...The idea that Africans have contributed little to world civilization is one which many in the West have for a long time assumed and taken for granted. Thanks in part to depictions of Africa which rarely extend past civil wars, famine and the primitive; information about Africa’s past advances and accomplishments have continued to remain obscure and little known. Since first contact between Europe and Africa the history of Africa has been fundamentally dominated by the way Europeans have portrayed themselves in relationship to that continent. So that most of what we read and see about Africa tends to say -- either directly or indirectly -- more about the history of European colonialism and its biases toward Africa than it does about the real Africa and its people (see Ahmad, 1987). The majority of people today of all backgrounds, including those of African ancestry, tend to know little about Africa and its history outside of the transatlantic slave trade and perhaps colonialism. While even in these instances knowledge about these events can be at times, limited. The African continent is too often conceived of as one with no legitimate history before contact with Europeans. Formal anthropological research is now showing that this notion could not be further from the truth. In the bible Ham's sons are believed to have fathered the peoples of Africa. Of Ham's four sons, Canaan, fathered the Canaanites, while Mizraim fathered the Egyptians, Cush the Cushites and Phut the "Libyans"...
Words: 1957 - Pages: 8
...Ancient Art By Tiffany Roy HUMA 205 AIU Online Abstract This is a comparative essay that will take two pieces of ancient artworks and explore their meaning and culture. It will explore subject matters, form and content of the pieces as well as compare them to one another. The artworks chosen for this essay are: The Nike of Samothrace (Greek) and a funerary sculpture (African) made by the Bara or Sakalava people of Madagascar, Africa. When it comes to ancient art, there are many different cultures that can be compared and interpreted with one another. The subjects of this essay come from ancient Greek art and ancient African art. Greek art mostly depicted humanism, gods, power, harmony, order, adoration, etc. It served as a symbolization of political, religious, and/or ethical purposes. Greek art upheld spiritual views as well as unity and the dedication to great rulers. In a sense, Greek and African art are similar in many way with only a few differences. African art depicted deep spiritual and religious views. It also expresses the true respect for the human figure (humanism) as Greek art does. Sculptures of warriors and powerful people were often made to hold their spirits in a way of making them live on forever. African art expressed harmony and balance as well as vigor in detail and orientation. The first artwork to be explored will be the Nike “Victory of Samothrace”. (The Meaning of Greek Art, 2012). (Evans, 2010). This is a three-dimensional sculpture that...
Words: 744 - Pages: 3
...Daryl Smith Introduction to African-American Studies March 23, 2014 Professor Yeboah Midterm Paper: Essay Questions 1. Describe (3) three African (Ancient or Medieval) civilizations that pre-date enslavement? Kush, Axum, and Ghana are three Ancient African civilizations that pre-date enslavement. The Kush civilization started in 1700 BC, where it reached its first peak. Its second peak dated to 1500 BC. The Kingdom of the Kush was also known as Nubia. It is located south of Egypt and was built at the bottom of the mountains, beginning at the Nile River. The Kush kingdom was exceptionally wealthy with many natural resources. They had gold mines, iron ore, and rich soil. Their soil was rich due to the ample amount of rainfall they had all year long, which kept all of the natural resources fresh and growing. Many kingdoms were jealous of the Kush’s wealth and prosperity, and wanted to take it over, but the Kush did now allow it to happen. The “Iron Age” was when iron ore was at its peak and every kingdom wanted it to make weapons and tools. Kush was the center of the iron trade in ancient Africa. Burnt wood was needed to produce iron from ore and because wood was running out, the Kush had to trade other goods. The Kush was the reason for the Trans- Saharan Trade Route. In 750 CE, the Kush used camels and camel trains to cross the sand. They knew it was a miserable and dangerous journey, but knew it could be done. Attention was then turned to trade with West...
Words: 1089 - Pages: 5
...2050 Prof Kaufman Lowes Museum Paper 1. Greek and/or Roman art: How is the body depicted in the art you select? Greek Chosen Art Work: Calyx Krater, Unknown Artist, 4th century BCE, Ancient Greek Next to Art Work: Bacchanal, by Anthony Triano, 1966, United States The Calyx Krater has an abstracted style. The bodies are proportional to the scale, however the main god, Dionysian is the standout character throughout the piece. The bodies’ of the subjects have an idealized style. For example, Dionysian’s body is detailed to show muscles that convey strength. His body is covered with a simple toga, which loosely hugs him, to show off his natural male body. Like the male subject, the female has on a long strappy dress, which loosely covers her body, to hide any identifying curves. Although, all the figures are all minimally clothed, none of them has gender related details. For example, even though the satyr is completely naked, no pubic detail is present. Nor are any lines to symbolize the breasts on the female subject. The facial details of all the subjects are barely discernible, as if to draw the viewer’s attention towards their bodies. Roman Chosen Art Work: Vertummus, Unknown Artist, 200-250 Ancient, Rome Next to Art Work: Eros, Artist Unknown, 1st century, Ancient, Rome The depiction of Verummus represents an idealized style. The body is depicted with a sense of strength and presence. The artist portrayed this great warrior’s strength through his strong...
Words: 2583 - Pages: 11
...Many historians have put forward the view that the New world was discovered by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. It is commonly thought and accepted that with the approval of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Columbus went in search for India which was located in the East. However Columbus unknowingly sailed to the west across the Atlantic Ocean which led him to a land mass which was unknown to the Europeans at that time which he name “The Americas. Although this theory is commonly accepted as it has been popularized by the Europeans, there is significant physical evidence that suggest that Columbus was not the first to discover “The World”. Many Historians such as Ivan van Sertima believe that the West Africans discovered the Americas...
Words: 1470 - Pages: 6
...There’s the “Multiregional Model” that concentrates on a multiple origins theory in which the different human populations or races had independent origins and evolved in isolation from each other, and there’s the recent single-orgin hypothesis or the “Out of Africa” which holds that anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. With this theory humans started to leave Africa after evolving. Both theories support that human evolution began in africa, but the “Out of Africa” theory has gotten much more support over the last decade, but there are still many people who support the the multiregional hypothesis. Until the recent years the only way to the only way of learning about ancient ancestors was through old fossils and stone tools. The “Multiregional Model” is the older model that consists of several models of human evolution which all posit that the human races evolved from separate archaic humans over millions of years. The “Multiregional Model” posits that 1.5 million years ago marked the beginning human evolution and that fossil samples represent the the evolving of homo sapiens. According to the theory there is no one place where homo sapiens evolved. They may have developed in Africa and then spreaded, or maybe they started in Europe and Asia and spreaded from there. Support for Multiregional The fossil record is the real evidence for human evolution, and it is rich in both human remains and archaeological sites stretching back...
Words: 1035 - Pages: 5
...Ancient Chinese Contributions Humanities 111 World Cultures 1 05/27/2012 In the days of Ancient Chinese, inventions were created using different techniques and styles by using things that we use in our everyday living. There are many contributions that I thought were important. Those inventions that were created by the Ancient Chinese were Umbrella’s. Umbrellas were invented by the Chinese. They made umbrellas from oiled paper. It was made from oiled paper because it repelled water. The frames of the umbrellas were made from mulberry bark and bamboo. Chinese used the umbrellas to keep the sun off of their skin. The common people used blue umbrellas and people that were of royal used red and yellow umbrellas. (This was cited from The Ancient Chinese Contributions, published by Deng Yinke. Information came from pages 1-23). The Seismograph was created by an astronomer during the Han Dynasty. The astronomer created the seismograph to give warning of an earthquake. The seismograph color was bronze and the vase was covered with dragons and toads. A long medal pendulum hung inside the vase. On the outside it had eight dragon heads; each was mounted onto its sides. Each dragon had a ball in its mouth and the dragon’s head was mounted onto its side as well. The pendulum swung in the direction in which the earthquake occurred. The pendulum would strike a rod inside the vase, the rod would then knock a ball out of the dragon’s mouth, and then it would drop into the...
Words: 1342 - Pages: 6
...prove to be vital in the development of the tattoo machine” (http://www.britishinkdc.com/tattoo-machine-history/) Samuel O’Reilly, a tattooist in New York City envisioned Edison’s invention and later patented the first Electric Tattooing Machine in1891. The variation in techniques used worldwide all persuade with similarities yet they have one common goal and that is to get the ink or pigment under the skin in such a way that it heals and is permanent. The practices and tools used vary from culture to culture and have evolved over time with influence from outside societies throughout human evolution. Ancient remains surfaced today have provided literature convening the existence of tattoos and the tools obtained have provide further detail of how tattoos were exhibit and what resources were used. In Egypt tiny bronze tattoo needles have been discovered in numerous Egyptian digs, some date back to 1450 B.C. with the oldest one on recording dating back to before 3000 B.C. In Thailand traditional Thai tattoo tools were made from quill-like bamboo needles. The needles were split in two and are razor sharp ranging from six to twelve inches in length. The Maori of New Zealand a tribe who migrated more than 1000 years ago from their Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki used one chisels to carve designs straight into the flesh. After the lines were cut, the chisel was dipped into ink and tapped into the gashes, this techniques is said to promote much more pain than the use of...
Words: 2200 - Pages: 9
...language. Throughout my youth, I have had the enriching opportunity of growing up in a cultural environment. This is an experience that has given me many valuable tools and skills. There are two cultural artifacts linked to this page. These artifacts illustrate the effect that culture has on language. The cultural foundation in my childhood, and the language associated with it, instilled me with strength, moral correctness, and just principles. My first artifact is a sound clip of me playing two Djembe (jim-bay) drums, a Dun Dun (doon-doon) drum, and a Kenken bell. This sound clip was produced years ago – I was recorded in layers to give the illusion that there were four musicians. The “cultural community,” as its members often refer to it, consists of blacks who are in touch with their traditional African roots (specifically west-African). Fourteen years ago, west-African percussion was in its prime; I was lucky enough to grow up around the major players. Yet, this community and form of music had an exclusive language. Conversations with Djembe players were often nonsensical to anyone outside of the community. The English used by members of the cultural community was a Creole of traditional concepts, words from west-African languages, and Djembe music terms. This situation was intensified by the fact that west-African music is polyrhythmic and incapable of being written. For example, a Djembe drummer may tell his student: “Press in more for your tones and less on your slaps...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...Ancient calendars kept track of significant astrological events to mark different times of the year. For agricultural societies, this was especially important. A successful harvest was dependent on starting the planting season at the right time. After years of observations and trial and error, ancient peoples were able to predict the patterns of the sun and distinguish the timing of each season. Ancient Egyptians tracked the stars and invented a calendar that would allow them to predict when the Nile would flood. One of the best examples of an early civilization that developed an elaborate calendar system is the Mayans. They had a ritual calendar composed of 13 months, with 20 days in each month, and a 365 day solar calendar (Welser-Sherrill 2007). Their calendar was impressively accurate, and it ruled many facets of Mayan life. One particularly interesting integration of the Mayan calendar is the design of the Pyramid of Kulkulkan. The square-based...
Words: 1269 - Pages: 6
...The presence of Islam in West Africa was related to trade and commerce in West Africa. Trade between West Africa and the Mediterranean preexisted Islam, however, North African Muslims strengthened the Trans-Saharan trade. North African traders were major factors in introducing Islam into West Africa. The past of Islam in West Africa can be explained in three stages, control, socializing, and reform. In the first stage, African kings controlled Muslim influence by segregating Muslim communities, in the second stage African leaders merged Islam with local traditions as the population selectively appropriated Islamic practices, and finally in the third stage, African Muslims forced for change in an effort to free their societies. Several factors led to the growth of the Muslim merchant-scholar class. Islam facilitated long distance trade by offering valuable tools for merchants for example the contract law, recognition, and information networks. They had the important ability of written script, which helped in the administration of kingdoms. Muslim communities in the forest zones were minority communities often linked to trading Diasporas. Many of the traditions in the forest zones still reflect the tradition of Saurian which focused on responsibilities of Muslims in a non-Muslim society. The boundaries of the ancient Kingdom encompassed the Middle Niger Delta region, which consists of modern-day Mali and parts of present-day Mauritania and Senegal. Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim....
Words: 539 - Pages: 3
...How much has really changed since the time around Ancient Rome to now in The United States? Ancient Rome’s city population was about 1 million people. They were also overcrowded, noisy and even walking was dangerous. Cities today in The U.S. aren’t as unsafe as then because we have people to keep us safe, such as police officers, firefighters, etc. The United States cities overall are still overcrowded and noisy most of the time. There’s a diverse amount of people now in The U.S., our population didn’t used to be 319,062,017+ (a birth every 8 seconds and a death every 13 seconds). But ever since people started migrating from different countries, our community has expanded. Asian, Caucasian, African American, Hispanic/ Mexican and Multiracial...
Words: 964 - Pages: 4
...the Americas before explorers such as Christopher Columbus discovered it, there exists rich literature of ancient civilizations that have shaped all spheres of modern life. The most recognized civilizations include the Egyptian civilization, the Roman Empire, and the Greek civilization. The fall of one civilization led to the rise of another civilization and so forth. The earliest recorded civilization, however, is the Egyptian civilization and scholars have credited it with influencing the subsequent empires that rose afterward, especially Alexander's the Great Greece Empire...
Words: 2255 - Pages: 10
...Aneka-Sierra Johnson HIS 103 Dr. Tameka Hobbs 22 January 2013 Chapter Summary for Chapter 1 – “Africa” Summary: This chapter describes how Africa was basically the birth place of humanity and its geographical features. The chapter states that Africa is the second largest continent in the world (Asia is the largest).It describes where the Africans originated and how they evolved over time. Also it gives a generally understanding of how the Africans ran there countries.IT gives a brief description of what they did to survive and how things where in there time. The Chapter also explains why African civilizations are important. Key Points: Paleoanthropologists –scientist who studies the evolution and pre-history of humans- these scientist are a key part to understanding the early state of African humanity because of their research it is concluded that all people today are decent of Africa. They also believe that Ardipitecines which are creatures that walked upright, evolved from Ardipitecines to Homo habilis The Earliest civilization in Africa and one of the two earliest in the world history is that of ancient Egypt which stared in the Nile River valley. The other of the two is Mesopotamian civilization. In both of these civilization hunting and gathering “gave way’ to the agriculture. Which lead them to become hierarchical and specialized. Sudan Ghana was the first known kingdom in western Sudan. It was established by the Soninke people in the area in the contemporary...
Words: 670 - Pages: 3
...my nose and smiled. I don’t remember what state of mind I was in when I walked into the parlor, but I left victorious! Throughout history, people have decorated and modified the appearance of their bodies in many different ways. Nostril piercings are thought to have been adopted into the noble castes in the Middle East almost 4000 years ago. Nowadays, nostril piercings have been adopted by Christina Aguilera. In South America, Aztec and Mayan priests pierced their tongues as part of a ritual to communicate with their gods. In several African tribes, the beauty of women was determined by the size of plates that were fitted into their upper lips. In ancient civilizations of Egypt, a “perfect belly button” could elevate someone’s social standing. At that time, only Pharaohs and royal families could pierce their navels. Anyone else was promptly executed. A “perfect belly button”, however, could be a peasant’s ticket to a better life. The ancient Romans pierced their nipples (ouch) to show their strength and endurance. It is also theorized that their nipple jewelry held their cloaks in place! To this day, piercings have continued to capture human curiosity and fascination. The world record for the highest number of body piercings is one of the most volatile since it is constantly adjusting as each prickled being attempts to outdo the previous one. In 2002, Nathan Robitaille, 23, had 420 needles stuck into his arms, thus breaking the previous world record of...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
