African Kingdoms and Civilizations


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African Kingdoms and Civilizations

Africa South of the Sahara, Northpark University - David W. Koeller: Prehistory to 1950. Dr. Koeller is on the History Dept. faculty at North Park University, Chicago, Illinois. Includes bibliographies. http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Africa/Africa.html

African Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Dr. Gloria Emeagwali, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University, provides citations to books and links to web sites relating to the, "Background History of Africa, African Food Processing Techniques, African Textile Techniques, African Metallurgy, Colonialism and Africa's Technology, and Mathematics in pre-colonial Hausaland, West Africa. http://www.africahistory.net

African Mathematical Union. Commission on the History of Mathematics in Africa: Includes issues of their newsletter, articles on "The Ancients", pages on mathematics in Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, profiles of African mathematicians. The newsletter has bibliographies and web sites. Maintained by Scott W. Williams, Professor, Mathematics Dept., State Univ. of New York at Buffalo. [KF] http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/AMU/amuchma_online.html

African Timelines: Chronology with descriptions for Ancient Africa, African Empires, African Slave Trade & European Imperialism, Anti-Colonialism, Post-Independence Africa, plus Sources for Further Study. Site by Cora Agatucci, Associate Professor of English, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, Oregon. http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/timelines/htimelinetoc.htm

The Afrocentric Debate Resource Homepage: Contains messages sent to a discussion list set up by publisher, Harper Collins, on the Mary Lefkowitz book Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History. Page by Paul Kekai Manansala who wrote the purpose of this page was to "provide resources to those interested in learning about the Afrocentric argument concerning ancient Egypt, and the contribution of Africa to Western civilization through ancient Egypt.". http://www.he.net/~skyeagle/afro.htm

Ancient Africa: Lesson Plans and Activities: Links to curriculum units on Ancient Africa developed by schools around the U.S. Page by Lin and Don Donn. http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/index.html#AFRICA

Annenberg / Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB - Mali and Songhai: "The empire of Mali, which dated from the early thirteenth century to the late fifteenth century, rose out of what was once the empire of Ghana. Mali had been a state inside of the Ghanaian empire. After Ghana fell because of invading forces and internal disputes, Mali rose to greatness under the leadership of a legendary king named Sundiata, the "Lion King." As Mali declined, Songhai became the "largest and most powerful kingdom in medieval West Africa." Part of Annenberg's Collapse, Why do Civilizations Fall? http://www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/mali.html

Argos: Argos is a peer-reviewed, limited area search engine covering the ancient and medieval worlds. Searches retrieve web sites about the Sudan, Kush, Nubia, etc. Based at the Univ. of Evansville. http://argos.evansville.edu/index.htm

Asante, Molefi Kete: Professor Asante is the former Chair, Department of African American Studies at Temple University and the founder of the theory of Afrocentricity. Has excerpts from Prof. Asante's speeches and writings, his enstoolment as a traditional leader of Ghana in 1993, establishment of the Pan African Cultural Center at Tafo, Ghana, the Cheikh Anta Diop Conference, tours led by Prof. Asante to Egypt and Ghana, the Association for Nubian Kemetic Heritage (ANKH), a review of MS Encarta Africana, a talk "The Future of African Gods," links to related sites. http://www.asante.net/index01.html

Baobab Project - Harvard University: An investigation into why certain cultures, places, and periods encouraged creativity and innovation in the arts, directed by Suzanne Preston Blier, Dept. of Fine Arts, Harvard. The Project Manager is Michael Roy.; The web site is a glimpse of the project which includes narratives (case studies), an image and ethnographic database, and a geographic information system. The case studies are: Asante political expansion, Batimalliba two-story architecture, Islam and indigenous African cultures, Shawabtis and Nubia, Yoruba masking traditions, and Ife, an ancient Yoruba city state.
http://web-dubois.fas.harvard.edu/DuBois/baobab/baobab.html

Belcher, Stephen - African Epics Resource Page: "a resource for the study of African epics. The core of the site is a listing of available published epic texts divided by language group and by performer, with brief performance data and bibliographic references." Has lists of sources and bibliographies for - the epic of Sunjata and the Mali empire; the history of the kingdoms of Segou and Kaarta; hunters' narratives ("hunters' songs often take the form of extended narratives which closely resemble the historical epic singing"); historical narratives, "in the times before and after Sunjata," which involve migrations and genealogies; Fulbe epic traditions (Futa Tooro and Massina and the East); Gambian Mandinka histories. Belcher has taught Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University (1991-1998). He is the author of Epic Traditions in Africa (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999). http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/s/p/spb3/

Black History Month - World African Network: Has "Africa: The Birthplace of Humanity and Great Civilizations" by Paul Leslie Gardner. WAN provides news and information to African Americans in the United
States and around the world. Based in Atlanta. http://www.wanonline.com/blackhistory/1999/index.cfm

British Broadcasting Company. The Story of Africa: "the history of the continent from an African perspective." "from the origins of humankind to the end of South African apartheid" by major African historians (Jacob Ajayi, George Abungu, Director-General of the National Museums of Kenya and others). Includes audio of each segment of the BBC program. (Requires sound card, speaker or headphone). Each segment has a timeline, bibliography, useful links. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/

Civilizations in Africa - Washington State University: One page each on Mali, Songhay, Great Zimbabwe, Kush, Ghana, Islamic invasions, Swahili kingdoms, Hausa Kingdoms, Kanem-Bornu. "...designed as a learning module in the form of a "research textbook." Part of the Washington State University World Civilizations web site. Text by Richard Hooker. Some links are not accessible. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/CIVAFRCA.HTM

Florida Geographic Alliance - African Maps: "The Florida Geographic Alliance is a professional organization affiliated with the National Geographic Society...and housed at the Florida State University within the Institute of Science and Public Affairs. It is comprised of Primary, Secondary, Community College, and University Geography Educators,..."
Has in Adobe pdf format -
Continent with names, same map without names, Timbuktu with Mansa Musa's route, and other maps.

Giblin, James, "Introduction: Diffusion and other Problems in the History of African States": Essay (8 pages) covering Asante, the Benin Kingdom, the Luba and Kuba, the Yoruba and the States of Ife and Oyo, by Professor Giblin, Department of History, University of Iowa in "Art and Life in Africa Online" by L. Lee McIntyre and Christopher D. Roy. http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/history/giblinstate.html

Giblin, James, "Issues in African History": Essay, by Professor Giblin, Department of History, University of Iowa, in "The Art and Life in Africa Project," web site Univ. of Iowa. 8 pages. http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/history/giblinhistory.html

Howard University, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
Internet African History Sourcebook - Paul Halsall: Has full-text sources for African history arranged by topics. Includes the Black Athena Debate, human origins, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Islam in Africa, West African kingdoms, Great Zimbabwe, with topics up to the present. Maintained by Paul Halsall, Fordham University. [KF] http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/africa/africasbook.html

Journal of African History (Cambridge University Press): Full text access to recent issues for subscribers or those at institutions subscribing to the print journal. Ask your librarian for the username and password. The articles are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. The PDF files are very large. http://www.journals.cup.org/

Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan: An introduction to the history of Sudanic Africa (the states of Songhay, Kanem-Bornu, and Hausaland.) Discusses trade and Islam. Photographs by Lucy Johnson illustrate - Images of Islam (Grand Mosque at Jenne), River Scenes, Daily Life, The Dogon, Traditions and Beliefs, The Desert. Has multiple-choice tests. Project arises from a Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to Xavier University's Center for the Advancement of Teaching (New Orleans, LA). Site by J. Rotondo-McCord. http://www.xula.edu/~jrotondo/Kingdoms/

Lefkowitz, Mary - Not Out of Africa: Excerpts from Lefkowitz's book Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as History. On The History Place web site. http://www.historyplace.com/pointsofview/not-out.htm

Libraries of Timbuktu: International project to preserve ancient Islamic manuscripts in Timbuktu. "There are an estimated sixty to eighty private collections of historical manuscripts in the city of Timbuktu alone." See also a Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) article (Feb. 17, 2002) on Timbuktu manuscripts.; Projects include:
ARELMAT, Archivage Electronique des Manuscrits de Tombouctou; IHERI-AB, Institute des Hautes Etudes et de la Recherche Islamique - Ahmed Baba, Timbuktu; Kati Family Library; Mamma Haidara Library; Timbuktu Libraries Project
http://www.sum.uio.no/research/mali/timbuktu; "Scholars of Peace: The Islamic Tradition and Historical Conflict Resolution in Timbuktu" by Dr. Mahmoud Zouber, Abdoul Kader Haidara, Mamadou Diallo, Dr. Stephanie Diakit� (5 p.) - full text, in Adobe PDF, of an account of 15th-18th century scholars in Timbuktu and the role of Islamic scholars and leaders in conflict resolution.

Lobban, Richard - Chronolgy of Ancient Nubia [Sudan]: Covers from 3-1.5 Million BP to 1504 AD. From the book, Historical Dictionary of Ancient Nubia, Scarecrow Press. To be pub. 2002. One can contact Dr. Lobban at: rlobban@ric.edu http://www.theNubian.net/chrnology.htm

Mali Interactive: Archaeological excavations and information on the people and culture of Jenn�. The project leaders include Profs. Rod and Susan McIntosh, archaeologists, from Rice University's Anthropology Dept. A goal is to save archaeological information from destruction by erosion. See "Jenne-jeno, an ancient African city." Jenn� is the earliest known urban settlement south of the Sahara and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photos, news, teaching resources, information on Mali and archaeology. http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~anth/arch/mali-interactive/index.html

Old Bulawayo Project - Univ. of Birmingham, Field Archaeology Unit.: An archaeological research project at Old Bulawayo, the late 19th century capital of the Nbebele king, Lobengula. The project is run by the Univ. of Birmingham Field Archaeology Unit and Zimbabwe National Museums and Monuments. http://www.bufau.bham.ac.uk/newsite/projects/OB/bulawayo.html

The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago: Nubia Salvage Project. The Institute participated in the 1960s UNESCO effort to rescue archaeological sites from the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam. Artifacts recovered from that effort were presented in two exhibitions -
Nubia, Its Glory and Its People, 1987 Exhibition. Description and history by Bruce Williams.
Vanished Kingdoms of the Nile, The Rediscovery of Ancient Nubia, 1992 Exhibition. Includes an image of a Nubian princess ca. 1320 B.C.
Nubia Slavage Project: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/NUB/Nubia.html; Photographic Archives. Seven historical photographs from the Sudan (Nubia). A sample of photographs taken by Institute expeditions in the early 20th century.
Sudan page: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/SUDAN/Sudan_Gen.html
Photographic Archives main page: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/OI_PA.html

Oriental Institiute. The 1905-1907 Breasted Expeditions to Egypt and the Sudan: A Photographic Study: "This document is a revised catalog of the 1,055 photographs [taken by Professor James Henry Breasted and his colleagues] contained in an Oriental Institute text/microfiche publication entitled THE 1905-1907 BREASTED EXPEDITIONS TO EGYPT AND THE SUDAN: A PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY." Based at the University of Chicago. http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/PA/EGYPT/BEES/BEES.html

Pankhurst, Richard - Ethiopian History: Articles by Dr. Pankhurst originally published in the newspaper, Addis Tribune. See "Glimpses of Ethiopian Medieval History" includes Lalibala, also articles on manuscripts, the Aksum Obelisk. http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/dmulholl/ethiopia/history/pankhurst.html

Piccione, Peter A.: History of Nubia from the Palaeolithic era to the Kingdom of Kush. Part of a course, given at Northwestern Univ., on the History of Ancient Egypt by Dr. Piccione of the Oriental Institute, Univ. of Chicago. Includes a bibliography. http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/

Schmidt, Nancy - "Africana Resources for Undergraduates: A Bibliographic Essay": An annotated guide by Dr. Schmidt (former Africana Librarian, Indiana University) to print and electronic database resources. In Phyllis M. Martin and Patrick O'Meara (eds.), Africa. Third edition. ( Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995, pp. 413-434.) " The author would like to point out that this essay, published in 1995 and written a year before, does not reflect some more recent publications and web resources." http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/african/schmidt.html

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - African Voices: Site for a permanent exhibit at the Museum in Washington, D.C. Attractive site featuring master sculptors (Lamidi Fakeye), an interactive timeline (from pre-history, West African empires, to the present), society, metalworking, clay pottery and a master potter, an annotated bibliography. Uses Flash software; some captions are difficult to read. [KF] http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art - Mali Empire and Djenne Figures: Has photos of two terracotta figures, a short history, map, timeline, suggested classroom activities, readings, links to further web resources. http://www.nmafa.si.edu/educ/mali/

Sudan, Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile: Site describes a cd-rom sold by Sindibad Multimedia produced in association with the Institut du Monde Arab (Paris) and Editions Flammarion on the Sudan's history, culture, and society. Has English or French versions. http://www.sindibad.co.uk/multimedia/sudan.html

Torres, Leida I - "The Black Presence in Antiquity: a Selected Bibliography" by Leida I. Torres and Andrea Only: Bibliography of books, chapters in books, journal articles from Howard University's, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. [KF] http://www.founders.howard.edu/moorland-spingarn/Antiquit.htm

UNESCO. Africa Revisited: In English and French. About the "richness, the diversity, and the fragility" of Africa's cultural heritage. Includes Swahili culture (Lamu, Gede), Ethiopian Christianity, etc. Only brief descriptions. Lists World Heritage sites in Africa. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. [KF] http://www.unesco.org/whc/exhibits/afr_rev/toc.htm

UNESCO. Memory of Africa: UNESCO's presents its la M�moire virtuelle du Monde / Virtual Memory of the World program for the preservation of archival and library holdings world-wide. http://www.unesco.org/webworld/africa/africa.htm; Features:
Eritrea: Ancient Manuscripts -14th-15th century manuscripts, with beautiful illustrations (click on the blue magnifying glass image). http://www.unesco.org/webworld/africa/eritree2.htm

UNESCO World Heritage Sites: "The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage... agreement, signed to date by more than 150 States Parties, was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. Its primary mission is to define and conserve the world's heritage, by drawing up a list of sites whose outstanding values should be preserved for all humanity and to ensure their protection through a closer co-operation among nations."
Africa sites are in Benin (Royal Palaces of Abomey), Egypt, Ethiopia (Lalibela, Aksum), Ghana, Mali (Djenne, Timbuktu), Mauritania (11-12th c. trading centres), Tanzania (Kilwa), Zimbabwe (Great Zimbabwe, Khami): http://www.unesco.org/whc/nwhc/pages/sites/maplist/africa.htm; World Heritage page: http://www.unesco.org/whc/nwhc/pages/home/pages/index.htm

Unfolding the Mystery of Timbuktu - Ginny White: "In this historical geography unit, students follow the changes in the ancient African city of Timbuktu from its founding to today." For Grade 6. Part of the Geographic Education and Technology Program, of the the "Florida Geographic Alliance, a professional organization affiliated with the National Geographic Society...and housed at the Florida State University within the Institute of Science and Public Affairs." http://getp.freac.fsu.edu/fga/academy/aftimb.htm

West Africa Historical and Contemporary Maps: Four maps showing ancient empires and contemporary maps of West Africa, Africa, Ghana; source of maps not given. On C. K. Ladzekpo's African Music and Dance web site. http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu/~ladzekpo/maps.html

Wide Horizon Education Resources - Ancient Civilization of Kush: Lesson plan on Kush for middle school students (from a newsletter, Wide Horizon, Nov. 1999) produced by Wide-Horizon Education Resources, San Diego, Calif. WER, headed by Dr. David Mollet. Uses the Waldorf approach to education. Has an article about the lesson plan from Social Studies Review and a 1998 outline by Mollet of his workshop on Kush. http://members.aol.com/WERedu/Kush.html

Wonders of the African World - Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: Site for the Public Broadcasting Service TV series. Covers Black Pharaohs, Nubia / Kush, Meroe, Gedi, the Swahili People, Zanzibar, the Ashanti and Dahomey (Benin) Kingdoms, Aksum, Gondar, the Churches of Lalibela, the Dogon, Grand Mosque of Djenne, Empires of Mali & Ghana, the Tuareg, Great Zimbabwe, a 1,000 year old South African city - Mapangubwe, the Shona People, etc. Site based on the TV programs hosted by Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Harvard Univ.) Includes a kids' activity page, teachers' lesson plans, audio clips. [KF] http://www.pbs.org/wonders/; For comments on H-Africa about the TV series, see: http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~africa/threads/index.html#Films Page down to "Wonders of the African World". Includes comments by Prof. Ali Mazrui and a reply by Prof. Gates. For Mazrui's comments see also http://www.binghamton.edu/igcs/html/academic.htm#on-line

Africa Update (Central Connecticut State University) Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter 2000 on the debate. http://www.ccsu.edu/AFSTUDY/updtWin2k.htm

Aubrey, Lisa - "Wondering about Wonders: Africa, African-Americans, and Henry Louis Gates" http://www.ohiou.edu/toguna/spring2001/lisa_gates.htm

West Africa Review, Special issues of the e-journal on the TV series.
Vol. 1, No. 2, Jan. 2000. http://www.westafricareview.com/war/vol1.2/1.2war.htm
Vol. 1, No. 2a, March 2000. http://www.westafricareview.com/war/vol1.2/vol1.2a/1.2awar.htm

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