A PRESENTATION ON AFRICA AND AMERICA

Ghana Empire

Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire (existed before c. 830 until c. 1235) was
located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, and Western Mali. Complex societies had existed in the region since about 1500 BCE, and around Ghana's core region since about 300 CE. When Ghana's ruling dynasty began is uncertain, it is first mentioned in documentary sources around 830 CE by Al-

Kwarizmi. The domestication of the camel, which preceded Muslims and Islam by several centuries, brought about a gradual change in trade, and for the first time,

the extensive gold, ivory trade, and salt resources of the region could be sent north
and east to population centers in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.

Economy Most of our information about the economy of Ghana comes from merchants, and therefore we know more about the commercial aspects of its economy, and less about the way in which the rulers and nobles may have obtained agricultural products through tribute or taxation.

The empire became wealthy because of their trading. They had an abundant amount of
gold and salt. Al-Bakri noted that merchants had to pay a one gold dinar tax on imports of salt, and two on exports of salt. Other products paid fixed dues, al-Bakri mentioned both copper and "other goods." Imports probably included products such as textiles, ornaments and other materials. Many of the hand-crafted leather goods found in old Morocco may also had their origins in the empire. The main centre of trade was Koumbi Saleh.

Koumbi Saleh The empire's capital is believed to have been at Koumbi Saleh on the rim of the Sahara desert. According to the description of the town left by Al-Bakri in 1067/1068, the capital was actually two cities six miles apart but "between these two towns are continuous habitations", so that they might be said to have merged into one.

El Ghaba Section
According to al-Bakri, the major part of the city was called El-Ghaba and was the residence of the king. It was protected by a stone wall and functioned as the royal and spiritual capital of the Empire.

Archaeology A 17th century chronicle written in Timbuktu, the Tarikh al-fattash, gives the name of the

capital as "Koumbi". Beginning in the 1920s, French archaeologists began excavating

the site of Koumbi-Saleh, although there have always been controversies about the location of Ghana's capital and whether Koumbi-Saleh is the same town as the one described by al-Bakri. The site was excavated in 1949-50 by Thomassey and Mauny and by another French team in 1975-1981. However, the remains of Koumbi Saleh are impressive, even if the remains of the royal town, with its large palace and burial mounds has not been located.

Maya Civilization The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fullydeveloped written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to AD 250), according to the Mesoamerica chronology, many Maya cities reached their highest state of development during the Classic period (c. AD 250 to 900), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish.

Geographical extent The Maya civilization extended throughout the present-day southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatn Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatn. The Maya area also extended throughout the northern Central American region, including the present-day nations of Guatemala, Belize, northern El Salvador and western Honduras. The Classic period (c. AD 250900) witnessed the peak of large-scale construction and urbanism, the recording of monumental inscriptions, and a period of significant intellectual and artistic development, particularly in the southern lowland regions. They developed an agriculturally intensive, city-centered empire consisting of numerous independent citystates. This includes the well-known cities of Tikal, Palenque, Copn and Calakmul, but also the lesser known Dos Pilas, Uaxactun, Altun Ha, and Bonampak, among others.

Uxmal, Nunnery Quadrangle

The Maya collapse The Maya centers of the southern lowlands went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly thereafter. This decline was coupled with a

cessation of monumental inscriptions and large-scale architectural construction.

Non-ecological theories of Maya decline are divided into several subcategories, such as overpopulation, foreign invasion, peasant revolt, and the collapse of key trade routes. Ecological hypotheses include environmental disaster, epidemic disease, and climate change.

Mayan Arts

Maya art of their Classic Era (c. 250 to 900 CE) is of a high level of aesthetic and
artisanal sophistication. The carvings and the reliefs made of stucco at Palenque and the statuary of Cop, show a grace and accurate observation of the human form that reminded early archaeologists of Classical civilizations of the Old World, hence the name bestowed on this era.

Mayan Architecture Maya architecture spans many thousands of years; yet, often the most dramatic and easily recognizable as Maya are the stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-

classic period and beyond. There are also cave sites that are important to the
Maya. These cave sites include Jolja Cave, the cave site at Naj Tunich, the Candelaria Caves, and the Cave of the Witch. There are also cave-origin myths among the Maya. Some cave sites are still used by the modern Maya in the Chiapas highlands. It has been suggested that temples and pyramids were remodeled and rebuilt every fifty-two years in synchrony with the Maya Long Count Calendar.

Urban design As Maya cities spread throughout the varied geography of Mesoamerica, site planning appears to have been minimal. Maya architecture tended to integrate a great degree of natural features, and their cities were built somewhat haphazardly as dictated by the topography of each independent location.

North Acropolis, Tikal, Guatemala

Ballcourt at Tikal, Guatemala

At the heart of the Maya city were large plazas surrounded by the most important governmental and religious buildings, such as the royal acropolis, great pyramid

temples and occasionally ball-courts. Though city layouts evolved as nature dictated,
careful attention was placed on the directional orientation of temples and observatories so that they were constructed in accordance with Maya interpretation of the orbits of the heavenly bodies.

Building materials A surprising aspect of the great Maya structures is their lack of many advanced technologies seemingly necessary for such constructions. Lacking draft animals necessary for wheel-based modes of transportation, metal tools and even pulleys, Maya architecture required abundant manpower. Yet, beyond this enormous requirement, the

remaining materials seem to have been readily available. All stone for Maya structures
appears to have been taken from local quarries. Notable constructions

Main palace of Palenque, 7th Century AD

Governor's Palace rear view and details,10th Century AD Uxmal

Like the Aztec and Inca who came to power later, the Maya believed in a cyclical nature of time. The rituals and ceremonies were very closely associated with celestial and terrestrial cycles which they observed and inscribed as separate calendars. The Maya priest had

the job of interpreting these cycles and giving a

prophetic outlook on the future or past based on the number relations of all their calendars. They also had to determine if the heavens were propitious for performing certain religious ceremonies. Maya numerals

New year ritual, Dresden Codex

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