History in Africa Before Europeans Essay

thither argon umpteen examples of great societies in Africa that stick enter narration and have had precise sophisticated societies for their time. There argon three societies in revealicular whose progressive communities have burst these Aryan set claims of rope-maker. spacious Zimbabwe, old-fashi unmatchedd gold coast, and the democracys of the Nile V unlessey have all sh decl be that they have a proper invoice that is headspring documented in the beginning the arrival of Europeans, indeed impeding on the Aryan stick that had been utilise when first coming to Africa. It is closely-valuable to understand theories of account statement to understand why Ropers statement of Africa having pocket-sized chronicle before Europeans is wrong.The Aryan mock up, states that Caucasians argon the top of the hierarchy of humans and subdued people or Africans are the lowest. This molding proved to the early Europeans that certain African groups could non have been black b eca habit they were ripe(p) and civilized cultures. Vasant states that The concept of racewas in the 19th and 20th centuries held to be the light upon not merely to the abilities of a more or lessbody or group, but an index to the pillow slip and potentials of that particular physical type, for all generations past, gravel and future (Vasant Kaiwar, Racism and the Writing of History, embark on I, 1989.Pg. 33). It is more plausible to refer to past theory, which states that essentially that Greeks recognized that their roots were in Africa. This put believes that Greece was settled ab show up 1500 B. C. E. by the Egyptians and Phoenicians. The Greeks mathematics, governmental dust, language, philosophy, writing and religion were all borrowed from African and Semitic sources. By this copy this essay should prove that the Aryan model of thought will be invalid. broad Zimbabwe had a very rich history before any influence of Europeans.There are two theories of the posterity o f them, unmatched organism that they were part of the Karanga, a weapon of the Shona-speaking people. Another is the may be descended from a community that lived less than a ampere-second miles away from broad Zimbabwe (Story of Africa, Great Zimbabwe). The Great Zimbabwe was prosperous iron-age fiat and had a wealth generated from cattle. This nation spread from the Limpopo River to the Zambezi. This was a gigantic area, spilling out into Botswana, Mozambique and northern South Africa.The most famous stone building in southern Africa was do there that is becalm standing. The Great Zimbabwe monument is reinforced out of granite which is the parent rock of the region. The building regularity used was dry-stone hem ining, demanding a high aim of masonry expertise. Some of the site is built flesh out natural rock formations. The actual social organization comprises a huge enclosing wall some 20 meters high (Great Zimbabwe). passim this structure there is circular passagew ays with enclosures for royalty. legion(predicate) objects are found throughout the structure, which let in battle axes, gold, and shrines.The Great Zimbabwe was an agrarian order of magnitude this put all conceits of the Aryan model down since it was thought that all Africans were hunter-gatherer societies. The Great Zimbabwe biggest wealth source was cattle and was the middle of an international and national commercial system (Great Zimbabwe). This trade network encompassed most of Africa as well as western part of India, and as far as China. antique gold coast is another example of a society with a documented history before the European era. They were a nation stacked with gold and literary and clerking skills.The antediluvian gold coastians are theorized to be descendants of a cluster of groups from modern Senegal who came together under a leader of semi- godlike status. The quaint Ghanaians had stuck with their traditional faith before some converting to Muslim and ot hers believing a sportsman of both. Traditionally a virgin would be sacrificed to the Black snake, capital of Qatar. This was until a man who was move to the intended victim rescued her and Bida took vengeance on the region by causing a terrible drouth (Story of Africa, antiquated Ghana).The reason this is chief(prenominal) is because up until the 12th century Ancient Ghana had an abundance of goats, sheep, and cows. After that only goats were common. This is an important part to understanding that Ancient Ghana does have its own history before Europeans because it is documented that this ritual sacrifice happened and that the ancient Ghanaians were a society that had grew from merely hunters and gathers to a trading agrarian society. The Ancient Ghanaians too made most of their wealth from gold. Al-Hamdani, describes Ghana as having the richest gold mines on earth.These were situate at Bambuk, on the upper Senegal River. The Soninke as well sold slaves, salt and copper, in veer for textiles, beads and finished goods (Ancient Ghana, GhanaHomePage). The Ancient Ghanaians were mining for gold much before the European intervention and creating a small imperium from this trade and most importantly creating a history of its own without European involvement. This leads into the utmost society and without a doubt has its own history without Europeans. This society is Ancient Egypt.Egypt has a long standing history and such an advanced society that Europeans would not believe that they were descendants of Africa. many Europeans believed that they were descendants of the lost city of Atlantis. Europeans complimented this theory by saying that Egyptians peel was light brown as conflicting to the rest of Africa with very dark fur. This was authentic until hieroglyphics were found of ruler named Piye who was a very dark skinned African from Numbia. On a relief in the temple at the Nubian capital of Napata, only Piyes legs remain.We are left with a ace phys ical detail of the mannamely, that his skin was dark (Robert Draper, Black Pharaohs, 2008. Pg. 1). Hieroglyphics are one of the earliest forms of writing in the world. They were used to record crop numbers, stories of the past, or the direct of the Nile River. They were also used to inscribe petitioner and record the feats and lineages of ruling families (The Story of Africa, The Nile Valley). This disproves Ropers statement of Africa not having a history before Europeans were involved in Africa because hieroglyphics were recorded and to this day still remain.Ancient Egypt had a very spiritual society made up of polytheistic gods. Many of the temples and pyramids were dedicated to these gods and some of them reaching up to 146. 5 meters in height. This was the tallest building for thousands of years, which made it hard for Europeans to believe that Africans could have built such magnificent structures that are now considered one of the wonders of the world. The construction of su ch buildings showed the Egyptians had an superior grasp of the principles of astronomy, mathematics and geometry (Story of Africa, The Nile Valley).Modern Egyptologist are coming up with new theories that are challenging the notion that the pyramids were built by slaves earlier than labourers. Zahir Hawass who is the director of the Pyramids believes that fewer than 25 thousand labourers were involved and that far from being slaves they were peasants who were well cared for and proud to take part in a national support, out of love and respect for their Pharaoh and his divine authority (Hawass, Nile Valley).This is also a notion of how European intervention has tried to use Egypts advancements against them, believing that the rulers were slave drivers rather than kings ruling over a kingdom. In conclusion, it is clear that Hugh Trevor-Ropers statement near Africa not having a history of its own before Europe arrived is false. There were innumerable societies and kingdoms in Afri ca that were advanced for his Aryan model of thinking. These societies were not hunter-gatherer societies but mostly agrarian. These kingdoms exploit for gold and traded cattle.Significant events were recorded in certain scribes or hieroglyphics thus carnal knowledge their own history before the incursion of Europeans. The Great Zimbabwe, Ancient Ghana, and Ancient Egypt are all great examples, but only three, of kingdoms in Africa that made their own history without European intervention. Bibliography 1. Ancient Ghana. (n. d. ). Ghana HomePage, imaging for News, Sports, Facts, Opinions, Business and Entertainment. Retrieved April 9, 2012, from http//www. ghanaweb. com/GhanaHomePage/history/ancient_ghana. hp 2. BBC domain of a function Service The Story of Africa. (n. d. ). BBC Homepage. Retrieved April 10, 2012, from http//www. bbc. co. uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/index. shtml 3. Robert Draper, Black Pharaohs, study Geographic Magazine (February 2008) 4. R eynolds, J. T. , & Gilbert, E. (2004). Africa in world history. Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson Educational. 5. Vasant Kaiwar, Racism and the Writing of History, Part I, comparative degree Studies of Asia, Africa and the Middle East 9, 2(1989) 32-56.