'to cut'. The Ntemi (Mtemi) chief
was the man appointed to 'cut discussion' so as to reach judgments in legal cases and decisions on political questions.
These peoples of western Tanzania did not all accept the idea of rule by Ntemi (Mtemi) chiefs at the same time. It spread from people
to people, over about two centuries, and across a thousand miles of inland Tanzania between the Nyamwezi-Sukuma country in the
north and the shores of Lake Malawi. It was adopted in the south by the Hehe, Bena and Sangu: by the Pangwa, Kinga, and Nyakyusa:
by the Ngonde, Safwa, and many others.
Each Ntemi (Mtemi) chief or king was regarded with the respect due to a man whose position enjoyed the special blessing and power
of God. Each was the holder of special things such as sacred spears. Each maintained a royal fire from which all the fires of his little
chiefdom or kingdom were supposed to be kindled. Whenever an Ntemi (Mtemi) chief died, he was buried with special ceremonies
and expressions of sorrow by his people.
These many little states did not unite. Each remained on its own, speaking its own language, revere (treat somebody with admiring
respect) its own ancestors, thinking of itself as separate and different from its neighbours. There was plenty of land for all of them,
so the problem of settling disputes between neighbouring states did not often arise. Only in later times did large states emerge.
Why, we may ask, was this idea of having chiefs accepted by so many peoples who had previously done without them?
In the beginning, long ago, religious beliefs often led to the appointment of chiefs. Each people wished to make spiritual contact with
their `founding ancestors'. This was done at religious ceremonies. The men who presided over these ceremonies, usually the heads
of important family groupings, gradually came to be recognised as men with political powers as well. 'The religious needs of the
community', in other words, 'were at the heart of political evolution'. Then, depending on the kind of country in which people lived,
and the everyday problems they faced, there followed a number of political developments which made chiefs more powerful.
What caused these developments? Apart from this fact that chiefs sometimes became important religious figures, there are four
answers:
1. The growth of population. This, as we have noted, meant that villages began to need more law and order than family heads could
provide. Chiefs were useful in this respect. They were also useful as leaders in warfare, when peoples who were growing in
number clashed with each other in rivalry for land or cattle.
2. The spread of cattle-raising. Nearly all these peoples with Ntemi (Mtemi) chiefs say, in their traditions, that the idea was brought
to them by cattle-raising folk who came to live among them. We may guess that the spread of cattle-raising brought new problems

to people who were cultivators of the soil: how to divide broad pastures, how to make the best use of manure, how to combine
food-growing with the keeping of cattle. These problems required a new kind of authority to settle them. This new authority was
the Ntemi (Mtemi) chief.
3. The expansion of iron-working. Skills in making iron-tipped tools and spears were increasingly prized as these populations grew
in number. They needed more hoes for tilling the soil. They needed more spears for hunting and warfare. Among some of these
peoples, as for example among the people of the Pare Mountains, families of metalsmiths tended to become families of chiefs
as well.
4. The spread of local trade between one people and its neighbours, and of long-distance trade between the peoples of the Interior,
whether in East or Central Africa, and those of the Coast and Islands also helped to increase the power of chiefs.
Responsibilities of Mtemi
 He was the top authority in political and judicial matters. He provided overall guidance in the community.
 He was the top authority in the political and matters provided over all guidance in the community.
 He enforced proper use of resources such as land, water, forests; etc.
 He was an overseer of the communities' food reserve.
 He settled disputes in the community.
 He had the religious powers. He led people of his community in performing religions ceremonies and offering sacrifices to
the spirits.
 To collect tributes from his subjects.
 He provided over all guidance over the society.
Factors for the Rise of the Nyamwezi Kingdom
The Nyamwezi who live in Central Tanzania are a group of Bantu societies. Each of these societies had their own settlement headed
by a chief entitled Mtemi. Ntemi (Mtemi)ships (Chiefdoms) were composed of people of shared backgrounds or kinships and beliefs.
Each of the Nyamwezi chiefdoms had Mtemi at the center helped by a council of leaders, the Wanyampala in administration.
Towards the middle of the 19th century a more dynamic political structure developed among the Nyamwezi under Fundikira, Nyungu
ya Mawe and Mirambo. This fostered the institution of Mtemi becoming one of the most powerful positions. The several Nyamwezi
settlements were united under one senior Mtemi.
Factors for the rise of the Nyamwezi Chiefdom can be explained as follows:
 Ngoni invasions: The Ngoni invasions in Western Tanganyika made the Nyamwezi people to unite in order to resist Ngoni
attacks.
 The Rugaruga: A class of mercenaries had emerged in Central Tanganyika in the middle of the 19th Century due to Ngoni raids
and slave trade intensification. This group was paid to fight for prominent Unyamwezi Watemi, such as Nyungu ya Mawe and
Mirambo who helped to build the kingdom.
 The expansion of local trade into regional trade/ long distance trade, saw the emergence of wealthy traders like Mirambo who
made effective use of the Rugaruga.
 The entry of Europeans into the coastal interior, trade introduced new trading partners to Nyamwezi traders, who joined together
to effectively resist Europeans pressure to stop slave trade.
 The rise of Mirambo as a trader and leader. He used his influence to unify the clans of Unyamweziland.
 The use of the gun and gunpowder by Mirambo 's soldiers in making the weaker Watemi submissive to his rule.
4. STATE ORGANIZATION
INTRODUCTION
Historians define state organization in different ways basing on its features. State is a political unit with a centralized government,
with power to collect tributes, make laws and reinforce them. A state could also be defined as a community occupying a certain
defined territory and living under full control of its government and therefore it is independent from external control.
Around 14th to 15th centuries, village communities had emerged in various parts of East Africa. Clan organization, chieftainship and
kingdoms developed centralized political organization known as state villages. In these villages emerged groups of people who
provided services of one kind or another like diviners, medicine men, entertainers, rulers and Rain-Makers. The leader for the
dominant clan assumed political and ritual functions that went beyond his own clan; he was obeyed and respected by other clan heads
Within a given area. Clan which possessed an adequate or enough labor and land resources or had better skills of iron use became
dominant clan and leader of the community or village; they were respected and obeyed by other clan members. Those who disagreed
with them migrated to other lands. In this way leader of the dominant clan assumed political and spiritual or ritual functions. Kings
and queens were state leaders. Village heads who were leaders of many clans in villages were under state of kings or queens also
had their court to deal with judicial matters.
GENERAL FACTORS FOR STATE FORMATION.

Regardless of whether is a centralized or decentralized society, but specifically the contributions of each factor in the development
of any state could have varied. Generally, however, the possible reasons for the formation of centralized societies could have
included the following; -

(a) The rise of strong and charismatic leaders that were able to organize and lead the people like Kabaka Mutesa I and II of Buganda,
Shaka of the Zulu was a factor for the state formation in Africa. Different states emerged under several fame leaders and the
leaders differed from one area to another in accordance to the respect and power given to such a leader.
(b) Population growth, high population is usually accompanied by social conflicts. These conflicts required an authoritative figure
to solve them. In this way, chiefs and later kings emerged that led to political centralization. It is population pressure that partly
led to the rise of the Amazulu nation state. Population pressure created war in the whole South of sub-region which even triggered
off the formation of other states for defensive and security purposes.
(c) Climatic condition. This was a factor for the state formation especially in the areas experienced heavy rainfall that favoured
permanent crops that supplied enough food for the population and permanent villages and settlements. The heavy rainfall in a
given areas provided security for food growth and also attracted several people to come and settle in those areas. For example,
the interlacustrine region, many states coming up only because of its heavy rainfall
(d) Existence of trade (intra-trading activities) long distance trade for example attracted many people to participate through barter
system, societies that were living near trading centers they could acquire massive wealth, guns and other instruments of
centralization. Examples Buganda, Bunyoro and Unyamwezi of East Africa and the Asante and the Mandika states of West
Africa.
(e) Migration of people from one region to another also helped in the state formation e.g. the Ngoni came from South Africa and
settled in East Africa, the Luo came from Bae1 ghazel Sudan and settled in East Africa and the Bantu speaking people migrated
from Cameroon through Congo to East and Central Africa eventually formed states.
(f) The 19th Century Jihad Movements of West Africa. These were Islamic holy wars that brought tension between Islam and African
traditional religions. The old order and the new order created Jihads like those of Uthman Dan Fodio, Haji Omar Segu, Ahmad
Bello, Samore Toure and others, contributed to state formation in West African whereby they were using the Islamic religion as
a unifying factor to control trade and political power wl -rich attracted a number of people to settle and form states.
(g) Mfecane- was one of the nineteenth century Africa's internal revolutions that led to the state formation. This referred to the
period of trouble that began in South Africa and its effects spread to East and Central Africa. It brought about migration and
conquest of various tribes/societies that chose to migrate away from the trouble, founded states as well as imppsed their rule
over other peoples spreading what has come to be termed as Nguni imperialism. States that resulted from the spread of Nguni
imperialism included the Ndebele state under Mzilikazi, the Gaza state of Soshangane (in Mozambique) and various Nguni
states that were established in Zambia, Malawi and Tanganyika.
(h) Availability of iron technology which promoted the expansion of agricultural productivity Tools like hand hoes, axe, "pangas"
etc. and improvement of weapons had something to do with expansion of kingdom through conquering neighboring states. The
tools also brought about specialization and made society complex with heterogeneous economic occupations.
(i) Conquest. Some powerful states used their mightiness to overrun the weak states and therefore making them more powerful and
stronger as for the open case of Buganda which took over large areas of Bunyoro in the nineteenth century, a thing that saw it
assume fame and strength.
(j) Size of the kingdom; kingdoms that were small such as Buganda and Ghana were easier to organize, to administer effectively and
to defend unlike the larger kingdoms like the Bunyoro; the effective control was impossible.
Types of state organizations in pre-colonial Africa
Pre-colonial state organization has been categorized into two dominant forms varied from one place to another, these were: -
(a) Centralized states or non-acephalous societies.
(b) Non-centralized states or stateless or acephalous societies.
(a) Centralized states organization or Non-acephalous societies
Those societies developed an expansionism tendency by conquering neighbouring clans, villages or states. They had very strong
leaders whose power was completely assigned to one leader who controlled all the society. Such leaders formed a very strong
standing army to protect the society and achieve the conquering of other states. These were societies that had a central ruling authority
or system of administration with a central figurehead who was a King, a Sultan or an Emperor at the top and other subordinates
follows. Example of non-acephalous societies in Africa include Toro, Buganda and Bunyoro kitara in the interlacustrine region of
East Africa, Ethiopian Empire of North East Africa, the Asante confederacy, Dahomey, Benin, Sokoto, Tokolo and the forest state
of Benin of West Africa, the Ndebele, Rozi, Kalolo and Gaza in Central Africa, the Zulu, Basuto empire and the Swazi in South
Africa.
An examination of the state societies in pre-colonial Africa reveals striking interesting differences but a critical look at them does
not show very marked differences but rather a set of similar political, economic and social features that across these societies. Before
indulging in the intricacies of contrasts it is worth surveying the common characteristics of these precolonial states.

Characteristics/features of centralized states
(a) The centralization of power, the power was vested in a single leader especially the king, he was an absolute ruler who did every
sort of action at his own will e.g. Shaka of the Zulu who could order the death of fifty men with just an answer of " Go ahead"
the king ensured national unity, commanded wealth and loyalty from his subject and respect, he headed all religious ceremonies
(b) Geographically they extended over large areas; conquered or defeated territories were annexed and put under their rule and paid
tribute to the king, good example can be drawn from the Zulu state and Buganda kingdom. This therefore ensured proper
administration or easy control and also expanding on the areas of influence.
(c) Hereditary system; It was not automatic that anyone can rise to power, the throne was hereditary in nature, every society had its
custom of selecting the next king from the royal family in case of death of the prevailing king for example in Buganda the first
born among the sons of the king was nominated to the throne.
(d) Had standing army to provide defense from external aggression of neighbouring states forces. As the people were united under
one umbrella the king headed the internal stability of the kingdom, the king was the commander in chief. Example of the army
includes the Abatazi in Buganda, the Rugaruga in Nyamwezi and the Machacha of the Ndebele. These armies were always ready
for any confrontation.
(e) Authoritarian rule. Despite the hierarchy in administration, the kings and their official exercised authoritarianism towards their
subjects. The council of elders whose role was to advice the king assisted him. Nevertheless, he was not bound to follow their
advice at time he Could decide against their wishes.
(f) The king was vested with juridical authority. His court arbitrated all disputes within the kingdom as the king was the highest
court of appeal. He had power to dispose anyone's life and to restore it.
(g) The king controlled the economy such as trade, agricultural activities, distributed land etc. Through these means the king
aggrandized much wealth in his state and he was expected to share generously with his subject. He also directed the use of all the
taxes collected such as buying weapons for example Kabaka could centrally buy all the guns from the Arabs and could not allow
them to reach Bunyoro.
(h) There is permanent agriculture as the major economic activity and the subjects were to pay feudal rent to the king and his
intermediate vassals land lords since all productive forces and wealthy in the kingdom which included land, cattle, tools belonged
to the king.
(i) Had permanent and defined boundaries which were controlled and expand at the expense of their weak neighbors vassal states
that were subdued and be obedient to die king.
(j) The king like Kabaka or Alafim of the Yoruba or Asantehene or emperor was considered as a symbol of unity, religious leader
and figurehead over vital ceremonial and social functions of the state.
(k) Strong economically due to influence of trade and agriculture e.g. Buganda with Banana culture. Also Dahomey and Asante
owing to Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
(l) High population with economic specialization as within such societies one could find people specialized in various economic
occupation e.g. some specialized on hunting for ivory like the Nyamwezi Bayeye, others specialized on trading
activities(merchants) like the Nyaniwezi Badeba, others concentrated in agriculture, crafts industry etc.
b) Non-centralized or stateless or acephalous societies or Decentralized states

Decentralized or stateless political societies are the societies that did not have a well-defined and complex or centralized system of
government. These were societies that have also been referred to as segmentary. Example of such societies in pre-colonial Africa
included the Kikuyu, Iteso, Bagisu and Nyamwezi of East Africa, the Ibo and Tiv of Nigeria, Kru of modern Liberia, the Tallensi of
modern Ghana, the Konkomba of modern Togo, a few to mention. A general survey of such societies in the middle of and in the
second half of the. nineteenth century reveals common political, social and economic features. These societies emerged as a result
of one powerful family to control other classes in domination of wealth and political power.
Although they cannot be certain, historians of Africa believe that as many as a third of the people of Africa on the days before
colonial rule lived in stateless or decentralized societies. For many years, these societies were not well studied by historians. There
are a couple of reasons why decentralized societies in Africa have not been well studied by historians.
One of the reasons why these societies were not studied has to do with the availability of historical data. Rulers in centralized states
had an interest in keeping oral or written records. In decentralized societies that had no kings, chiefs or ruling elite, there was little
opportunity or incentive to keep oral or written histories. Consequently, contemporary historians do not have the same rich sources
of oral tradition to draw on when studying the histories of stateless societies.
The second reason why decentralized societies have not been well studied is prejudice (bias). Until quite recently, many historians
have accepted a view that only centralized societies are worth studying. Until the past twenty years, many historians . of Africa looked
at African history through the European lens. Consequently, historians took the existence of states as a mark of political achievement,
the bigger the state, the bigger the achievement. Although, recent authorities suggest that this view is far from accuracy. These
historians allowed their perspective of African societies to be prejudiced by European and North American history as a lens to focus
on African history. Decentralized and stateless societies can develop economically, culturally, and socially, even if they don't have
a centralized system of government.
Decentralized or stateless political societies in Africa were often made up of a group of neighbouring towns or villages that had no
political connection with a larger kingdom or nation. Most stateless and decentralized societies did not have a system of chiefs.
However, some of these societies had chiefs. In these societies, the position of chief was weak and was often not hereditary. The

chiefs were usually selected by a group of elders not basing on their family connections but on their reputation as persons who
contributed to the welfare of the group.
Some decentralized societies did not have chiefs. They were governed by a council of elders that was comprised of many of the
elderly people in the community. In most decentralized societies in Africa, it was the elders who held social, economic and political
power. Elders were so important that some historians have defined decentralized societies as democracies of age
Characteristics/ outstanding features of non-centralize/ acephalous states

 The basic unit of political organization was the clan, various clans constituted a tribe. These societies were loyal to the clan
authority. The clan head was chosen from among the clan elders when he met the qualities of leadership such as his influence,
which was determined by age, wisdom and wealth.
 There was army but not standing army. All able bodied men were responsible for the defense of the clan. This was due to the
fact that these societies did not involve themselves in expansionistic policy. Wars therefore were scarce.
 No absolutism of the ruling class, society characterized by fair and public administration of justices. Performance in the society
was just the matter of duties and responsibilities i.e. all people regarded themselves as born equal.
 No central control of the economy. Under decentralized societies, the major means of production mainly land was communally
owned.
 The clan elders worked to solve internal conflicts, but if they became difficult, they were transferred to the general assembly.
Everybody was interested in solving the disputed honestly and this resulted in the fair and public administration of justice.
 Most of the decentralized societies lacked permanent borders and permanent agriculture; their movements were largely
determined by the environment.
 No hereditary of the rulers like that of the monarchy, that is, succession was through election, head of clan resigned from power
after the election of new clan head which normally took place whenever the former head became un popular or was too old to
perform his responsibilities
 Dominated by mixed farming as their main economic occupation, i.e. they involved in pastoral activities and shifting agriculture.
During dry season they could also engage in trading activities. The Nyamwezi from central Tanganyika are the good example
 Individual owner ship of wealth, but collective ownership of the major means of production.
AFRICA: THE PASSING OF THE GOLDEN AGES

BY John Henrik Clarke (May 1988)
1. THE EARLY BEGINNINGS
It can be said with a strong degree of certainty that Africa has had three Golden Ages. The first two reached their climax and were
in decline before Europe as a functioning entity in human society was born. Africa's first Golden Age began at the beginning—
with the birth of man and the development of organized societies. It is general conceded in most scholarly circles that mankind
originated in Africa; this makes the African man the father and the African woman the mother of mankind.
In his book The Progress and Evolution of Man in Africa, Dr. L.S.B. Leakey states that:
In every country that one visits and where one is drawn into a conversation about Africa, the question is regularly
asked, by people who should know better: "But what has Africa contributed to world progress?" The critics of
Africa forget that men of science today, with few exceptions, are satisfied that Africa was the birthplace of man
himself, and that for many hundreds of centuries thereafter, Africa was in the forefront of all human progress.
In the early development of man, the family was the most important unit in existence. Through the years the importance of this unit
has not changed. The first human societies were developed for reasons relating to the needs and survival of the family. The early
African had to make hooks to catch fish, spears to hunt with, and knives. He searched for new ways of building shelter, gathering
and raising food, and domesticating animals. Our use of fire today simply continues the process started by the early Africans—the
control of fire. In the making of tools that sets man apart from all living creatures, Africans started man along the tool-making path.
With the discovery of metals and how to use them all Africa took a great leap forward. Man had learned how to take iron from the
ground and turn it into spears and tools. Iron cultures spread rapidly across Africa and there were very few parts of Africa that were
not influenced by these Iron Age cultures. Iron cultures had their greatest development in the area of Africa that is now the Eastern
Sudan, in the great city-state of Meroe. The use of iron accelerated every aspect of African development and introduced a new
danger—the eventual use of iron weapons in warfare.
2. THE NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATION — THE RISE

The Nile River became a great cultural highway, bringing peoples and cultures out of inner Africa. These migrations by river led to
the establishment of one of the greatest nations in world history—Egypt. In his book The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great
Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D., the Afro-American Historian Chancellor Williams refers to Egypt as "Ethiopia's oldest
daughter," and calls attention to the evidence to prove the Southern African origin of early Egyptian people and their civilization.
Egypt first became an organized nation about 6000 B.C. Medical interest centers upon a period in the Third Dynasty (5345-5307
B.C.), when Egypt had an ambitious pharaoh named Zaser. Zaser, in turn had for his chief counselor and minister a brilliant

commoner named Imhotep (whose name means "He who cometh in peace"). Imhotep constructed the famous step pyramid of
Sakkarah near Memphis. The building methods used in the construction of this pyramid revolutionized the architecture of the ancient
world.
Egypt gave the world some of the greatest personalities in the history of mankind. In this regard, Imhotep is singularly outstanding.
In the ancient history of Egypt, no individual left a deeper impression than the commoner Imhotep. He was the world's first multi-
genius. He was also the real father of medicine. In his book, Evolution of Modern Medicine (London, 1921, 9. 10), Sir William Osler
refers to Imhotep as "the first figure of a physician to stand out clearly from the mists of antiquity."
The period in Egyptian history from the Third Dynasty to the first invasion of Egypt by the Hyksas, of Shepherd Kings, in 1700 B.C.
is, in my opinion, the apex of the first Golden Age. The Western Asian domination over Egypt lasted about one hundred and twenty
years and was ended by the rise of Egyptian nationalism during the Seventeenth Dynasty. During this period the pharaohs (or kings)
at Thebes consolidated their powers and began a united campaign to rid Lower Egypt of Hyksas invaders. When the invaders from
Western Asia were finally driven out by the Pharaoh, Ahmose I, the splendid Eighteenth Dynasty was established and Egypt's second
Golden Age began. Egypt's Golden Age did not belong to Egypt alone but included nations in Africa, mainly Kush and Ethiopia
(which at certain periods in history were one and the same.) These nations farther to the South were the originators of the early
culture of Egypt. Egypt at this juncture in history was no longer dependent on her cultural parents and was, once more, the most
developed nation in the world.
3. THE NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATION — THE GLORY

Again rulers of monumental status were coming to power. Two of the best known rulers of this period were Queen Hatsheput and
her brother Thothmes III. Great temples were built throughout the country, and the consequent employment of hundreds of artist and
craftsmen prepared the way for the artistic glories, which were still to come.
During the reign of Thothmes III, the influence of Egypt was once more extended to Western Asia, now referred to as the Middle
East. The age of grandeur continued. This age had a dramatic and lasting change in 1386 B.C. Sometime around 1386 B.C., Queen
Tiy of Egypt gave birth to a boy who was first named Amenhates after his father. Very little is known of his childhood except that
he was sickly from birth and developed an interest in art, poetry, and religion. His closest companion was said to be Nefertiti, the
beautiful little cousin. (Some archaeologists have referred to her as his sister.)
When the Crown Prince was about 21, he and the lovely Nefertiti were married. Three years later, his aging father, Amenhotep III,
named him co-regent of Egypt and crowned him Amenhotep IV. After the death of his father, he came into full power in Egypt and
took the name Akhenaton. He produced a profound effect on Egypt and the entire world of his day.
Akhenaton, often referred to as "The Heretic King," is one of history's most extraordinary monarchs. Thirteen hundred years before
Christ he preached and lived a gospel of love, brotherhood, and truth. He has been called the world's first idealist, the first temporal
ruler ever to lead his people toward the worship of a single God.
When Akhenaton came to the throne more than 3,000 years ago, Egypt dominated the world.
Egypt's Golden Age gradually waned and the pride and splendor that had marked the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties gave way
to internal strife and confusion. Wars of conquest and colonization had drained much of her military and economic strength. In the
meantime, as the nations to the South grew more powerful, they became predatory toward Egypt, which had once been their master.
The nation that is now called Ethiopia came back upon the center stage of history around 900 B.C. It was then represented by a queen
who in some books is referred to as Makeda, and in others as Belkis. She is better known to the world as the Queen of Sheba. In his
book, World's Great Men of Color, J.A. Rogers gives this description: "Out of the mists of three thousand years emerges this beautiful
love story of a black queen, who, attracted by the fame of a Judean monarch, made a long journey to see him...."
In Ethiopia, A Cultural History, Sylvia Pankhurst tells the story of this journey:
The history of the Queen of the South, who undertook a long and arduous journey to Jerusalem, in order to
learn of the wisdom of King Solomon, is deeply cherished in Ethiopia, as part of the national heritage, for
she is claimed as an Ethiopian Queen, Makeda, "a woman of splendid beauty," who introduced the religion
and culture of Israel to her own land."
By the tenth and ninth centuries B.C., Egypt had been weakened by outside attacks and by bitter disputes between its priests and the
royal families. This had allowed the Kushites to the South to gain a measure of independence. They now had the confidence to move
Northward and conquer their former masters. In spite of the war of conquest, these Kushite (or Ethiopian) kings brought Egypt her
last age of grandeur and social reform. There is a need to make a serious study of this act of internal African colonialism and what it
achieved at the end of the Golden Age for both Egypt and Kush.
These Kushite kings restored the declining culture and economy of Egypt and took this nation to unprecedented heights of leadership
in the way it cared for its people. Though a colony, Egypt was once more a world power.
4. THE NILE VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS — THE DECLINE

The Assyrian invasion of 871 B.C. drove the Kushite forces to the South and began the harshness and misrule that destroyed the
grandeur that once was Egypt. Egypt continued to decline while a young nation on the other side of the Mediterranean Greece—

began to gather, its power around 500 B.C. In the year 332 B.C. Alexander the Great, a student of Aristotle, invaded Egypt. This was
the first purely European invasion of Africa. The aftermath of this invasion, and the new European interest in dominating the trade
of the Mediterranean world, led to the Punic Wars and the invasion by the Romans.
In Egypt a strong and shrewd young girl tried to deal with the plight of her country under the threat of Roman domination. Her name
was Cleopatra.
More nonsense has been written about Cleopatra than about any other African queen, mainly because it has been the desire of many
writers to paint her white. She was not a white woman; she was not a Greek. Let us dispose of this matter before explaining the more
important aspects of her life. Until the emergence of the doctrine of white superiority, Cleopatra was generally pictured as a distinctly
African woman, dark in color. Shakespeare in the opining line of "Anthony and Cleopatra" calls her "tawny." In his day, mulattos
were called "tawny Moors." The word "Moor" came into the European languages meaning black or blackamoor. In the Book of Acts,
Cleopatra describes herself as "black."
Born in 69 B.C., Cleopatra came to the throne that she shared with her brother, Ptolemy XIII, when she was 18 years old. Egypt,
now a Roman protectorate, was beset with internal strife and intrigue. Cleopatra aligned herself with Julius Caesar, who reinforced
her power. Their political and sexual relationship was a maneuver to save Egypt from the worst aspects of Roman domination. After
Julius Caesar was murdered, Cleopatra, still in her early twenties, met Mark Anthony and a love affair strongly motivated by politics
began.
Her effect on Mark Anthony was profound. This noble Roman turned traitor to his own people when he attempted to save the country
of this fascinating black queen from Roman domination. After Anthony's death, the victor, Octavius, assumed full control of Egypt,
and Cleopatra, now without a protector or champion, committed suicide.
After Cleopatra's death, Egypt became a Roman colony and the harsher aspects of Roman rule settled over Egypt and the Middle
East. To the South, in the lands untouched by Rome, new proud civilizations were rising. And in the centuries that followed, black
women once again began to play major roles in the theatre of history.
Lights of achievement did shine in other parts of Africa, though the second Golden Age was over.
The more ruthless aspects of Roman rule made African and Middle Eastern people question old gods and search for new ones. This
led to the development of Christianity and subsequently Islam. From the beginning these were religions of the oppressed.
When the oppressor, the Romans, stopped killing Christians and became "Christian" the religion was dramatically changed. Their
misuse of this religion and widespread dissatisfaction in the Roman colonies of North Africa and the Middle East facilitated the rise
of Islam.
5. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — GHANA

In the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. Roman rule began to lose its hold on North Africa and the Middle East. African genius for
state building and for bringing new societies into being was reborn in the Western Sudan (inner West Africa), where the third and
last African Golden Age began.
The first of the great empires of the Western Sudan to become known to the outside world was Ghana. It began as a small settlement
during the second century of the Christian era. It would later develop into a state with a known history of more than a thousand years.
In Europe and in the Arab countries, Ghana was known as country rich in gold. This was a natural attraction for the Arabs and later
the Europeans. The country reached the height of its greatness during the reign of Tunkamanin, one of its greatest kings, who came
to power in 1062 A.D. The king lived in a palace of stone and wood which was built to be defended in time of war. The Empire was
well organized. The political progress and social wellbeing of its people could be favorably compared to the best kingdoms and
empires that prevailed in Europe at this time. The country had a military force of 200,000 men.
In one of a number of holy wars, or Jihads, Ghana was invaded by the Almoravides under the leadership of Abu Bekr of the Sosso
Empire in 1076 A.D. This conquest brought as end to Ghana's age of prosperity and cultural development. The character of the
country was slow to change. Nearly a hundred years later the Arab writer, El Idrisi wrote of it as being said: "Ghana ... is the most
commercial of the black countries. It is visited by rich merchants from all the surrounding countries and from the extremities of the
West."
In 1087 the country regained its independence, without regaining its old strength, state organization, and grandeur. The ruins of the
Empire of Ghana became the Kingdoms of Diara and Sosso. The provinces of Ghana became a part of the Mali Empire and were
later absorbed into the Songhai Empire.
The great drama of state building, trade and commerce, and power brokerage unfolded at Timbuktu, the queen city of the Western
Sudan.
Two hundred miles down the Niger from Timbuktu the competing city of Gao stood. It was founded about the seventy century and
was the capital of the large black empire of Songhai. Like Timbuktu, it was in a favorable position for the Trans-Saharan trade, in
the days of the regular caravans from North Africa. Like Timbuktu, the greatest days of Gao came in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries

In the years when Timbuktu was the great intellectual nucleus of the Songhai Empire, African scholars were enjoying a renaissance
that was known and respected through most of Africa and in parts of Europe. At this period in African history the University of
Sankore was the educational capital of the Western Sudan. In his book, Timbuktu the Mysterious, Filix DeBois gives us the following
picture:
The scholars of Timbuktu yielded in nothing to the saints and their sojourns in the foreign universities of Fez, Tunis
and Cairo. They astounded the most learned men of Islam by their erudition. That these Negroes were on a level
with the Arabian savants is proved by the fact that they were installed as professors in Morocco and Egypt. In
contrast to this, we find that the Arabs were not always equal to the requirements of Sankore.
6. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — MALI

Mali started as a small kingdom of Sosso of another Mande speaking people who were discounted in the empire of Ghana. During
the Almoravids invasion, they gained the independence from Ghana by overthrowing a ruling Soninke dynasty in 1180, this
invasion was led by Dia Kante. Later on Sumanguru Kante conquered Ghana, and small chieftaincy of Mali. It was a mistake done
by Sumanguru by killing the loyal family and allow Sundiata Keita to live, though in exile. A people tired of Sumanguru
administration, their hope turned to Sundiata Keita. The famous Emperor of Mali, Mansa Mussa, stopped at Timbuktu on his
pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. He went in regal splendor with an entourage of 60,000 persons, including 12,000 servants. Five
hundred bondsmen, each of whom carried a staff of pure gold, marched in front of the Emperor. Two hundred eighty camels bore
2400 pounds of gold which this African monarch distributed as alms and gifts. Mussa returned from Mecca with an architect who
designed imposing buildings in Timbuktu and other parts of his realm.
To the outside world, of the late medieval period, the Emperor Mansa Mussa was more than an individual. He was Africa. He
conquered the Songhai Empire and rebuilt the University of Sankore. He figured, by name, on every map. In his lifetime he became
in person the symbol of the mystery and of the fabulous wealth of the unknown African continent. He was the most colorful of the
black kings of the fourteenth century. He still held this position nearly two centuries after his death.
7. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — SONGHAI

After the death of Mansa Mussa, the Empire of Mali declined in importance. Its place was taken by Songhai; whose greatest king
was Askia the Great (Mohammed Toure). Askia came to power in 1493, one year after Columbus discovered America. He
consolidated the territory conquered by the previous ruler Sonni Ali and built Songhai into the most powerful state in the Western
Sudan. His realm, it is said, was larger than all Europe.
The German writer, Henry Barth, in his famous work Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, calls Askia the Great
"one of the most brilliant and enlightened administrators of all times." He reorganized the army of Songhai, improved the system
of banking and credit, and made the city-states of Gao, Walta, Timbuktu, and Jenne into intellectual centers. Timbuktu during his
reign, was a city of more than 100,000 people, "people filled to the top," says a chronicler of that time, "with gold and dazzling
women."
Askia encouraged scholarship and literature. Students from all over the Moslem world came to Timbuktu to study grammar, law,
and surgery at the University of Sankore; scholars came from North Africa and Europe to confer with learned historians and writers
of this black empire. A Sudanese literature developed and many books were written. Leo Africanus, who wrote one of the best
known works on the Western Sudan, says: "In Timbuktu there are numerous judges, doctors, and clerics, all receiving good salaries
from the king. He pays great respect to men of learning. There is a big demand for books in manuscript, imported from Barbary
(North Africa). More profit is made from the book trade than from any other line of business."
Askia has been hailed as one of the wisest monarch of the Middle Ages. Alexander Chamberlain, in his book, The Contribution
of the Negro to Human Civilization, says of him: "In personal character, in administrative ability, in devotion to the welfare of his
subjects, in open-mindedness towards foreign influences, and in wisdom in the adoption of enlightened ideas and institutions from
abroad, King Askia was certainly the equal of the average European monarch of the time and superior to many of them."
8. THE CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WESTERN SUDAN — THE DECLINE

After the death of Askia the Great in 1538, the Songhai Empire began to lose its strength and its control over its vast territory. When
the Songhai Empire collapsed after the capture of Timbuktu and Gao by the Moroccans in 1591, the whole of the Western Sudan
was devastated by the invading troops. The Sultan of Morocco, El-Mansur, had sent a large army with European firearms across the
Sahara to attack the once powerful empire of Songhai. The army did not reach Timbuktu until 1591. The prosperous city of Timbuktu
was plundered by the army of freebooters. A state of anarchy prevailed. The University of Sankore, which had stood for over five
hundred years, was destroyed and the faculty exiled to Morocco. The greatest Sudanese scholar of that day, Ahmed Baba, was among
those exiled. Baba was a scholar of great depth and inspiration. He was the author of more than forty books on such diverse themes
as theology, astronomy, ethnography, and biography. His rich library of 1600 books was lost during his expatriation from Timbuktu.
Timbuktu provides the most terrible example of the struggles of the West African states and towns as they strove to preserve what
was once their Golden Age. The Arabs, Berbers and Tuaregs from the North showed them no mercy. Timbuktu had previously been
sacked by the Tuaregs as early as 1433 and they had occupied it for thirty years. Between 1591 and 1593, the Tuaregs had already
taken advantage of the situation to plunder Timbuktu once more. Between 1723 and 1726 the Tuaregs once more occupied and looted

Timbuktu. Thus Timbuktu, once the Queen City of the Western Sudan, with more than two hundred thousand inhabitants and the
center of a powerful state, degenerated into a shadow of its former stature.
Now, West Africa entered a sad period of decline. During the Moorish occupation wreck and ruin became the order of the day. When
the Europeans arrived in this part of Africa and saw these conditions they assumed that nothing of order and value had existed in
these countries. This mistaken impression, too often repeated, has influenced the interpretation of African and Afro-American life in
history for over four hundred years.
THE OLD CONGO

BY John Henrik Clarke
The people and nations of Central Africa have no records of their ancient and medieval history like the "Tarikh es Sudan" or the
"Tarikh el Fettach" of the Western Sudan (West Africa). The early travelers to these areas are mostly unknown. In spite of the forest
as an obstacle to the formation of empires comparable to those of the Western Sudan, notable kingdoms did rise in this part of Africa
and some of them did achieve a high degree of civilization.
The Congo Valley became the gathering place of various branches of the people we know now as Bantu. When the history of Central
Africa is finally written, it will be a history of invasions and migrations. According to one account, between two and three thousand
years ago a group of tribes began to move out of the region South or Southwest of Lake Chad. Sometime during the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries the center of Africa became crowded with pastoral tribes who needed more land for their larger flocks and herds.
This condition started another migration that lasted for more than a hundred years. Tribes with the prefix Ba to their names spread
far to the west into the Congo basin and Southward through the central plains. The Nechuana and Basuto were among these tribes.
Tribes with the prefix Ama—great warriors like the Ama-Xosa and Ama-Zulu—passed down the Eastern side.
In the meantime, some of the more stable tribes in the Congo region were bringing notable kingdoms into being. The Kingdom of
Loango extended from Cape Lopez (Libreville) to near the Congo; and the Congo Empire was mentioned by the Portuguese as early
as the fourteenth century. The Chief of Loango, Mani-Congo, extended his kingdom as far as the Kasai and Upper Zambesi Rivers.
This kingdom had been in existence for centuries when the Portuguese arrived in the fifteenth century. They spoke admiringly of its
capital, Sette-Camo, which they called San Salvador. The Kingdom of Congo dates back to the fourteenth century. At the height of
its power it extended over modern Angola, as far East as the Kasai and Upper Zambesi Rivers.
Further inland the Kingdom of Ansika was comprised of the people of the Bateke and Bayoka, whose artistic talents were very
remarkable. Near the center of the Congo was the Bakuba Kingdom (or Bushongo), still noted for its unity, the excellence of its
administration, its art, its craftsmanship and the beauty of its fabrics.
South of the Congo basin the whole Bechuana territory formed a vast state which actually ruled for a long time over the Basutos, the
Zulus, the Hottentots and the Bushmen, including in a single empire the greater part of the black population of Southern and Central
Africa. This was the era of Bushongo grandeur; the people we now know as Balubas.
Only the Bushongo culture kept its records and transmitted them almost intact to modern research. The Bakubas are an ancient people
whose power and influence once extended over most of the Congo. Their history can be traced to the fifth century. For many centuries
the Bakubas have had a highly organized social system, an impressive artistic tradition and a secular form of government that
expressed the will of the people through a democratic political system. Today, as for many generations in the past, the court of a
Bakuba chief is ruled by a protocol as rigid and complicated as that of Versailles under Louis XIV.
At the top of the Bakuba hierarchy is the royal court composed of six dignitaries responsible for cabinet-like matters such as military
affairs, justice and administration. At one time there were in the royal entourage 143 other functionaries, including a master of the
hunt, a master storyteller and a keeper of oral traditions. In the sixteenth century the Bakubas ruled over a great African empire. The
memory of their glorious past is recalled in the tribe with historical exactitude. They can name the reigns of their kings for the past
235 years. The loyalty of the people to these rulers is expressed in a series of royal portrait-statues dating from the reign of Shamba
Bolongongo, the greatest and best known of the Bakuba kings.
In the Bakuba system of government the king was above all a symbol, rather like the Mikado in the eyes of the Japanese. His
ministers, the Kolomos, paid him great respect in public, even if they were his known enemies. In private they made no pretense of
subservience. If the king wanted to see his ministers he had to go to their houses or meet them on neutral ground. The ordinary
members of the tribe had representatives at the court on a political and professional basis. Some of these officials represented
geographical areas, trades and professions. The weavers, the blacksmiths, the boat-builders, the net-makers, the musicians and the
dancers all had their representatives at court. There was even a special representative of the fathers of twins. The representative of
the sculptors was held in highest esteem. The Bakuba sculptors are considered to be the finest in Africa.
Shamba Bolongongo was a peaceful sovereign. He prohibited the use of the shongo, a throwing knife, the traditional weapon of the
Bushongo. This wise African king used to say: "Kill neither man, woman nor child. Are they not the children of Chembe (God), and
have they not the right to live?" Shamba likewise brought to his people some of the agreeable pastimes that alleviate the tediousness
of life. The reign of Shamba Bolongongo was really the "Golden Age" of the Bushongo people of the Southern Congo. After
abolishing the cruder aspects of African warfare, Shamba Bolongongo introduced raffia weaving and other arts of peace. According

to the legends of the Bushongo people, their history as a state goes back fifteen centuries. Legends notwithstanding, their magnificent
sculpture and other artistic accomplishments are unmistakable, the embodiment of a long and fruitful social experience reflecting the
life of a people who have been associated with a higher form of culture for more than a thousand years.
Early in the twentieth century when the European writer, Emil Torday, was traveling through the Congo collecting material for his
book On the Trail of the Bushongo, he found the Bakuba elders still singing the praises of Shamba Bolongongo. They also repeated
the list of their kings, a list of one hundred twenty names, going back to the godlike king who founded their nation. From these
Bakuba elders, Emil Torday learned of Bo Kama Bomanchala, the great king who reigned after Shamba Bolongongo. The elders
recalled the most memorable event that had occurred during his reign. On March 30, 1680, there was a total eclipse of the sun,
passing exactly over Bushongo.
Jose Fernandez, one of the first European explorers to visit Central Africa, went there in 1445. Any number of subsequent expeditions
were carried out by such men as Diego Borges, Vincente Armes, Rebello de Araca, Francisco Baretto and Dom Christovao da Gama.
The parts of Africa visited, explored and discovered by these men included the kingdom of the Congo, Timbuktu, the East Coast of
Africa, Nubia, the Kingdom of Angola, Abyssinia and the Lake Tsana region.
Much of the history and civilization of Central Africa and East Africa was revealed by the study made by the Portuguese African
explorer Duarte Lopez in his book History of the Kingdom of Congo. Duarte Lopez went to the Congo in 1578 and stayed for many
years. From his study and description of the Congo we learn that the Kingdom of the Congo included the territory formerly known
as the Congo, Angola and parts of the Cameroons.
According to Lopez, the kingdom of the Congo at the time measured 1,685 miles. The King, still reliving his past glory, styled
himself Dom Alvarez, King of Congo, and of Abundo, and of Natama, and of Quizama, and of Angola, and of Angri, and of Cacongo,
and of the seven Kingdoms of Congere Amolza, and of the Pangelungos, and the Lord of the River Zaire (Congo) and of the
Anzigiros, and of Anziqvara, and of Doanga, etc. He also tells us that the Kingdom of Angola was at one time a vassal state of the
Congo.
At the time of Lopez's twelve years stay in the country, the Kingdom of the Congo was divided into six provinces. The province of
Bamba was the military stronghold of the kingdom, and was capable of putting 400,000 well-disciplined men in the field.
The rich gold mines at Sofala (now a port of Mozambique) attracted the Portuguese to the East Coast of Africa. They used
intermarriage with the Africans as a means of gaining favor and pushing into the interior of Africa. In turn, the Africans gradually
lost their anti-Christian hostilities and gave in to being converted to Christianity. And thus Christianity was introduced into the Congo
before 1491. The Mani Sogno was the first Congo nobleman to embrace the Christian faith. The Moslems, coming into the Congo
from the East Coast, prevailed upon the Africans to resist being converted to Christianity, telling them that Christianity was a subtle
method used by the Portuguese to take over their country. This warning notwithstanding, Christianity continued to spread in the
Congo.
In 1513, Henrique, son of Dom Affonso, then King of the Congo, was sent to Lisbon and to Rome to study theology. In 1520, Pope
Leo X appointed Henrique Bishop of Utica and Vicar-apostolic of the Congo. Unfortunately, Henrique died before he could return
to the Congo. He was Rome's first Central African bishop. The royal archives of Portugal still hold the records reflecting the
ceremonial respect that was paid to this Christian son of an African king and queen.
In the years that followed, Portuguese evangelization of the Congo continued. The Holy See received ambassadors from and sent
legates to the Congo. In 1561, Father Dom Goncalo da Silvera baptized the Emperor of the Court of Monomotapa.
The peaceful relations between the Africans and the Portuguese were eventually disrupted by the rising European lust for slaves and
gold. It was from Angola and the Congo that the Portuguese New World was to derive its greatest source of slaves. In 1647, Salvador
Correia of Brazil organized an expedition of fifteen ships for the purpose of reconquering Angola, which had been under Dutch rule
for eight years. This event might be considered go be one of the earliest political interventions of the New World in the Affairs of
the Old.
Portuguese domination founded on the dire necessities of the slave trade persisted in Angola. After a period of relative splendor, the
Christian Kingdom of the Congo began to weaken and was practically destroyed by European fortune hunters, pseudo-missionaries
and other kinds of freebooters. By 1688, the entire Congo region was in chaos. By the end of the seventeenth century European
priests had declared open war on the non-Christian population of the Congo. They were attempting to dominate Congolese courts
and had ordered the execution of Congolese ancestral priests and indigenous doctors. Now the Congolese Christians were pathetic
pawns of the hands of unscrupulous European priests, soldiers, merchants and other renegade pretenders, mere parish priests from
Europe were ordering Congolese kings from their thrones.
Soon treachery, robbery and executions compounded the chaos in the Congo. Violence became the order of the day as various
assortments of European mercenaries vied for control of this rich area of Africa. In the ensuing struggle many of the Christian
churches built by the Portuguese were destroyed. The Dutch, still feeling the humiliation of the decline of their influence in Angola,
came into the Congo and systematically removed all traces of the once prevailing Portuguese power.
By 1820 Arab slave traders had penetrated the Congo from Zanzibar and through Tanganyika. Soon after their arrival their slave
raids were decimating the population. The European rediscovery of the Congo and neighboring territories began in the middle of the
nineteenth century. In 1858, two Englishmen, Burton and Spoke, discovered Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria, approaching them from
the shores of the Indian Ocean. The Scotch Protestant missionary, Livingstone, explored the regions of the big lakes and in 1871,

Livingstone and Stanley met on the shore of Lake Tanganyika. From 1874 to 1877, Henry Morton Stanley crossed Africa from East
to west and discovered the Congo River.
In the meantime, King Leopold II of Belgium focused his attention on Central Africa and in 1876 founded the Association
International Africaine. In 1878, King Leopold commissioned Stanley to establish connection between the Congo River and the
ocean in the non-navigable part of the river. From 1879 to 1885, a handful of Belgian officers sent by the King set up posts along
the Congo River. They were followed by Catholic and Protestant missionaries.
King Leopold's undertakings gave rise to competition and greed. Other European nations had designs on the Congo. The King's
diplomatic successes at the Berlin Conference of 1884 settled this matter. The members of the Conference marked out spheres of
influence in Africa and determined boundaries that are still in existence. The Congo Free State came into being. The Belgian
parliament agreed that Leopold should have "exclusive" personal ownership of the Congo. The United States was the first power to
ratify the arrangement, largely through the efforts of General Henry S. Stanford, who was American minister to Brussels at the time.
And thus began the tragedy of Belgian rule in the Congo.
THE STATES OF THE EASTERN REGION KANEM-

BORNU AND HAUSA STATES BY NYIRENDA, H.D.
INTRODUCTION
We have looked at the rise and development of Western, part of West Africa. Now let us direct our attention to the Eastern part of
Sudan of west Africa, where we find two important empires Kanem-Bornu and the Hausa relates.
THE ORIGIN OF KANEM-BORNU

Kanem-Bornu was a state which started at Kanem and then moved to Bornu. Hence the name Kanem-Bornu. It is one of the states
that developed around Lake Chad. It was situated North East of Lake Chad.
The earliest beginnings of Kanem-Bornu are little known. Probably they occurred after 800 A.D. The Trans-Saharan trade contributed
to the development of this state. To the East and West of Great Lake of Chad there lay a vital crossroad of trade. In the lands
surrounding Lake Chad were situated the Southern market centres of the Trans-Saharan trade not only with Libya and Tunisia in the
far North, but also with Nubia on the middle Nile and Egypt to the far North-East. These markets were valuable exchange centres
for all goods going North from the lands of Eastern Guinea i.e. in Southern Nigeria today. So the states of Lake Chad that later on
constituted Kanem-Bornu had contacts with Eastern Guinea in the South, the Nile through the hills of Darfur, Libya arid Tunisia in
the North through Biluna basis and the settlements of Air.
The early state of Kanem came into being under a line of kings belonging to the Sefawa family. This dynasty held power from about
850 AD. Two centuries later, in 1086, a Sefawa king called Hume, accepted Islam as his own religion and that of his court. From
then all rulers of Kanem-Bornu were always Muslims.
Two main periods of early expansion can be distinguished as suggested by Basil Davidson: Under Dunama Dibelemi and the kings
immediately before him and under Mai Gai (1472-1504).
By 1250 Mai Dunama Dibelemi had extended control of the Northern trade routes as far as the Fezzan in Southern Tunisia on the
Northern side of the desert. He also got hold of Abamawa, old Bornu and Kano as well as Wadai to the East of Lake Chad. After
him there followed a period of decline when this first empire of the Kanuri went through a time of troubles. Some of these were
caused by disputes between leading men and their families. Others were due to unsuccessful wars against their neighbours. Troubles
continued up to the reign of Mai Daud, 1377-86, when the Bulala, Kanemi's biggest rivals drove the king and his court out of old
Kanuri capital of Nkimi, near Lake Chad. Another king Mai Umar, 1394-98 suffered worse defeats. At this time the capital was
transferred to Bornu on the western side of Lake Chad. From now on we can speak of the empire as Bornu.
The second period of expansion began late in the fifteenth and especially under Mai Ali Gaji, 1472-1504. His successful conquests
were Eastward against some Hausa states including Kano and Eastward against the Bulala, while at the same time he regained control
of the Northern trade routes and fought off raiders from the South (near the region of the middle Benue River).
These successes were continued under the next ruler, Mai Idris Katarkanabi, 1504-26. He was able to liberate the old capital of Nkimi
from the Bulala but the centre for the new empire stayed at the Bornu capital of Ngazargamu founded by Mai Ghaji. So, the Bulala
once again became the subjects of the empire. Mai Muhammad, 1526-45 marched North into Air, then under Songhai rule. From
this time the country of Air which was vital for the Northern trade from Bornu and Hausaland came under the influence of Bornu.
After Mai Muhammad came Mai Ali who clashed with Kebbi who died in 1546. He was succeeded by Mai Dunama (1536-63)
followed by Mai Dalla who reigned from 1564 to 1570.
After some confusion emerged Mai Idris Alooma. He is remembered for reinforcement of Islamic beliefs and customs. He placed
much weight on obedience to Islamic code of law and tried hard to raise the prestige of his magistrates, even making it a habit to
submit his own problems to their advice and decision.

Now, after reuniting with Kanem East of the Lake, Bornu prospered under Mai Idris. There was much trade with the North. There
was regular contact with rulers of Fezzan, on the Northern side of the Sahara. Diplomatic relations were imposed with the Ottoman
conquerors of Egypt. Idris imported musket from Tripoli and raised a company of musketeers.
STRUCTURE KANEM-BORNU GOVERNMENT

The government of Kanem-Bornu consisted of the king at the top helped by a council of leaders of the Sefawa family. This council
consisted of about a dozen principal governors who reigned over different parts of the empire. These men had titles like galadima
and chiroma.
DECLINE OF KARNEM-BORNU
Internal and external factors account for the decline of Kanem-Bornu empire. Externally, there were several attacks: from Kwararaga,
from the South-East and from the North Kanem-Bornu was also attacked by the Tuaregs.
Internally there were rebellions and struggles, especially from the Hausa states of Kano and Kabins. After Mai Idris Alooma there
followed Mai Muhammad Mai Ibrahim and Mai Haji Umar in 1800. These other Mais were less effective.
Other internal factors include frequent famines especially in the reign of Mai Dunama. As a result of these famines the Tuareg
penetrated further South into the Sahel and the Savannah of Bornu for food.
THE RISE OF HAUSA STATES

The so called Hausa states included Daura, Gobir, Katsina, Zaria and Kano. They were situated in the lands of Northern Nigeria.
They go as far as back to the 11th century AD. The process of transforming the community settlement into states in this part of West
Africa was completed about 1350 AD. This transformation involved, as usual, wars of expansion.
Factors for the rise of the Hausa states

The structure of the Hausa cities. Each Hausa main city or town was a place for government and military defence. Neighbouring
farmers could take refuge there, when threatened by invaders, or raiders. In exchange for this they, in turn, paid the soldiers and kept
law and order.
Each Hausa city was a market place for the nearby countryside. Here country people could exchange their products for the goods
that town craftsmen made in leather and other materials.
Each Hausa city became gradually a centre for long distance trade. It became a place for the exchange not only for locally produced
goods but also of goods brought from North Africa and Egypt and from the rest of Sudan and also from Guinea.
These cities sometimes cooperated for the common good. They had a single 'government that ruled them all. They did not form
Hausa empire. Yet, the 'Hausa states were generally more friendly with each other than wish their neighbours. They had influence
and commercial power over a wide area of the Eastern region.
These states also were in close and constant touch sometimes by war but more often by peaceful trade with peoples of the forest
lands of Eastern Guinea, notably with the Yoruba and their neighbours. This is because it wits largely through Hausaland that the
goods of the Yoruba country, especially Kolanuts, went Northward into the western Sudan and across the Sahara to North Africa. It
was also largely through Hausaland that the peoples of Eastern Guinea could import the North African goods they needed. Hausa
states were a necessary and, therefore, prosperous link between Guinea and the far North.
The administrative structure of these states was similar to Songhay and Kanem-Bornu. The structure was, however, at the expense
of the ordinary people. The needs of courts and armies expanded and weighed down on tax paying citizens and farmers. By 1450
Muslim rulers intensified slave labour by capturing more and more of them. In that year, for instance, the ruler of Kano sent out
soldiers on raids for captives. They are said to have brought him as many as one thousand slaves a month. This involved capturing
of more land on which the slaves could work. Slaves were also used to build luxurious palaces and owned large areas of land. So,
these states prospered though at the expense of the few.
However, this prosperity, whether from trade or taxation attracted raiders. In this case the most important raiders included the armies
of the Songhai emperor who attacked Kano, and Kebbi who attacked Gobir and Katsina.
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FOREST STATES

BY NYIRENDA, H.D.
INTRODUCTION
State formation in West Africa applies best in the formation of forest states. This is due to environment of West Africa, the forest
zone of West Africa is characterized by equatorial climate which favoured the production of tobacco, maize, spices, fruits, potatoes
cotton, yams and rice. With these products trade and industry emerged too. Commercial links, as we always maintained, developed
mainly with the North. They exported kolanuts, iron ware and ivory and they imported salt, leather and manufactured articles. This
led to the development of several forest states with similar features including Asante, Oyo, Benin, Dahomey. In this part let us select
two states for our consideration, Asante and Oyo empires.

REASONS FOR THE RISE OF ASANTE EMPIRE
The Asante people who were the founders of the Asante empire were part of the Akin people who constitute about 50% of the
population of modern Ghana. The transformation into an empire was due to, according to Boahen, remote and immediate factors.
(a) Remote causes

These were the following (i) the rise of many states in the area of modern Kumasi, (ii) the very harsh and unpopular rule of Denkyira,
(iii) the rise of Atlantic trade.
As regards the first factor, by the 17 th century the Asante people had founded a number of states around Kumasi. These include
Nampon, Afigayaasi, Saniagya and many others. The development of these small states within a small area was caused by trade
routes to and from Mandeland to the North-West and Hausaland to the North-East. These routes met in that region. From there,
further routes radiated Southwards to the coast. They converged on this area because it was a source of two main products, namely
gold and kolanuts.
The harsh rule of Denkyira: All pre-Asante hated the oppressive rule of the Denkyira. All states Asante states had been conquered
and subjected to a very tyrannical rule. He prevented the people from trading directly with Europeans on the coast. So the Asante
revolted, mainly for commercial reasons.
Concerning the rise of Atlantic Trade, all the people of the interior became increasingly anxious to trade directly with Europeans on
the coast as the Atlantic slave trade grew in volume and profitability, particularly with rise of demand for slaves for sugar plantations
from 1640 onwards.
(b) Immediate causes

This is said to be the arrival of the Oyoko people. This community was able to accomplish what the earlier group could not accomplish
because
(1) They were a much more closely-knit group. The founders of Oyoko states believed that they came from a single lineage of family.
The kings of Dwaben, Bekwai, and Kumasi regarded and still regard themselves as brothers, and they all looked upon the king of
Kokofu as their uncle. Hence, instead of competing among themselves as other states were doing, the Oyoko states cooperated closely
and as all of them were concentrated within an area of twenty miles from Kumasi, a core of an empire was thus created.
(2) The growth of this core into an empire of Asante under the rule of Kumasi lineage of the Oyoko clan was the result of the work
of the rulers, Obiri Yeboa, Osei Tutu and Opoku ware.
It seems that the branch of the Oyoko which moved into Tafo area founded its town, Kumasi, and later, whether through marriage,
diplomacy or war, established its dominations over the other clan states in the region. The move was started by Obiri Yeboa. He
embarked upon war of expansion attacking many states in the neighbourhood. He was killed in 1670s in a war against the Dumaa.
Yeboa was succeeded by Osei Tutu.
Osei Tutu's role in building the Asante empire can be summarized as follows: -
(a) He created a lasting union of the forest states by playing on the common fear of the Denkyira. He invented the golden stool as a
symbol of unity. He urged that the stool was an embodiment of their strength, vitality and their very survival. Thus the golden
stool had to be guarded at all costs. It was agreed that the occupant should be recognized as the Asantehene i.e. the supreme
religious and political head of the union states. And that the Asantehene must come from the family of the Osei Tutu or Obiri
Yeboa.
(b) Osei Tutu established that Kumasi should be capital of the Asante empire. And once every year the members should attend
Odwira festivals, which were meant for prayers for the entire nation settling disputes, and an occasion for planning the future of
the nation.
(c) Osei Tutu also came up with a constitution for the whole Asante empire. And the Asantehene had to recognize Kumasi's court
as the supreme court of the union. They were also forced to pay tribute and attend the Odwira festivals and swear allegiance to
him.
(d) He reorganized the army and strengthened it for the whole nation.
(e) He extended the empire by wars which attracted the whites, attention at the coast by 1720. Osei Tutu was killed in 1717 in a
campaign against Akayoma. He was succeeded by Opoku Ware. This ruler is well known for the further expansion of the
Asante empire to occupy the whole of modern of modern Ghana.
WHY DID THE EMPIRE LAST SO LONG?

There are four reasons why the empire lasted so long i.e. until late 1920s. These are: -
(1) All the rulers of the 2nd half of the 17th century and early decades of the 19th century (whose names include Kusi Obodum, Oseli
Kwadwo, Osai Kwame and Osei Bonsu), were able to provide the necessary leadership and inspiration and to suppress all therevolts
and rebellions that broke in the empire. These included those of the Gyaaman, the Banda and Akyem Abuakwa.
(2) The strength of its army. Throughout the period, the Asante army remained strong and invincible.
(3) The healthy economy of Asante. The area in which Asante empire emerged was suitable for agriculture, it also produced two
important products both for the savannah people in the North and Europeans at the coast. The products were gold and kolanuts. Not

only was the core of the empire producing a great deal of gold but, as a result of the conquests, the Asante was also able to control
all the other gold producing regions such as Aswin, Denkyira, and Akyem Abuakwa. From the beginning of the 18 th century, Asante
also began to export slaves Southwards. The number of slaves who were mainly war captives, reached its peak during the 2nd half
the 18th century. These exports provided, for Asante's import needs, including the arms, amenities necessary, for wars of expansion
and suppression of rebellions.
THE FALL OF ASANTE EMPIRE

Both external and internal reasons accounted for downfall of the Asante empire. The main internal reason was the weakness of the
administrative structure. The structure of the empire consisted of three clear divisions. The first was Kumasi which was directly
under the Asantehene, the second division was the territorial divisions such as Dwaben, Kokofu, Nsuta, Kumasi, Mampon and Ofinso
and the third were the conquered states. Kumasi and the territorial states formed what was known as the metropolitan Asante. The
provincial Asante was made up of all the conquered states such as Dagomba, and Gonja to the North Akyem, Akuapen, Akwamu,
Ga, Denkyira and Wassa to the South.
In metropolitan Asante the power of the Asantehene was supreme in Kumasi. In the empire his power was not determined by
constitutional practices but by the personality, ability and the tact of the individual Asantehene. Unfortunately, the other Asantehenes
who followed were nol as effective as the Osei Tutu, hence the collapse.
Another weakness was that, none of the states conquered after Osei Tutu's reign was effectively brought into the union. They were
not given a place in the union council and the golden stool had no significance for them. They did not have even direct access to the
Asantehene and could see him only through Kumasi chiefs.
There were external pressures too. From 1830s the Asante were invaded by the British along the coast. A conflict occurred between
the British and the Asante. The reasons for the conflict were many, but opinion of some; historians has it that the Asante were warlike
and expansionist. However, it has been pointed out by others that the Asante took up arms against the British when negotiations
failed. The Asante wanted to maintain. intact the empire inherited from their forefathers. The Asante wars were mainly aimed at
punishing rebellious states and to maintain Elmina Castle, so that they could gain access to the coast and thereby ensure regular
supply of arms and ammunition.
The wars with British, 1860-70 and in 1873, were to prevent Elimina from falling into the hands of the British as a result of the
Anglo-Detach exchange of forts. The Dutch finally departed from Ghana in 1872.
The British were interested in trade and, therefore, could not allow a powerful state to establish a firm hold of the coast. The first
British war with Asante occurred in 1824 when the British were defeated and governor Sir Charles MacGarthy killed. In 1824 and
1826 the British decisively " defeated the Asante. In 1874 Kumasi was invaded, sacked and set on fire by the British army under the
command of Sir Garnet Wolsley.
As a result of this war, the Asante military superiority was weakened because the flow of arms stopped. The component states of the
Asante empire declared independence. Also these wars brought together the Asante states into a form of confederation. And in 1874
the British declared the Asante states of a British crown colony or Gold Coast.
THE RISE AND FALL OF OYO STATES

The empire of Oyo was created by the Yoruba. They have lived in the present area for thousands of years. They developed and
multiplied in the open savannah to the North around Nupe-Igala area. By 1000 AD the Yoruba were living in communities, towns
and cities. State formation first developed al lie fter unification of sonic existing communities and slates by a legendary dynasty
known as Oduduwa, The first founding dynasty of Oyo originated from Ife in about 1400.
Expansion
Between 1610-1770 the kings, known as the Alafins of Oyo, were able to unite the small city-states and towns within the
neighbourhood between Nupe and Moshi river to the North and Ogun to the South-west. But between 1500 and 1540 the Alafins
were defeated by Nupe and Oyo was sacked. They regained strength during the first decade of the 17th century. The period between
1790 and 1836 was one of the decline and fall.
Structure of the government

The government of Oyo, like most of the African kingdoms was monarchical. The head was a king or an Alafin who was chosen
from the royal family or lineage. In Oyo the eldest son, the Aremo, was always the entitled successor. But in 1730 there was a change
whereby the Aremo had to commit suicide on the death of his father-in-law. This system was abolished in 1836. The empire was
divided into metropolitan Oyo and Non-Yoruba states which were conquered by Oyo and reduced to tributary status.
The economic base of Oyo kingdom

Oyo's strength depended on agriculture, industry and trade. The main stay of Oyo's economy was agriculture in which the great
majority of people were engaged. The Northern part of the kingdom was growing millet and maize and the Southern part was growing
yams, palm oil, kolanuts and pepper. Cattle rearing was done by the Fulani in the North.
Oyo manufactured most of its every day needs, such as iron tools weapons pottery and cotton cloth. Oyo cloth was woven In no,
Ijama, and Egbado provinces. Cotton was grown locally. More expensive cloth was made with a trans-Saharan import. The cloth

was dyed with indigo, a local manufacture. Other manufactures include beads, sandals, bags etc. These were produced on household
basis.
There was local trade, long distance trade and inter-regional trade. Local trade consisted of many market places in all towns of any
size where food crops, raw materials and other products were sold.
Long distance trade was trade with the North. Oyo exports there included slaves. Imports included horses, leather goods, textile from
Hausaland, copper and beads from North Africa and Sahara.
Through. interregional trade, food stuffs and manufactured goods such as cloth, kolanuts, sea-salts and others were sold in savannah
regions of the empire. In all this trade the medium of exchange was cowries.
Oyo also traded with the coast and Southern areas, through the ports of Allada, Badagry and Porto Novo. The main commodities
sent to the European traders along the coast were Oyo cloth, ivory and mainly slaves. The bulk of revenues of the Alafins of Oyo
came from duties levied on the trade into and from the capital city and other provinces in which systematic collection of toll were
established.
THE DECLINE OF OYO-EMPIRE

By the 19th century Oyo empire had disintegrated. The Northern part had been captured and converted into Fulani emirate of Ilorin.
The Southern part had broken into a series of independent states competing among themselves. But what were the reasons for it?
Reasons for its decline.
Oyo disintegrated because of the internal weaknesses of the empire. The Main problem was the many civil wars waged in the
empire between the Alafin and the Basorun, during the 2nd half of the 18th century. The breakaway of the Northern states, such as
Borgu in 1873, Nupe in 1791, also contributed to the decline. This is because Oyo lost access to the Northern markets for horses as
a result of the breakaway of Borgu and Nupe. Horses had become expensive as a result of the Oyo's economy,
There were also external factors. The major one was interventions from the Fulani, the British and Dahomey.
By the second decade of 19th century the Fulani had conquered all the Hausa states in the North thus dislocating trade.
Dahomey state attacked Yorubaland after it had declared itself independent in 1821. The British had intervened in Oyo empire from
1'065 onwards during the abolition of slave trade. By 1890 the British conque0d and annexed Yorubaland.
SUMMARY OF CENTRALIZED STATES IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA

Development of States in Ancient Egypt
It is logical to start with Egypt as the oldest culture in Africa, which rose to eminence. The glories of Egypt under the Pharaohs are
well known and do not need recounting. Archaeological evidence shows that in Egypt the transition from hunting and gathering to
agriculture was made between 5,000 and 4,000 BC. As productive forces developed in Egypt during and after Neolithic Revolution,
communalism gradually collapsed and, by about 2,000 BC, Egyptian society was divided into several classes; the ruling class,
consisting of the nobility, religious leaders, military commanders and the intellectuals on the one hand, and the labouring classes
consisting of peasants, and slaves.
The division of society into antagonistic classes went hand in hand with the separation of towns and countryside. The first group was
concentrated in towns and cities while the second one was mainly in the countryside. It was the toiling masses in the countryside
who fed those living in towns. The collapse of feudalism in Egypt did not only lead to the formation of the state but also to production
of surplus.
Factors for development of Egypt.

 The development of agriculture and pastoralism: Agriculture and pastoralism which were the main supporters of the large
population depended largely on the ability to harness the annual floodwaters of the Nile and to distribute them over large tracts
of land.
 Strong Army, strong leadership and the rise of Nemeses who united the upper and the lower Egypt: nemeses among many rose
and became great ruler of Egypt ever happened in the history of Egypt. He annexed the whole Egypt empire from lower to upper,
this made Egypt even more stronger. Something to be aware of is that, not everyone was having quality of being leader except
one with the following qualities: -
1. Anyone who could control disasters by rituals and charms
2. Anyone who had experience and stored knowledge of floods
3. Anyone who had knowledge of predicting floods
 Taxation: paying taxes and tributes made the Egypt very strong economically that they were able to conquer and control very
big area for a long time.
 Specialization of labour: Since the control of the waters of the Nile required full knowledge of the floods, some people
specialized in observing the movement of the stars in correlation with the occurrence of the floods. This led to the discovery of
the astronomical calendar and the increase in number of people who were entirely engaged in the production of scientific
knowledge. The need to keep records of various developments led to the invention of writing and to the emergence of a group
of recorders or scribes. Relation and labour organization depended on the classification of socio-political division as follows: -

1. The ruling class- Consisted of the Pharaoh who was at the top followed by the nobility, priests, court officials and
other officials- Followed by administrators of the people called the Vizier.
2. The working class
3. The peasants and slaves
 Development of productive forces: Development of scientific knowledge resulted to division of labour between mental work
and manual or physical production. The people engaged in mental work were no longer dealing with real objects. As a result,
the abstract sciences such as mathematics and astronomy developed. The development of sciences led further to the development
of productive forces, which in turn led to material development in fields like architecture, sculpture, design, pottery and ceramics.
 Production of surplus: The production of surplus needed additional labour in order to assist families to cope with the increased
amount of work. The most reliable source of additional labour force was war, which provided captives who could be made to
work for their captors. At first the war captives were either adopted or killed, but with the demand for additional labour, they
started being used as slaves.
 Growth of industry: Under the patronage of the Fatimid dynasty (969 A.A. to 1170 A.D.), science flourished and industry
reached a new level in Egypt. Windmills and waterwheels were introduced from Persia in the 10th century. New industries were
introduced paper making, sugar refining, porcelain, and the distillation of gasoline. The older industries of textiles, leather and
metal were improved upon.
 Growth of towns: The high points of Egyptian feudal culture were associated with the towns. The Fatimids founded the city of
Cairo, which became one of the most famous and most cultures in the world seat to the legendary 'Arabian Knights.' At the same
time, they established the Azhar University, which exists today as one of the oldest in the world.
Development of States in Ethiopia
Ethiopia started as a small kingdom known as Axum, was founded near the red sea coast by a dynasty of Sabean from the other side
of the Red Sea. The Ethiopia arose around 1000 BC. The kingdom of Axum was one of the most important around which feudal
Ethiopia eventually emerged, and Axum was founded near the Red Sea shores by Sabean dynasty from the other side of the Red Sea.
The kings of Axum were never agents of foreign powers and they became completely Africanised. The founding of Axum goes back
to the first century A.D. and its ruling class was Christianised within a few centuries. After that they moved inland and participated
in the development of Christian feudal Ethiopian state. Feudalism was consolidated by the introduction of Christianity during the
4th AD and King Ezana was the first to be converted. King Zangwe built 30 churches. A descendant of King Solomon and Queen
Sheba.
Expansion done by 3 emperors (leaders):

1. Zangwe Dynasty – 12th C – 13th C
2. King Theodire – 19th C – 1855 – 1868
3. Menelik II – 19th C – 1889 – 1913 Menelik II made Addis Ababa his Capital
The society also had divided into three groups
1. Feudal Lords
2. Peasants (tenants and serfs)
3. Slaves.
Factors for the Growth of the State
 Strong leadership: The Ethiopian, Tigrean and Amharic ruling class was a proud one, tracing its origin to Solomon. The Emperor
of Ethiopia was addressed as 'Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, Emperor of Ethiopia, King of Kings.'
 Christianity: A great deal is known of the superstructure of the Ethiopian empire, especially its Christianity and literary culture.
The association of organised religion with the state was implicit in communal societies where the distinction between politics,
economics, religion, medicine; etc. was scarcely drawn. Christianity provided an ideological tool which Ethiopian rulers used
for consolidating their positions and for restructuring their administration.
 Agriculture. The wealth of Ethiopia rested on an agricultural base. The fertile uplands supported cereal-growing and there was
considerable livestock rearing, including the rearing of horses. Handcraft industry: In the early fifteenth century, Turkish artisans
settled in the country and made boats of mail and weapons for the Ethiopian army. Craft skills were developed in a number of
and foreign craftsmen were encouraged to immigrate.
Other factors include the following:

1. Unity among the people
2. Growth of local industries
3. Strong army
4. Taxation
THE KINGDOM OF NUBIA

Nubia is located Northeastern Africa, roughly occupying both sides of the Nile River valley between Aswān, Egypt, and Khartoum,
Sudan. The area of the region in Northeastern Sudan is called the Nubian Desert. The Nubian State arose around 200 BC. In ancient
times Nubia was called Kush and and its capital was Napata was ruled by Egypt for some 1800 years. In the 8 th century B.C the
Nubians achieved independence and conquered Egypt. In 3rd C the capital shifted to Meroe. After maintaining some degree of
independence for more than 2000 years, Nubia was conquered by the Arabs in the 14 th century and by Egypt in 1820. In the late 19th
century the region was controlled by the Muslim revolutionary leader known as the Mahdi.
Factors for the rise/growth of the Nubian state

1. Agricultural activities based on the cultivation of sorghum and millet and the grazing of cattle.

2. Trade; they expanded trade with Egypt and their kings gained steadily in wealth and power.
3. Military conquest; in 730 B.C, the king of Kush invaded Egypt itself and seized control at Thebes which, was a city and for
many centuries a capital of ancient Egypt
4. Availability of valuable goods e.g. Gold and Ivory
5. Development of local industries
Decline of Nubian
1. Feudal lords were against the peasants
2. Attacks by Muslims
3. Disunity
SUMMARY ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF SUDANIC STATES

WESTERN SUDANIC STATES
The early State in western Sudan was established in the region between the Sahara Desert and the forest region of the South. The
most important states are Ghana, Mali, Songhai and Kanem Bornu and the Hausa City-State between the forth and the nineteenth
centuries A.D.
Factors for the Rise of States/Empires in the Sudanic Region

 Trans-Saharan trade. One of the main reasons for the emergence of states in this region was the desire by some groups. of people
to control the trade centres. Thus, it would appear that there was a direct link between the development of trans-Saharan trade
and the growth of the Sudanic empires.
 The early development of agriculture and increase in population are regarded as the other important factors.
 Islamic religion contributed a lot in the consolidation and expansion of these states. The zone was Islamised from about the
eighth century A.D. due to its increasing contact with the
GENERAL FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF WESTERN SUDANIC STATES

1. Geographical location
2. Iron technology
3. The growth of population
5. Taxation
6. Trans - Saharan trade
7. Availability of valuable goods e.g. gold
8. Good centralized government
9. Capable leaders
10. Strong army
GHANA EMPIRE
During its rise Ghana had two main towns, one occupied by Muslims and the other by Pagans. The rulers and the people were
Soninke speaking group. The word Ghana as the King title emerged in 5th AD. The capital centre of administration was Kumbi Saleh.
FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF THE GHANIAN EMPIRE

1. Agricultural activities
2. Availability of valuable goods e. g gold
3. Trans – Saharan trade in gold and salt
4. Good leadership and efficient system of government.
5. Common language.
FACTORS FOR THE DECLINE OF GHANA EMPIRE
1. Almoravids constant attacks
2. Disunity among people
3. Jihad wars
4. Lack of stable system of royal successions
5. The rise of rural kingdoms e.g. Mali
MALI EMPIRE
Early in the 3rd C Ghana fell apart as a result of the war between Samangwa the king of Ghana and Prince Sundiata Keita the king
of Kangaba. Ghana was defeated and Ghana fell under Sundiata’s rulership. Sundiata formed a large kingdom known as Mali the
capital was Niani and the title of the ruler was Mansa.
FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF THE MALI

1. The fall of Ghanaian empire
2. Control of gold fields of Bure
3. Strong army
5. Trans – Saharan trade
6. Strong leadership of Sundiata Keita and later Mansa Kan Kan Musa
7. Islamic faith which promoted libraries and Islamic universities.

DECLINE OF THE MALI EMPIRE
1. Weak leadership after the death of Mansa Mahmud IV
2. Empire became too large to control
3. Lack of unity and the empire was divided into three spheres of influence and they fought against each other.
4. Attacks by Tuaregs
5. Civil wars
6. The rise of Songhai empire
SONGHAI EMPIRE
In the late 15th Century the Songhai empire originally the Gao, conquered neighbouring states under the leadership of Sunni Ali and
formed the large empire of Songhai. Gao became its capital at around the 11 th C and remained the capital under the empire. Its famous
leaders were Sunni Alli, Askia Mohamed and Askia Daud.
FACTORS FOR THE GROWTH OF SONGHAI EMPIRE

1. Agriculture activities
2. Strong army
3. Trans – Sahara trade
4. Good administration
5. Taxation
6. Islamic faith
DECLINE OF THE SONGHAI EMPIRE
1. Weak leadership after the death of Askia Daud
2. The Moroccan invasion
3. The empire was too large to control
4. Religious hostility between Islamic and traditional beliefs
5. The shift in orientation of trade towards the Atlantic
FOREST STATES
THE BENIN EMPIRE
Benin empire was a very small state made up of the Edo speaking people. The highest authority at the time were chiefs known as
Ogiso which meant the ‘Kings of the Sky’ and the administrative centre was Ubinu. Between 1388 – 1431 there was a series of civil
wars which divided the Edo. After the death of the last Ogiso, his son Prince Ekaladerhan left for exile and established himself in
Ile-Ife, so when the Edo people requested his return, he sent his son, Prince Oranmiyan who took up the throne.
EXPANSION INTO CITY-STATE EMPIRE

By 15th C the empire expanded into a city-state under the leadership of Oba Ewuare the Great
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE BENIN EMPIRE

1. Some of capable rulers the greatest of whom was Ewuare
2. Good centralized system of Government
3. Trade
4. Unity
5. Development of Handicraft Industry
DECLINE OF THE BENIN EMPIRE
 Introduction of slave trade
 Trans- Atlantic trade
 Firearms introduced through European trade caused tribal wars that led to the final decline of the Benin Empire.
THE EMPIRE OF OYO
Oyo empire began in the late 14th C or early 15th C likely 1388 – 1431. The people of Oyo were Oranmiyan, their capital was Oyo-
Ile and the King of Oyo was called Alaafin. The Bashoran was the leader of the army.
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE OYO EMPIRE

1. It had organised political system headed by a number of great Alafins
2. Strong organised army
5. Slave trade
6. Dahomey tributary
DECLINE OF THE OYO EMPIRE
1. Conflict between Alafin and Basharon
2. Conquest from the Fulani and Dahomey
3. Civil wars and disunity

DAHOMEY EMPIRE
Dahomey rose after the decline of Oyo in the 19 th C. it was founded by the Fon people. It had good leaders such as King Agaja and
Houegbadja who built the Royal Palaces of Abomey.
THE RISE OF THE DAHOMEY EMPIRE IN THE 18th C

1. Growth of centralised and powerful monarchy
2. Boyul succession system was effective
3. Strong army
4. Good leadership of King Gezo and later Aguja
5. Control of slave trade
DECLINE OF DAHOMEY
Dahomey declined after the arrival of the French.
ASANTE EMPIRE
Asante or Ashanti empire was found as a result of emergence of several cities in the region of Kumasi. The people of Asante were
Akan ruled by the Oyuko clan. The King was Obiri Yeboa who was Osei Tutu. The capital city of Asante or Ashanti was Kumasi.
The symbol of Asante union was a Golden stool. The ruler of Asante was known as Asantehene.
FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF ASANTE

3. Some of its capable rulers e.g. Osei Tutu
4. Well organised political system
5. Trade
DECLINE OF ASANTE EMPIRE
The state declined after the arrival of Europeans.
SUMMARY OF RISE AND FALL OF CENTRAL AFRICAN KINGDOMS

KONGO EMPIRE
By 14th C a number of bantu states had merged to form the kingdom of Kongo with its capital at Mbanza Kongo, which the Portuguese
later baptised, Sao Salvador South of the Congo River. The nearby Pool Malebo, a lake formed by a widening in the river, was a
major trading junction of the lower Congo region. By controlling the pool, the kings of Kongo were able to dominate trade on the
river and regional overland trade as well. The head of the kingdom took the title of Manikongo means lord of Kongo.
FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF KONGO EMPIRE

1. Technological development e.g. Iron technology
2. Trade
3. Taxation
5. Development in fishing
6. Emergence of traditional leaders with a strong belief in spiritual and magic power
DECLINE OF THE KONGO EMPIRE
 The arrival of the Portuguese
 Slave trade
 Weak leadership after Manikongo Mingo Mkuwa who acquired up an Embassy in Portugal. His son Nzinga Mbemba was
baptized as Afonso I (1506-1542). He was a puppet of the Portuguese and caused civil war in Kongo.
MWENEMUTAPA KINGDOM
This Kingdom was created under the leadership of Mutola. Mutola conquered Tongu and Torura of the Zambezi valley. He acquired
the title of Mwenemutapa which means ‘Master of conquered lands’. He was a political, military and religious leader. Mutola died
in 1450 and his son Matope inherited, after Matope’s death in 1480 Changamire took over in 1490.
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF MWENEMUTAPA

2. Good leadership of Mutola
3. Availability of valuable goods e.g. copper, iron and gold
4. They controlled trade routes
5. Trading centres
REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF MWENEMUTAPA
1. The arrival of Portuguese who monopolized the gold trade
2. The kingdom became divided into two parts Mutapa and Ruzwi
3. Rebellion from local people

After the death of Matope, his son Nyahuma took over. He was younger than the other chief who wanted power so that chief rebelled
and caused civil war.
THE LUBA STATE

This state is found between the tributaries of river Kongo. The Songiye people migrated from Katanga led by a leader from the
Kangolo clan. The united Kaniok and from Luba kingdom, Ilungambila married into the Kangolo clan. This intermarriage gave rise
to the Luba lineage of Kalala Ilunga, the founder of Munza as capital of Luba .
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE LUBA STATE

1. Centralised system of administration where the kingdom had final say in wars and external trade
2. The development of trade
4. The presence of iron technology
THE LUNDA STATE

The centre of the empire lay in the valley of Nkala river. The Luba kings took the title of Mwanta. It began as a simple village and
their first ruler was called Mwantagaand. Ilunga Tshibinda who came from Luba married a princess from the area and their son
became the first paramount ruler of the Lunda State.
FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF LUNDA STATE

1. Iron technology
4. Good leadership
5. Trade.
The empire declined after the arrival of Europeans
DEVELOPMENT OF STATES IN EAST AFRICA

Communalism collapsed also at a fairly early period in various parts of East Africa. Some of these areas included the interlacustrine
region that is the region lying between Lake Kioga, Victoria, Albert, Edward and Tanganyika; the Ntemi (Mtemi) region, presently
covered by Mwanza, Dodoma, Tabora, and Shinyanga in Tanzania and the coastal belt.
In the interlacustrine region, for instance, societies organized in class lines emerged shortly after 1000 A.D. The earliest of them was
Kitara, followed by several others including the kingdoms of Bunyoro, Buganda, Nkore, Karagwe, Rwanda, Burundi, Buha and
Buhaya, which grew at different times. These kingdoms became feudal as they developed between the fifteenth and first half of the
nineteenth century.
In order to understand how they became feudal, we must examine how some of these societies developed after the fifteenth century.
1. The Karagwe Kingdom

The Karagwe kingdom was located in the interlacustrine region. Its founders are believed to have migrated from the Northern part
of the kingdom. They had mingled with the Bachwezi and some of the Nilotes of Bunyoro—Kitara. The traditions of many of these
people, the Banyombo, claim that their ancestors come from Bunyoro. There are different factors for the rise of this kingdom namely:
 Agricultural Revolution. The arrival of people from the North brought about the rise of villages and complex settled
communities. This was followed by significant political, social and economic changes. In the first place, as population increased
so did the demand for strong leadership.
 The rise of pastoral societies with new iron tools and crops from the North facilitated the agricultural revolution and political
development. Both activities made the areas economically. powerful.
 Long distance trade played a significant role in the rise and consolidation of the kingdom. The trade routes passed through this
area before they reached Buganda. The Arab traders paid taxes and tributes to the ruling class in the form of guns, clothes, glass
ware, beads, etc. These were used in consolidating a state.
 Strong military power; In the first place, the ruling class had acquired adequate amount of guns. In addition to that, the ruling
class had adequate fund collected from tax. This fund was used to support and maintain the army. Also, there were professional
warriors who specialized in this activity. The whole society supported this army morally and materially, thus, the warriors
(solders) felt prestige for their work.
 Strong leadership; The rulers were believed to have prime power from god. For this reason, they were highly respected by their
subordinates, what they ordered was directly and obediently implemented. The people paid rent in kind and rent in labour to
their king.
 -The internal unity among the families and clan gave political units. What finally merged was a united coherent political entity
identical with the entire territory of Karagwe. The Basila became the dominant clan and provided the rulers of the kingdom. The
last Basila ruler was Nono.

2. Buganda State in Uganda
The kingdom of Buganda was geographically located on the shores of Lake Victoria. This was a highly centralized. Buganda
Kingdom was one of the emerged states after the collapse of the extensive Chwezi Bunyoro Kitara Empire. Various theories have
been suggested to explain the origin of Buganda Kingdom. One of them has it that Buganda was founded by Kato Kimera a brother
of Isingoma Mpuga Rukidi the first ruler of the Luo Bito dynasty. Another states that Buganda was founded by Kintu Who is believed
to have come from Mount Elgon direction. Whatever the truth, what is clear is that this Lake Victoria shore Kingdom had inhabitants
who could have descended from immigrants who came from different directions. The title of their ruler is Kabaka.
Around the fifteenth century Buganda was no more than its small nucleus in Kyadondo but by the nineteenth century it had become
a formidable and recognized kingdom within the interlacustrine region. Its steady growth and expansion is attributed to a number of
reasons.
 First was its location in a fertile zone. The Lake Victoria shores are also blessed with ample rainfall. These factors enabled
agriculture throughout the year. Consequently, there was enough food to feed her expanding population. Famine was unheard
of unlike in contemporary Bunyoro and this helped the kingdom to expand.
 Buganda was also blessed with ambitious, charismatic and enterprising kings such as Suna II and Mutesa I. These are said to
have worked tirelessly for the defense and expansion of Buganda Kingdom.
 Fortunately for Buganda, by the time of its expansion Bunyoro was on decline. It has been pointed out that had it not been for
the declining state of Bunyoro, Buganda would have not established herself as a powerful kingdom. Buganda seized the
opportunity obtaining the fertile territory of Buddu in addition to carrying out a series of raids that enabled her get a lot of
Bunyoro riches.
 Originally, Buganda was small and intact. This enabled the Kings to administer effectively. Through appointed chiefs and clan
heads the king would be well informed on matters pertaining to his kingdom. Besides, the small size of the kingdom allowed
the king to have close contacts with his subjects hence making him an affective reader. This eventually catalysed the growth and
expansion of Buganda.
 Buganda was also commercially active and engaged in both internal and external trade. By 1840s Buganda had trade contacts
with the Arabs. This made the kingdom to obtain fire arms (guns) that served as instruments of expansion. Moreover Buganda
ensured her rivals like Bunyoro are denied access to this trade. This denial gave Buganda a monopoly advantage over her
neighbours hence her expansion and development of powerful and admirable political, economic and social institutions by mid
nineteenth century
 The Buganda administrative system of the Kabaka governed the Kingdom with assistance of advisory council; (Itikiiko) the
council constituted the prime minister (katikiro), thetreasure (muwanika) and the chief justice (mulamuzi) as well as the country
chiefs, all these were kabaka nominees. The legislature council gave advice to the Kabaka and enacted laws, such administration
promoted stability and order in the kingdom thus, the expansion of state.
 The existences of outstanding army, Kabaka established strong and well equipped army, with navy canoe on Lake Victoria for
the sake of maintaining political stability in the state and defend the kingdom from external aggression. The Kabaka used the
army to cement his authoritarian power and to expand the empire. By 1853 -1884 Kabaka Mutesa I, being a commander in chief
manipulated the strength of his army to expand the frontiers of land of Buganda. The army as employed to fight and grab captives
of other smaller kingdoms which included Bunyoro and Toro.
 The Buganda security system, the Kabaka created security system for the sake of controlling the vassal states chiefs. In these
circles the Kabaka attached women officials to spy his chiefs. These were responsible to give reports to Kabaka pertaining the
individual chiefs, the Kabaka choose a woman as his personal adviser known as the Namasole. This woman was an important
figure in Buganda politics, such as ensuring a spy-network throughout the whole kingdom. At times however, these women
would provide false information in order to favour one chief over the Kabaka.
 The polygamous system of Kabaka; Buganda kingdom had approximately 52 clans, each with its own leadership. These provided
basic political unit for the whole administration of the kingdom, for the sake of political harmony in the kingdom. Kabaka
married from almost every important clan; hence intermarriages were a political weapon and created the possibility of getting
the Kabaka from any clan. This brought all clans together, equality among clans and ensured loyalty of the Kabaka dictatorship.
 The decentralized system of Buganda in order to ensure effective administration of the kingdom. The whole of Buganda was
divided into counties then into parishes (called Muluka) and finally the parishes into sub-parishes. At all levels the chiefs were
the Kabaka's appointees. Each exercised a specific function and remained directly accountable to the kabaka. Such a system of
decentralize helped to maintain the homogeny city of the kingdom and the implementation of decisions.
 Religious system of Buganda, Buganda also practices ancestral worship. As the clan head, kabaka was a spiritual leader who
presided over religious function and was regarded by the Ganda as a semi divine person. A long with being the religious head
he was surrounded by the religious leaders from different tribes. The local people mainly engage in the practices of the inhale
cuts which possessed various goods. These include Musoke who was in charge of rain, Mukara who was in charge of lakes and
Walumbe who was in charge of death, sacrifices were made to appeal to gods in times of calamities, and religion was one of the
pillars that encouraged social and political cohesion.
 Judicial system, the Buganda had developed judicial system. The traditional law courts were for ruling local disputes within the
kingdom. These were sort of customary law which every member of the given clan was bound to observe (totem and taboos).

These were the vital in the kingdom they helped in identification of members in each clan. This kind of practice helped the
Buganda kingdom to maintain traditional culture, order and peace and to foster economic and political stability.
 The internal taxation system: taxation was waged into two ways, the Baganda were required to pay their taxes in kind (in form
of food and ivory) and as the Buganda subdued this lead to the development of the kingdom to her unit.
 The common language, Luganda, further united Buganda.
 The Buganda kingdom was negatively affected by the slave trade. Hence, it 'had internal stability which remained undisturbed.
3. The Kimbu Empire

The country known as Ukimbu lies today in the administrative regions of Tabora, Singida (Manyoni area) and Mbeya (Chunya area.
It is bounded in the North by the Wala, Midiho and Nyahua rivers, in the East by the rivers Kisigo and Njombe and the west by lake
Rukwa, the Rungwe River and Ugalla River. Kimbu Empire started from the 18th century but it expanded more during the second
half of the nineteenth century under the leadership of Nyungu ya Mawe. The following were the reasons for its expansion:
 Long distance trade: Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Nyamwezi took an active role in the long-distance
trade with coastal Arabs and Swahili traders. The chief provided ivory, copper and iron equipment, including hoes, axes, and
spearheads. They balso traded with the people of the Katanga region. The Nyamwezi supervised three main caravan routes,
particularly from Tabora to Ujiji in the west, from Tabora to Karagwe kingdom in the Northwest, and from Tabora to Lake
Tanganyika in the South. The Nyamwezi gained a lot of wealth from this trade and their political leaders used this wealth to
acquire firearms and ammunitions from the coastal Arab and Swahili traders.
 Military power. Long distance trade provided rulers with guns and other weapons which were used by the army to conquer
weaker states and incorporating them into their states. The Ntemi (Mtemi) was the chief commander and in case of war, he first
had to perform a sacrifice of eating meat and the clan leaders would help organize the army.
 The new tactics of the Ngoni. The coming of Ngoni from South Africa during the nineteenth century brought war tactics famous
by the name of "Rugaruga". Rugaruga warriors used brutal methods in the war and they spread myth that they were cannibals
(man eaters). This method facilitated conquest of the neighboring weaker states.
 Strong leadership of Nyungu ya Mawe was also one of the factors. Nyungu ya Mawe had built up for himself a private army of
I arugaruga or young people, professional soldiers. This helped him to defend himself and conquer neighbouring states such as
Ukonongo, Nyazi of Kimmo (1875); etc.
 Pastoralism and crop cultivation. Most of the Kimbu chiefdoms such as Nyitumba and Nyisamba, were hunters and collectors
who also practiced a minimal shifting agriculture, with one or two varieties of millet as the staple crops. Furthermore, they had
knowledge of iron working that facilitated the consolidation of their empire.
 Agriculture. The Ntemi (Mtemi) organized and motivated people to participate in crop production in order to contain famine.
The main crops were grain. In cases of individuals who had misused land, the Ntemi (Mtemi) would intervene. He also collected
food from the people in the form of taxes. The state food store was used to feed the Ntemi (Mtemi)s' members of the court and
in times of natural calamities, the affected people would be apportioned food from the reserve. In this respect, economic activities
were well coordinated by this chain of order.
4. Nyamwezi Kingdom
The Nyamwezi who live in Central Tanzania are a group of Bantu societies. Each of these societies had their own settlement headed
by a chief entitled Mtemi (Ntemi (Mtemi)). Ntemi (Mtemi)ships (Chiefdoms) were composed of people of shared backgrounds or
kinships and beliefs. Each of the Nyamwezi chiefdoms had Mtemi at the center helped by a council of leaders, the Wanyampala in
administration.
Towards the middle of the 19th century a more dynamic political structure developed among the Nyamwezi under Fundikira, Nyungu
ya Mawe and Mirambo. This fostered the institution of Mtemi becoming one of the most powerful positions. The several Nyamwezi
settlements (Ntemi (Mtemi)ships) were united under one senior Mtemi.
Factors for the rise of the Nyamwezi Chiefdom can be explained as follows:
i. Ngoni invasions: The Ngoni invasions in Western Tanganyika made the Nyamwezi people to unite in order to resist Ngoni
attacks.
ii. The Rugaruga: A class of mercenaries had emerged in Central Tanganyika in the middle of the 19th Century due to Ngoni raids
and slave trade intensification. This group was paid to fight for prominent Unyamwezi Watemi, such as Nyungu ya Mawe and
Mirambo who helped to build the kingdom.
iii. The expansion of local trade into regional trade/ long distance trade, saw the emergence of wealthy traders like Mirambo who
made effective use of the Rugaruga.
iv. The entry of Europeans into the coastal interior, trade introduced new trading partners to Nyamwezi traders, who joined together
to effectively resist Europeans pressure to stop slave trade.
v. The rise of Mirambo as a trader and leader. He used his influence to unify the clans of Unyamweziland.
vi. The use of the gun and gunpowder by Mirambo 's soldiers in making the weaker Watemi submissive to his rule.

REFERENCES
Africawithin.com Collected Writings of John Henrik Clarke (Web Edition)
Basil Davidson (1967). The growth of African civilization: East and Central Africa to the Late Nineteenth Century;
Longman, Singapore
Bohaen, A. (1966). Topics in west African History, Longman Group Limited, London.
Carr, E.H (1961). What is History, London; Penguin Books Ltd.
Diop, C. A. (1974). The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality; Lawrence Hill & Co., Chicago, United States
of America
James, G. M. (1992). Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy. Africa Word Press Inc.
Lynch, P. A (2004). African Mythology A to Z, Second Edition; Chelsea House, New York
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009.
Nyirenda, H.D. (1996). History of West Africa to the Present Past. DUP, Dar es salaam, Tanzania
Rodney, W. (1973) How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Tanzanian Publishing House, Dar- es-Salaam
Shilington, K. (1995). History of Africa. London: MacMillan,
UNESCO (1981). General African History Vol 2: Ancient Civilizations of Africa; Heinemann, California, U.S.A.
UNESCO (1988) General African History Vol 3. Africa from the 7th to the 11th Century, Heinemann, California, U.S.A.
UNESCO (1992) General African History Vol 5. Africa from the 16th - the 18th Century, Heinemann, California, U.S.A.
Vansina, J. et.al (1995). African History: From Earliest times to Independence, New York; Longman Group Ltd.
Were, G.S. and Wilson, D. A. (1972). East Africa Through a Thousand Years: AD 1000 to the Present Day, Nairobi:
Evans Brothers Ltd.
Williams, C. (1974) The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. TO 2000 A.D. Third
World Press, Chicago, United States of America.

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HISTORY REFERENCE’S

COLLECTION FOR FORM ONE

COVER DESIGED BY © BY EDWIN B. MASSAI, 2019.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 1

© EDWIN B. MASSAI, 2019.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 2

July 16, 1998

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 3

To teachers and students of history.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 4

WHY AFRICANA HISTORY?BY John Henrik Clarke (January 1987)

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 5

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 6

ORIGIN OF THE TERM HISTORY

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 7

Closely related to the term history is the term PREHISTORY.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 8

IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING HISTORY.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 9

Historical knowledge can be constructed or obtained through the following sources.

Types of oral tradition.

(a) Cultural practices

(b) Narration of past events

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 10

Functions of oral traditions

ADVANTAGES OF ORAL TRADITION

DISADVANTAGES OF ORAL TRADITION

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 11

FUNCTIONS OF HISTORICAL SITES

DISADVANTAGES OF HISTORICAL SITES

DISADVANTAGES OF HISTORICAL SITES

3. ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 12

Methods used by archaeologists and paleontologists in discovering a historical site.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 13

Archives are a collection of historical documents or

They are also places where government, public and other

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 14

Types of written records

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 15

ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN RECORDS

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 16

This is the study of human beings, their origin,

Anthropologists (are the people who study

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 17

Audio visual, include microfilms, films, videos, radio,

Microfilms are films on which extremely small

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 18

DATING HISTORICAL EVENTS

WAYS TO DETERMINE DATES

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 19

METHODS OF SHOWING DATES/TIME IN HISTORY.

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 20

BRIEF ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF MAN.

1st THEORY OF CREATION.

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BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 22

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 23

3rd THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION OF MAN

Darwin’s theory of natural selection comprises the following points.

Evolution and adaptation of man

BY EDWIN B. MASSAI ©KAPAMA, 2019. edwinmassai@yahoo.com or edwinmasai@gmail.com 24

Let us hear the story; (a reading text)