Notice: This is the official website of the All Empires History Community (Reg. 10 Feb 2002)

  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Register Register  Login Login

Comprehensive history of the continent

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Tk101 View Drop Down
Knight
Knight
Avatar

Joined: 18-Apr-2007
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 60
  Quote Tk101 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Comprehensive history of the continent
    Posted: 28-Oct-2008 at 16:27
Well i have been away from some time busy with college but i plan to stop by once in while at the many forums at AE.
Anyway, it think its quite sad to notice how little attention this section of the Forums receives. Intuitive and intriguing conversations  and debates are all but a hollow echo here.  I can understand some people's interest in other regions of the world ( i love to read about the middle ages Europe and southwest asia for example) but i suppose it would be nice to engage in some dialogue dealing with the many events that occured during through the flow of time. I have always found it to be amazing to know that even though humans have spent most of there existence in africa, we know very little about what happened and its history. I suppose it can be argued that nothing signifcant occured there and that it would be a waste of time to find out. but i would make a plea to reconsider.  What little research that has been done yeilds a wide range of information. Anything from the vast trading networks across the continent to the dozen or so civilizations that have existed there. From the yet undeciphered Merotic scripts to the mystery of the Dogon's astronomical knowledge. I guess my point would be to try it (reading about it) you may become fasinated by it.
 
also, i notice once in a while when topics regarding anything africa which involves race is brought up, that 19th and 20th century racial dogma comes up ( usually physical anthropological in nature). Does the conversation really have to degenerate into that kind of tone?
 
moving along i have came across a site by the BBC on  its brief review of the many peoples regions and civilizations that has existed there. Past to present.
 
 
I'm also interested in reading about the Swahili coastal city states such as Kilwa, so if anyone knows anything about it please recommend some reading...
 
thanks
 
cheers
there is only one truth
- Conan
[IMG]http://www.architecture.org/shop/images/402036lg.jpg[IMG]
Back to Top
beorna View Drop Down
General
General
Avatar

Joined: 03-Dec-2007
Location: Germany
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 925
  Quote beorna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-Oct-2008 at 23:22
A comprehensive history of a continent, of perhaps more than 120.000 years? That is very difficult. You should concentrate of special areas and times! Good luck.
Back to Top
Reginmund View Drop Down
Arch Duke
Arch Duke


Joined: 08-May-2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1943
  Quote Reginmund Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-Oct-2008 at 08:19
It'd be interesting if anyone could say something about the availability of written sources to the history of Sub-Saharan Africa prior to European colonisation. How much is preserved? Which civilizations do they stem from? And what period?
Back to Top
Tk101 View Drop Down
Knight
Knight
Avatar

Joined: 18-Apr-2007
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 60
  Quote Tk101 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-Oct-2008 at 17:50
Reginmund,I think it would be interesting to find out other written sources in regards to Pre Colonial era Africa, but i'm not sure where to find them. I have ideas at where to look. we know that the Swahili traders came in contact with india and china during the middle ages, perhaps some indian or chinese scholar or merchant wrote of these poeple. Another source that comes to mind is the libraries at Timbuktu, which from what i heard, have many books and or volumes but are spread around the world, mainly being owned by private collectors. However, there are still some books that remain and are being keep by the families that still reside in the area. One more source, one far older but hasn't been deciphered yet is merotic scripts. Deciphering them would give a unique window into that part of africa at that particulat time.   I'm not aware of how much of these older accounts and records remain nor how they are being preserved.  I would hope that they are still in good condition and readable.
 
From what i know about these civilizations, Mali had written scripts during the middle ages using arabic writing. however the malians did develop a sort of dialect in the their scripts.  and  then Perhaps the people of Meroe may have some accounts aorund 200 BC in their merotic writing system.
seen here
perhaps if and when their are deciphered we can read what they had to say, especially dealing with historical events.
 I have heard of other writing,  available here
 
 
 
 perhaps looking for possible translations of scripts in theses writing systems  can give us more accounts of what took place and when in SSA before the Imperialistic Era.
 
Beorna, indeed your are correct, i do intend to focus on  specific areas and times but i would like to cover a lot of ground when commencing research. I think i may start with the city state of Kilwa. I'm very fasnicated by their 2 story homes made of coral, their maritime trade throught the indian ocean and the alleged
"toilet or sewer system". Not sure how credible it is but it would be interesting to find out about it.


Edited by Tk101 - 29-Oct-2008 at 18:03
there is only one truth
- Conan
[IMG]http://www.architecture.org/shop/images/402036lg.jpg[IMG]
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.56a [Free Express Edition]
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz

This page was generated in 0.098 seconds.