Everything Flashcards
What is the significance of Charles Darwin in relation to Africa and when does he make these claims?
(1859) Darwin asserts humanity’s origins are probably in Africa, a highly controversial claim.
When happened between 10 and 5 million years ago in relation to human history?
Hominims moved from a contracting rainforest to the open grass and woodlands of East Africa
What happened between 5 and 1.5 million years ago in relation to human history?
Australopithecus, the first “tool user”, emerges
What happened roughly 2.5 million years ago in relation to human history?
Homo habilis, the first “tool maker” emerges. Their tools are called “Oldowan” after the Olduvai valley gorge in Kenya.
What happened between 1.6 and 1.8 million years ago in relation to human history?
Homo erectus emerged, initiating the “Acheulean” era of finely ground stone tools.
What happened around 600,000 years ago?
Homo heidelbergensis supplanted homo erectus. The homo heidelbergensis that migrated northward and into Europe became Neanderthals. Those that remained in Africa became modern humans.
What happened 300,000 years ago?
By 300,000 years ago Homo heidelbergensis had the same cranial capacity as modern humans.
What happened 200,000 years ago?
The first modern humans “homo sapiens sapiens” emerged.
What happened 90,000 years ago?
By 90,000 years ago modern humans were all over Africa
What happened 60,000 years ago?
By 60,000 years ago modern humans had spread to parts of Europe and western Asia.
What happened 12,000 years ago?
By 12,000 years ago modern humans occupied all major parts of the globe.
What significant event in agriculture had occurred by 11,000 b.c.?
By 11,000 B.C. the ancestors of the Afro-Asiatic language group were harvesting and grinding grain in the Nile Valley. Their culture spread Northwards through Egypt and into Western Asia.
What significant event in agriculture occurred between seven and eight thousand B.C.?
Between seven and 8,000 B.C. wheat and barley were domesticated in the Fertil Crescent of Africa , Egypt and Western Asia.
What was the significance of Fayum, Merimdeh and Luxor/Thebes in the history of agriculture and where were these sites located?
These were the first known major sites of large-scale production of domesticated grain for consumption. They were located in Egypt.
What years are associated with the Gerzean people and what is known about this Nile Valley culture?
The Gerzean culture flourished in 8,000 B.C. and was characterized by the use of stone tools and the habitation of village complexes.
When did the Baddarian culture flourish and what is known about them?
The Baddarian culture flourished around 5,000 B.C. they were known for burying their dead with their heads pointed South and their faces pointed West.
When did the Naqada culture flourish and what is known about them?
The Naqada culture flourished around 4,000 B.C. They are known for their advanced arts as evidenced by finely crafted poverty and their belief in the transmigration of souls as evidenced by their practice of burying their dead with their earthly possessions.
What kind of information is contained in the Edwin Smith Papyrus and what year does it date from?
The Edwin Smith Papyrus (1600-1500) contains mention of over 200 diseases, knowledge of circulation, and primitive brain surgery known as trephaning.
The Ebers Papyrus also contains medical information, when does it date from.
1550 B.C.
What comments did Homer make about Egyptian medical knowledge? Between roughly what years did Homer live?
Homer (850-800 B.C.e) said that the Egyptians were “the first in medicine”
What is significant about the Egyptian method of political organization? Why does it inspire the respect of historians?
The Egyptian civilizations sustained 30 dynasties over a period of more than 3000 years. The Nasut or Pharoah was considered a son of RA was respected as divine. the populace was relatively affluent and stable.
What are some of the characteristic qualities of Egyptian spirituality?
Ressurection, judgement after death, a reverence and responsibility for nature, a belief in the necessity of care of the poor and needy, a respect for posterity/eternity, a belief in the essentiality of service.
What is significant about the Narrative of the Sage, Djedi?
It contains a message about the importance of speaking truth to power, especially in cases concerned with the sanctity of human life.
Where in ancient Egyptian spiritual texts is the “Breath of Life, that animates and creates human beings mentioned?
The Book of Kheti
What word refers to the creation of men and women in the image of God, when does the earliest recorded mention of this concept date from?
Senen Netcher (2140 B.c)
What is the concept of Ma’at?
Ma’at is the divine principle of balance that characterizes the egyptian worldview. It calls for harmony between the political/social apparatus, nature and the spiritual world
What is istet?
The opposite of Ma’at: disorder/chaos
What is serudj ta?
The moral imperative to constantly refresh, restore and repair the world.
What is Gerumaa
The self-mastered person.
What are some examples of Egyptian architectural genius that are admired by historians?
The temples at Luxor, Memphis, Thebes
What is the origin of “Man Know thyself?”
Kemet. In the outer temple at Luxor it is inscribed, “the body is the house of god” In the inner temple it says “MAn know thyself for by knowing yourself you may know the gods”
What is the text that Egyptians were supposed to recite when they were submitted to judgment in the afterlife?
The Negative Confessions. 42
“I have not polluted the waters”
What evidence in the Illiad and the Odyssey supports the idea that the ancient Greeks had a reverence for African culture?
The mention of the Gods going once a year to feast with “the blameless Ethiopians”
What Greek Gods were connected with Libya?
Athena, Dionysus. Demeter were said to hail from Libya. (The goddess of Grain) was also associated with Libya
What older Gods were connected with Ethiopia?
Eos (Daughter of the Dawn), Selene(moon deity, daughter of a titan), Helios (sun deity, brother of Selene)
What comments did Aristotle make about people with skin of “too black a hue” What examples did he give? What text and when?
Aristotle (400 B.C.) in physiognomy said that people like the Egyptians and Ethiopian whose skin was of “too black a hue” wer cowards. “Tawny” skin was ideal
What innovations did Herodotus credit to the Egyptians?
Herodotus said that the Egyptians were the first to define the solar year and divide it into 12 months as well as the origination of the pantheon of twelve gods and the devotion of altars and images to them.
What did Herodotus say about the phenotype of ancient Egyptians? In what text and when?
In Histories (5th century B.C.) Herodotus said the Egyptians had “black skin and woolly hair”
Who was Narmer/Aha/ Menes?
Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt in 3100, thus originating the ancient kingdom of Egypt. Statue records indicate that he was Black
Who was Nasut Huni
Nasut Huni (2700) was a pharoah who’s statue was found with the nose and lips smashed off.
What, In addition to the Nile, did the ancient egyptians revere most
The sun
Who was Tutmosis 111
(1490-1436) Conquered Palestine and Syria and expanded the empire to the Euphrates river. His mother was Sudanese
Who was Akehenaten?
Akhenaten (1352-1334) was the first to advocate montheism, he revered the God Aten. His mother was the Black “commoner” Queen Tiye
What were the years of the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and New Kindom, respectively?
3100-2200
2040-1670
1570-1100
What followed the New Kindom?
The third intermediate period and the Late Kingdom.
What year did the Hyksos invade? What was significant about the invasion?
1670-1500
They used bronze weapons and chariots. The invasion led to the Egyptians developing a standing army
What year did the Hittites invade
Egypt fought a war with the Hittites (from the region of modern day Turkey) around 1200 B.C. This resulted in a limited invasion of Egypt
What year did the Kushites (Ethiopians invade)
730 B.C. They ruled for 60 years
By what point had the ruler Sammeticus begun relying heavily on Greek mercenaries?
The seventh century B.C.
When did the Assyrians invade?
670 B.C.
When did the Persians invade?
525
When did Alexanders Pteolemaic Dyansty invade
333-300
When did the Romans take over?
30 B.C.
When did the Arabs invade
641 A.d.
When did the French under Napoleon invade?
1799 A.D.
When did the British invade
- Ruled until 1953
In whose tomb was found a chart depicting the different racial categories recognized by the Egyptians? What were the categories?
Ramses (1200 B.C) Black Egyptians, other Black Africans, Semites, and Indo-Europeans
Waht was found in Saquara, the Temple of the Doctoar? What year did it date from?
2345-2181
A depiction of circumcision in which the doctors were darker than those being circumcised.
What was Found in the Tomb of King Tut relating to race? What year?
1242-1233
A depiction of Nubian and Semitic POWs
Who conquered Syria and palestine
Tutmosis 3
Who was the first to propose monotheism
Akhenatrn
Where were the circumcision pictures found?
Saqqara
The tomb of the doctor
In what year did the ancestors of the Afroasiatic lnaguage group start have sting and grinding grains in the Nile valley?
100 B.C.
What are the names of the first sites of large scale agricultural production
Datum
Merimdeh
Luxor/Thebes
