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[clrkrodriguez]

There have been many misconceptions about the lives of Africans before the advent of European and American colonization. According to some historians, Africans were nothing more than savages whose only contributions to the world were farming and slaves. This is not true. The history of ancient Africa is just as interesting, complex, and sophisticated as any other ancient civilization, yet almost without exception; it is only Egypt that receives any consideration at all when writing history. Because of this mentality, European and American historians have long espoused that Africa and its inhabitants had no culture or history of their own, except what was given to them by outside factors.

However, long before the colonization of Europeans, Africans built kingdoms and monuments that rivaled any European monarchy. Nevertheless, because of racial prejudice, much of Black African history has been distorted and ignored to give justification to the enslavement of millions for financial profit. This paper will be discussing the ancient African kingdoms of Meroë, Ghana, and the Swahili and their rich contributions to the pages of history.

The kingdom of Meroë started around 1000 BC when Nubian rulers built up a politically independent state known to the Egyptians as Kush. Eventually, the rulers of Kush would move to Nubia and establish the kingdom of Meroë (Davis & Gates, p. 30). These rulers established their capital at Meroë around 300 B.C., and the kingdom lasted there for more than nine centuries.
However, some historians feel that because Meroitic culture imitated the Egyptian culture so closely, the Meroitës brought no culture of their own to the pages of history. This is not true According to archaeological evidence discovered in North Sudan that is over 2,500 years old, there was an old civilization along the Nile River at lower and Upper Nubia (modern day Sudan) that was older than the civilizations in the North (Egypt). Also, there is evidence that proves that the known Old Egyptian Civilization was an advanced stage of an even older civilization located in the Sudan (Davis & Gates, p. 35).

This evidence proves that Meroë had a culture and history that was even older than of the Egyptians. If anything, Egypt was a carbon copy of Meroë. This kingdom also had its own language. Most historians however, attributed their language and alphabet system to the Egyptians. It was a common belief that ancient Black Africans could not and did not develop a written language. However, inscriptions in a distinct indigenous alphabet appear in Meroë as early as the 2nd century B.C, proving that these assumptions are not true (Davis & Gates, p. 110).
This written Meroitic language was used into the 5th century, when Old Nubian eventually replaced it. Widespread use of Meroitic on monuments indicates that a significant percentage of the population was able to read it. However, the meanings of these inscriptions remain unknown, as this hieroglyphic-derived script is as yet untranslatable.

[chris123]

I am really surprise to see here about this Africans history.I agree with you that Americans and European said there is no history of the Africa but it does not accept to my mind.Now here you have mention about this.It is really nice to see here.Can you give the links or reference of the book where from you have learn about this.I will wait for this.Thank you.

[anna27789]

Thanks for your post .

[has00san]

Great article on the African Civilization! I know the culture of Africa VERY well. I have been there several times. And assume that there is no place in the whole world like this.
LOVE the nightlife!

[sacredvoyage]

Hey hi,
You have provided a very good information on the topic......

Thanks for sharing this with us...

[za000in]

The African hunting safari will take you to some of the most primitive as well as modern places all across Africa. From the lush forests to the expansive savannas to the tumbling waterfalls to the lofty mountains there is a land of beauty as well as magnificence that awaits you providing you with the opportunity to hunt the best magnificent trophy animals in complete safety. The choices of African hunting safaris are many and you would like the South African safari that has a very spectacular landscape that is much appreciated all across the world. The plateaus of Zimbabwe and its intertwined hills and valleys provide hunters with good gaming opportunities. There is also Botswana with scrubby savannas and sandy basins as well as the great Kalahari Desert to provide varied game. The last frontier in Africa is certainly Tanzania which has the Rift Valley as well as vast plains that add a different dimension to the African hunting safari. And, if you wish to go great cat hunting, then take the African hunting safari in Zambia which has flat hills as well as huge valleys that have many of these creatures waiting for you to aim at. You can shoot with your gun, or with your camera and the safari gives you the opportunity to shoot different big game including the lion, elephant, leopard as well as antelopes, hippos, giraffes and a whole lot more. You will also find the aardwolf as well as zebra in your sights on a safari. You will certainly love it as you bounce on the back of an old jeep in your search for big game including elephants, tigers, gazelles as well as rhinoceroses. Since these animals are usually not found in captivity seeing them live is a big thrill in itself. Also, such safaris have undergone a sea change and they are not all about killing animals, since many of them are protected. The photographer is more welcome and the excitement is the same. You might choose to go for a night hunting safari so that you can catch nocturnal animals such as lions, or you may choose to go in a small group aboard a jeep, or be one amongst a large group. You may have to spend the nights in tent villages which mean that often you don't have to venture too far out to see the animals graze. In any case, your guide would know all the watering holes as well as places where to track animals that you are interested. Check with them and they'll most willing to give you good advice.

[liza01]

South Africa is rich in fossil evidence of the evolutionary history of the human family, going back several million years. From the discovery of the skull of a Taung child in 1924 to the latest discoveries of hominid fossils at Sterkfontein caves, recently declared a World Heritage Site, and the ground-breaking work done at Blombos Cave in the Southern Cape - all have put South Africa at the forefront of paleontology research into the origins of humanity.

[intutive]

Europeans and Arabs alike have portrayed the history of the Swahili kingdom as one of Muslim-Arab domination, with the African people and its rulers playing a passive role in the process. However, recent archaeological evidence found shows that the Swahili people are descendants of the Bantu speaking people who settled along the East African coast in the first millennium (Horton & Middleton, p. 70). Although both Arabians and Persians intermarried with the Swahili, neither of these cultures had anything to do with the establishment of Swahili civilization. These cultures became absorbed into an already flourishing African civilization founded by ancient Bantu Africans.

[jamesbond]

I prevent you guys of taking too fast approach to the issue.

Most of subsaharan Africa around 1100 AD were agricultural, had metallurgy (very advanced iron metallurgy) and had built or were building advanced states in several large areas: Western and Central Sudan, Horn of Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Kongo.

Actually, developed areas such as the Niger valley had a several millenia agricultural tradition at the time of the Roman Empire, and was developing iron technology nearly at the same time that the Mediterranean were doing so.

[Alyy]

I am really surprise to see here about this Africans history.I agree with you that Americans and European said there is no history of the Africa but it does not accept to my mind.Now here you have mention about this.It is really nice to see here.Can you give the links or reference of the book where from you have learn about this.I will wait for this.Thank you.



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