Early Social Complexity in Sub-Saharan Africa Flashcards
what: Sub-Saharan isolation
Sahara desert creates a 9.4 million sq km (3.6 million sq. mi) of hostile environment
when: trans-Saharan trade
100 AD
why: trans-Saharan trade
introduction of domesticated camel
what: indigenous domesticates
yams, millets, sorghum, African rice, watermelon, oil palm, teff
what: Jenne-Jeno
one of the earliest urban centers in Sub-Saharan Africa
where: Jenne-Jeno
located in present day Mali, by the banks of the Niger River
when: Jenne-Jeno first settled
200 BC; small village 3-4 hectares
when: Jenne-Jeno increases to 25 hectares
4th century AD; herding, fishing and plant cultivation
when: Jenne-Jeno increases to 33 hectares
9th century AD; 2 km city wall, other settlements abandoned
what: Jenne-Jeno shops
blacksmith and coppersmith
what: Jenne-Jeno trade
salt, iron and slaves
who: excavated Jenne-Jeno
Susan and Roderick McIntosh
what: Jenne-Jeno social order
heterarchy, power distributed more horizontally
what: Timbuktu
a later urban settlement that becomes a commercial center
when: Timbuktu
14th century CE to 17th century CE
