ACS 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Niger River, Urban Sprawl, African Empires
3 May 2018
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Monday, April 2, 2018
Djennè-Djeno (Jenne-Jeno): Western Africa Clusters
ACS210 !
Djenne
-Located in Western Africa.!
-Specifically the country of Mali.!
-Located in modern-day Djenne but also called Old Djenne.!
-Home to a number of African Empires. Ghana, Mali, Songhai Empires did trade
within the Sub-Saharan Trade System to and from the coast of the Atlantic and
Mediterranean. !
-Known for its manuscripts and epic poems, caravans of camels (leather, gold, ostrich
feathers). !
-So influential due to the arrival of Islam. Come to think these major cites came to
arrive due to Islam. !
-Recent discoveries however show evidence of settlements along the Niger River. The
establishment of a pre-Islamic civilizations 3km north of Djenne and made up of
500km of the river.!
-Densely packed urban civilization. !
-Beginning in 1977, there has been evidence of densely packed urban civilization
dating back to the 4th century BCE. Had specialization of jobs and conducted close
and long distance trade. !
-Series of communities that lasted for 1700 years.!
-Found a huge mound near modern-day Djenne. !
•Elevated above the flood boundary as the Niger would regularly flood. !
•Found a series of contiguous villages that had specialized occupations (Smith
Villages, etc) with very little evidence of human conflict (no walls, soldiers).!
•Maybe separate ethnic groups?!
•Discrete communities but slight boundaries of space. !
•Does not have evidence of a centralized authority (no monumental architecture). !
-Further evidence shows evidence of an urban sprawl surrounding these mounds. !
-Did not have writing until North Africans came with Arabic script. Did spread
information orally. !
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