Misplaced Pages

#385614

98-619: The Tichitt tradition , or Tichitt culture , was created by proto- Mande peoples , namely the ancestors of the Soninke people . In 4000 BCE, the start of sophisticated social structure (e.g., trade of cattle as valued assets) developed among herders amid the Pastoral Period of the Sahara. Saharan pastoral culture (e.g., fields of tumuli, lustrous stone rings, axes) was intricate. By 1800 BCE, Saharan pastoral culture expanded throughout

196-463: A lasso , bow , or shield; man using a throwing weapon on an oryx; man sitting on a saddled ox; person holding a basket). The depiction of the man arriving back from hunting an oryx likely occurred when the landscape was still a savanna , as indicated by the depiction of three trotting giraffes with a common heading. Akin to the Y-symbol associated with the hunting cultures of the Sahara and Nile ,

294-524: A calf, sheep, goats, two large ostriches ) that date to the Late Stone Age . Dating was confirmed by bones from a hippopotamus (2290±110 BP) and a few white rhinoceros (4000 BP – 2400 BP). A notable attribute of the Dhar Tichitt rock art is the large depiction of a bull, which, due to its value in agropastoral life as a form of wealth, may have had symbolic and/or religious significance for

392-405: A failure to understand the links between urban life and urban infrastructure networks. Douglas Kelbaugh identifies three paradigms within urbanism: New Urbanism , Everyday Urbanism , and Post-Urbanism. Paul L. Knox refers to one of many trends in contemporary urbanism as the " aestheticization of everyday life ". Alex Krieger states that urban design is less a technical discipline than

490-610: A feature of the Tichitt cultural tradition as early as 3rd millennium BCE in Dhar Tichitt. As part a broader trend of iron metallurgy in the West African Sahel in 1st millennium BCE, iron items (350 BCE – 100 CE) were found at Dhar Tagant, iron metalworking and/or items (800 BCE – 400 BCE) were found at Dia Shoma and Walaldé, and iron remnants (760 BCE – 400 BCE) were found at Bou Khzama and Djiganyai. The iron materials found are evidence of metalworking at Dhar Tagant. In

588-548: A four-tiered hierarchal social structure, farming of cereals , metallurgy , numerous funerary tombs, and a rock art tradition. At Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata, pearl millet may have also been independently tamed amid the Neolithic . Dhar Tichitt, which includes Dakhlet el Atrouss, may have served as the primary regional center for the multi-tiered hierarchical social structure of the Tichitt Tradition, and

686-401: A four-tiered hierarchical social structure, farming of cereals, metallurgy , numerous funerary tombs, and a rock art tradition. At Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata, pearl millet may have also been independently domesticated amid the Neolithic . Dhar Tichitt, which includes Dakhlet el Atrouss, may have served as the primary regional center for the multi-tiered hierarchical social structure of

784-423: A higher status than both their nomadic and more settled compatriots. Many Mandé-speaking ethnic groups' cultures traditionally have castes of crafts people (including as blacksmiths, leatherworkers, potters, and woodworkers/woodcarvers) and bards (the latter being known in several European languages as griots ). These craft and bardic castes are collectively called " nyamakala " among peoples of Manding branch of

882-623: A large enclosure for cattle, and monumental architecture as an aspect of its funerary culture , such as hundreds of tumuli nearby. Along with Akrejit, it also features foundations for granaries. Engraved and painted Pastoral rock art relating to the agropastoralists of Dhar Tichitt, characterized by dark patina and developed using hammerstones only or hammerstones used with a lithic or metal implement, were composed of various rock artforms (e.g., humans/ herders , domesticated and undomesticated animals, walled compounds , symbols – cattle, oxen, two ox carts being pulled by oxen, cows with udders,

980-399: A possible late period, involving a funerary tomb with a chapel at Foum el Hadjar from 1st millennium CE and wadis with evidence of crocodiles. As part of a broader trend of iron metallurgy developed in the West African Sahel amid 1st millennium BCE, iron items (350 BCE – 100 CE) were found at Dhar Tagant, iron metalworking and/or items (800 BCE – 400 BCE) were found at Dia Shoma and Walaldé, and

1078-639: A result of decisions "enforced for the benefit of the community as a whole." The urban Tichitt Tradition may have been the earliest large-scale, complexly organized society in West Africa, and an early civilization of the Sahara , which may have served as the segue for state formation in West Africa. Consequently, state-based urbanism in the Middle Niger and the Ghana Empire developed between

SECTION 10

#1732765145386

1176-606: A semicircular shape around the Hodh/ Aoukar Depression, which, prior to 4000 BCE, was an area with lakes of considerable size, and, after 1000 BCE, was an area that had become increasingly dried. During the emergence of the Tichitt Tradition, it was an oasis area. After 4500 BP, the Malian Lakes Region, around Lake Fati, underwent aridification; thereafter, Megalake Timbuktu, which at its height reached depths of 264 meters in 3900 BP, developed from

1274-664: A walled enclosure ranging between nine and fourteen hectares. At Dhar Nema, there are also stilted granaries, pottery , and tools used for milling . At Dhar Walata and Dhar Tichitt, copper was also used. Tichitt culture may have also made cultural contributions (e.g., architecture , ceramics ) to Garamantian culture, which was then subsequently reconstrued and innovated by Garamantes as these contributions were incorporated into Garamantian culture. The people of Tichitt culture crafted (e.g., arrows, arrowheads, grindstones, quartz beads, scrapers) in workshops as well as farmed and penned livestock, fished, and hunted . A primary feature of

1372-401: A woman who has on a small tunic . The rock art of Dhar Walata may depict a cart being drawn forward by an ox, a man who with a tunic on that extends over part of his legs, and a man with an elongated staff that may be used as a projectile and a shield. Two human skeletal remains were found at Dhar Walata. Though one is undated, based on the date of the other human skeletal remains found nearby,

1470-477: Is a wide variety of different theories and approaches to the study of urbanism. However, in some contexts internationally, urbanism is synonymous with urban planning , and urbanist refers to an urban planner . The term urbanism originated in the late nineteenth century with the Spanish civil engineer Ildefons Cerdà , whose intent was to create an autonomous activity focused on the spatial organization of

1568-631: Is a word used by the Manding, a Mandé-speaking people (e.g., Mandinka), originally to describe the tensions between half-brothers with the same father and different mothers. The concept of fadenya has been stretched and is often used to describe the political and social dynamism of the Mandé world. Fadenya is often discussed in contrast to badenya , or mother-childness. Amongst the Mandinka, Soninke and Susu Mandé-speaking ethnic groups' cultures, history

1666-448: Is arguably the most complex chordophone of Africa. The N'goni is the ancestor of the modern banjo , and is also played by jelis. Griots are professional bards in northern West Africa, keepers of their great oral epic traditions and history. They are trusted and powerful advisors of Mandinka leaders. Among the most celebrated of these today are Toumani Diabate , Mamadou Diabate , and Kandia Kouyaté . Urbanism Urbanism

1764-685: Is believed to have been abandoned and moved to its current location due to the spread of Islam and the building of the Great Mosque of Djenné . Towns similar to Djenné-Jeno also developed at the site of Dia , also in Mali along the Niger River, from around 900 BC. Considerable commonalities, absent in modern North African cultures, are present and able to be found between Round Head paintings and modern Sub-Saharan African cultures. Modern Saharan ceramics are viewed as having clear likenesses with

1862-1099: Is dated to 3930 ± 80 BP. In the late period of the Tichitt Tradition at Dhar Néma, domesticated pearl millet was used to temper the tuyeres of a oval-shaped low shaft furnace; this furnace was one out of 16 iron furnaces located on elevated ground. Iron metallurgy may have developed before the second half of 1st millennium BCE, as indicated by pottery dated between 800 BCE and 200 BCE. At Dhar Nema , domesticated pearl millet imprints in pottery have been dated between 1750 BCE and 1500 BCE. The engraved Pastoral rock art of Dhar Néma borders Dhar Walata. The rock art of Dhar Néma, Dhar Walata, and Dhar Tichitt bear cultural/artistic commonalities (e.g., cattle, engraving methods) with one another. While there are more quadruped depictions than anthropomorphic depictions at Dhar Néma, there are more anthropomorphic depictions found at Dhar Nema than at Dhar Walata or Dhar Tichitt. The Neolithic rock art of Dhar Néma portrays various animal depictions (e.g., cattle, oryxes , giraffes), including anthropomorphic figures (e.g., men; women; man sitting on an ox with

1960-406: Is intended for teaching or rehearsing, and the other is more official, intended to convey the important information to a large audience. Part of the teaching performance involves the presentation of gifts from clans involved in the epic. The official version can use a musical instrument; it does not allow audience interruptions. Different Mandé clans play different instruments in their performances of

2058-410: Is its networked character, as opposed to segregated conceptions of space (i.e. zones , boundaries and edges). Stephen Graham and Simon Marvin argue that we are witnessing a post-urban environment where decentralized, loosely connected neighborhoods and zones of activity assume the former organizing role played by urban spaces. Their theory of splintering urbanism involves the "fragmentation of

SECTION 20

#1732765145386

2156-440: Is necessary to stop 'identify[ing] urbanism with the physical entity of the city', go 'beyond an arbitrary boundary line ' and consider how 'technological developments in transportation and communication have enormously extended the urban mode of living beyond the confines of the city itself.' Gabriel Dupuy applied network theory to the field of urbanism and suggests that the single dominant characteristic of modern urbanism

2254-458: Is passed orally, one famous instance being the Epic of Sundiata of the Mandinka. Among the Mandinka, and some closely related groups, teaching centers known as kumayoro teach the oral histories and techniques under keepers of tradition known as nyamankala . These nyamankala form an important part of Mandinka culture due to their role in preserving oral tradition. Kela school, the most notable,

2352-408: Is supportive evidence for cattle bearing ritualistic significance for the people of Dhar Tichitt. At Dhar Walata, in the courtyard of nearby houses, enclosed, erected turriform gardens have been found, the earliest of which dates between 1894 cal BCE and 1435 cal BCE. Hoes and fish hooks made of bone were also found. Stone slabs may have been used as a ballast to avert the entry of animals into

2450-459: Is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities , interact with the built environment . It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning , a profession focusing on the design and management of urban areas, and urban sociology , an academic field which studies urban life. Many architects , planners , geographers , and sociologists investigate the way people live in densely populated urban areas . There

2548-476: Is vital in perpetuating oral tradition. Because of their strong work, the versions of the Sundiata epic tend to be fairly similar. The Kela version is considered the official one, and the epic is performed every seven years. The Kela version includes a written document called a tariku . This intersection of written and oral history is unique to Mandinka culture. The epic is typically performed in two ways: one

2646-1118: The Holocene Climate Optimum , the pastoralists had become agropastoralists and had established the Tichitt tradition in the Mauritanian settlement areas of Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, and Dhar Néma, based on a hierarchical economy composed of pastoralism, agriculture (e.g., millet), and stonemasonry (e.g., architecture). In the Sahelian region of West Africa, the corded roulette ceramics of the Tichitt Tradition developed and persisted among dry stonewalled architecture in Mauritania (e.g., Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Néma, Dhar Tagant) between 1900 BCE and 400 BCE. Within these settled areas (e.g., Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Tagant, Dhar Walata) with stone walls, which vary in scale from (e.g., 2 hectares , 80 hectares), there were walled agricultural land used for livestock or gardening as well as land with granaries and tumuli . As areas where

2744-682: The Malian Lakes Region , which includes Tondidarou , may have served as a second regional center of the Tichitt Tradition. The urban Tichitt Tradition may have been the earliest large-scale, complexly organized society in West Africa , and an early civilization of the Sahara , which may have served as the segue for state formation in West Africa. As areas where the Tichitt cultural tradition were present, Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata were occupied more frequently than Dhar Néma. Farming of crops (e.g., millet ) may have been

2842-683: The Mandinka and Soninke (though often mixed with indigenous beliefs), and usually observe ritual washing and the daily prayers of Islam. Their women wear veils . The Mandinka in particular practice the social concept of sanankuya or "joking relationship" among clans. Amongst the Mende , Kpelle , Gbandi and Loma Mandé-speaking ethnic groups of Sierra Leone and Liberia, there exists secret fraternal orders and sororities, known as Poro and Sande , or Bundu , respectively based on ancient traditions believed to have emerged about 1000 CE. These govern

2940-518: The Middle Niger region as well as the Ghana Empire . Today, Mandé-speaking peoples are predominantly Muslim and follow a caste system. Islam has played a central role in identifying the Mandé-speaking people who live in the Sahel regions. Influences from Mandé-speaking people have historically spread far beyond immediate areas to other neighboring Muslim West African groups who inhabited

3038-606: The Sahel and Savanna . The Mandé people conducted increased trade along the Niger River or overland, and achieved military conquest with the expansion of the Ghana Empire, Mali Empire , Kaabu and Wassoulou states. The non-Mandé-speaking Fula , Songhai , Wolof , Hausa , and Voltaic peoples share a similar culture with Mandé-speaking peoples. After the Kel Essuf Period and Round Head Period of

Tichitt tradition - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-720: The University of Timbuktu . In a number of generations, Mali was eclipsed by the Songhai empire of Askia Muhammad I (Askia the Great). Following the fall of the great Empires of the Northern Mandé-speaking people (Mandinka and Soninke ethnic groups), the presence of other Mandé-speaking people came about. These were the Mane , Southern Mandé speakers ( Mende , Gbandi , Kpelle , Loma ethnic groups) who invaded

3234-558: The western Sudan . Particularly, state-based urbanism in the Middle Niger and the Ghana Empire developed between 450 CE and 700 CE. Mande peoples The Mandinka or Malinke, a western Mandé nation, are credited with the founding one of the largest West African empires . Other large Mandé-speaking nations include the Soninke and Susu , as well as smaller ones such as the Ligbi , Vai , and Bissa . Mandé-speaking peoples inhabit various environments, from coastal rainforests to

3332-470: The "richest king in the world because of his gold." In the 11th century, the kingdom began to weaken and decline for numerous reasons. The king lost his trading monopoly, a devastating drought damaged the cattle and cultivation industries, the clans were fractured, and the vassal states were rebelling. According to Arab tradition, Almoravid Muslims came from the North and invaded Ghana. The western Sanhaja

3430-490: The 1st millennium CE, and the Tichitt Tradition of Mauritania. The Tichitt Tradition spread to the Middle Niger region (e.g., Méma , Macina , Dia Shoma , Jenne Jeno ) of Mali where it developed into and persisted as Faïta Facies ceramics between 1300 BCE and 400 BCE among rammed earth architecture and iron metallurgy (which had developed after 900 BCE). During the mid-1st millennium BCE, increasing desertification of

3528-633: The 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. The Dhars, or cliffs, are located in the southeastern and central-southern regions of Mauritania . The cliffs span 800 kilometers. The Dhars (e.g., Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tagant) of Mauritania are located north of the Senegal River . The Dhars of Mauritania are located between the Hodh Depression and Tagant Plateau . Dhar Néma and Dhar Tichitt are major escarpments in Mauritania. From east to west, Dhar Néma, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tichitt, and Dhar Tagant form

3626-597: The 400 drystone -constructed villages, hamlets, and towns . Primary entry points of residences with access ramps (e.g., fortified , non-fortified) and watchtowers were also present. Households used various tools (e.g., arrowheads, axes, borers, grindstones, grooved stones, needles, pendants). At Dhar Walata and Dhar Tichitt, stone pillars, stone slabs, and stone blocks, which approximate to several hundred in total, are frequently arranged and aligned in three rows of three; these erected stones may have served as stilts for granaries. There were also gardens and fields located within

3724-612: The Central Sahara, the Pastoral Period followed. Some of the hunter-gatherers who created the Round Head rock art may have adopted pastoral culture, and others may have not. As a result of increasing aridification of the Green Sahara , Central Saharan hunter-gatherers and cattle herders may have used seasonal waterways as the migratory route taken to the Niger River and Chad Basin of West Africa. In 4000 BCE,

3822-580: The Dhars of Mauritania. The fundamental unit of the Mauritanian Dhars (e.g., Dhar Néma, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tichitt) was the extended family or polygamous family . Based on the presence of an abundant amount of enclosed areas that may have been used to pen cattle and hundreds of tumuli, intergenerational ownership of property , via cattle wealth, may have been part of the Tichitt culture. Planned , level streets spanned several hundred kilometers among

3920-524: The Green Sahara resulted in the migration from the Dhars (e.g., Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Néma) of Mauritania. Some pastoralists from Dhar Tichitt may have migrated toward the southeast and other pastoralists may have migrated southward (e.g., Middle Senegal River Valley of Senegal). Dhar Néma may have served as a transitory area for the people of the Tichitt Tradition as the area of Dhar Tichitt started to become vacated by 300 BCE. From Mauritania,

4018-881: The Islamization of non-Mandé Gur groups at the edge of the Sahel in West Africa. Much Mandé art is in the form of jewelry and carvings . The masks associated with the fraternal and sorority associations of the Marka and the Mendé are probably the best-known, and finely crafted in the region. The Mandé also produce beautifully woven fabrics which are popular throughout western Africa. They also create gold and silver necklaces, bracelets, armlets, and earrings. The Bambara people and related groups also traditionally produce wooden sculpture. And sculpture in wood, metal, and terra-cotta, have been found, associated with ancient peoples related to

Tichitt tradition - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-495: The Malian Lake Region where the escarpments are located toward the regional section where Tondidarou is located, as well as gradual technical shift toward construction of earthen settlement mounds. Altogether, the archaeological evidence on and below the Malian Lakes Region escarpments of the 2nd millennium BCE - 1st millennium BCE may serve as connective evidence between Mema, Tondidarou and other Middle Niger sites of

4214-439: The Malian Lakes Region also is similar in appearance (e.g., folded strip roulettes, thickened rims) to Faïta pottery. In total, there are 180 villages, hamlets, and many types of stone structures and enclosures. Among the total constructed stone villages, 30 stone villages may have evidence of concessions with stone pillar structures in them; there is also Fati 6 where a drystone tell is of an intermediary architectural status between

4312-430: The Manding rock art may relate to circumcision rituals for initiates. During the 15th century CE, migrations from the northern area of Guinea and southern area of Mali may have resulted in the creation of Manding rock art in the northern area of Mali (e.g., Yobri, Nabruk), southeastern area of Burkina Faso (e.g., Takoutala, Sourkoundingueye), and Dogon country . French colonisation of West Africa greatly affected

4410-460: The Mandé-speaking ethnic groups in the westernmost part of West Africa have been predominantly Muslim since the 13th century. Others, such as the Bambara , a Mandinka group, converted to Islam as late as the 19th century with some retaining their traditional beliefs. Muslim Mandinka also hold traditional beliefs, such as in the rituals of initiation groups like Chiwara , and Dwo , and beliefs in

4508-524: The Mandé-speaking family ( Mandinka people ), and "Nyaxamalo" among the Soninke people , Mandé-influenced caste systems, and elements thereof, sometimes spread, due to Mande influences, to non-Mandé-speaking ethnic groups (in and near regions where Mande cultures settled) and were adopted by certain non-Mande peoples of Senegal, parts of Burkina Faso, northern Ghana, and elsewhere the Western Sudan and Western Sahel regions of West Africa. Among

4606-508: The Mandé-speaking peoples concerning conflict with other African ethnic groups has been exacerbated since the start of the 20th century. Because of desertification , they have been forced steadily southward in search of work and other resources. Frequently, the competition has resulted in fighting between them and other indigenous populations along the coast. Mandé-speaking ethnic groups typically have patrilineal kinship system and patriarchal society. Several Mandé tribes practice Islam, like

4704-435: The Niger River in central Mali built by Soninke-related peoples, is famous for its terracotta figurines which depict humans and animals including snakes and horses, some dating to the first millennium and early second millennium AD. It is believed that these statuettes served a ritual function and hypothesized that some are the representations of household or ancestral spirits, as ancestral cults are known to have flourished in

4802-706: The Saharan and Sahelian regions. The initial stages of sophisticated social structure among Saharan herders served as the segue for the development of sophisticated hierarchies found in African settlements, such as Dhar Tichitt . After migrating from the Central Sahara, proto-Mande peoples established their civilization in the Tichitt region of the Western Sahara. The Tichitt Tradition of eastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BCE to 200 BCE. Tichitt culture, at Dhar Néma, Dhar Tagant, Dhar Tichitt, and Dhar Walata, included

4900-513: The Soninke community. Leather goods, ivory, salt, gold, and copper were also sold in exchange for various finished goods. By the 10th century, Ghana was an immensely rich and prosperous empire, controlling an area the size of Texas , stretching across Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania. When visiting the capital city of Kumbi Saleh in 950 AD, Arab traveler Ibn Hawqal described the Ghanaian ruler as

4998-434: The Soninke in Mali. The bells on the necklaces are of the type believed to be heard by spirits, ringing in both worlds, that of the ancestors and the living. Mandé hunters often wear a single bell, which can be easily silenced when stealth is necessary. Women, on the other hand, often wear multiple bells, representative of concepts of community, since the bells ring harmoniously together. Djenné-Djenno , an ancient city on

SECTION 50

#1732765145386

5096-543: The Susu, another Mande people, in the north-west of what is now Sierra Leone . The Susu had similar weapons, military organization and tactics. Painted rock art from Manding peoples are found largely in Mali , where Malinke and Bambara peoples reside. The Manding rock art, developed using black, white, or red paint, is primarily composed of geometric artforms, as well as animal (e.g., saurian ) and human artforms. Some of

5194-412: The Tichitt Tradition spread to the Middle Niger region of Mali (e.g., at Méma , Macina , Dia Shoma , and Jenne Jeno ), where it developed into and persisted as Faïta Facies ceramics between 1300 BCE and 400 BCE among rammed earth architecture and iron metallurgy (which developed after 900 BCE). Thereafter, the Ghana Empire developed in the 1st millennium CE. The civilization of Djenné-Djenno

5292-464: The Tichitt Tradition, and the Malian Lakes Region , which includes Tondidarou , may have served as a second regional center of the Tichitt Tradition. The settlements of Dhar Tichitt consisted of multiple stone-walled compounds containing houses and granaries/"storage facilities", sometimes with street layouts. Additionally, around some settlements, larger stone common "circumvallation walls" were built, suggesting that "special purpose groups" cooperated as

5390-431: The Tichitt cultural tradition were present, Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata were occupied more frequently than Dhar Néma. The eastern and central areas of Dhar Walata and Dhar Tichitt, which were primarily peopled between 2200/2000 BCE and 1200/1000 BCE and contained some areas (e.g., Akreijit, Chebka, Khimiya) with boundary walls, served as the primary areas of settlement (e.g., small villages , hamlets , seasonal camps ) for

5488-605: The Tichitt culture is the shepherding of livestock and the cultivation of pearl millet. Various kinds of local food sources (e.g., Panicum laetum, Cenchrus biflorus , Pennisetum mollissimum; fruits from Ziziphus lotus , Balanites , Celtis integrifolia, and Ephedra altissima ; Citrullus , Gazella , Addax nasomaculatus , Oryx dammah , Mellivora capensis , Taurotragus derbianus , Kobus , Hippotragus equinus , Tragelaphus , Cricetomys gambianus , Genetta genetta , Panthera pardus , Equus , Rhinoceros , Ichthyofauna , Clarias , Tilapia , Molluscs , Parreysia ) were eaten by

5586-461: The agropastoralists of Dhar Tichitt. The painted Pastoral rock art of Tassili n'Ajjer , Algeria and engraved Pastoral rock art of Niger bear resemblance (e.g., color markings of the cattle) with the engraved cattle portrayed in the Dhar Tichitt rock art in Akreijit . The engraved cattle pastoral rock art of Dhar Tichitt, which are displayed in enclosed areas that may have been used to pen cattle,

5684-461: The area as late as the 20th century. The best known type of traditional music amongst the Mandé-speaking people is played on the kora , a stringed instrument with 21 or more strings mainly associated by the Mandinka people . It is performed by families of musicians known in Mandinka as Jeliw (sing. Jeli ), or in French as griots . The kora is a unique harp-lute with a notched wooden bridge. It

5782-456: The blurring of city boundaries. Manuel Castells suggested that within a network society , "premium" infrastructure networks (high-speed telecommunications , "smart" highways , global airline networks ) selectively connect together the most favored users and places and bypass the less favored. Graham and Marvin argue that attention to infrastructure networks is reactive to crises or collapse , rather than sustained and systematic, because of

5880-514: The border of Mali and Mauritania to the region west of Tagant. In the Malian Lakes Region, which is located in northwestern Inland Niger Delta region of the Niger River , near Lake Faguibine and the Faguibine Depression, and north of Méma , these drystone constructed stone-walled settlement sites may be connected with the Tichitt Tradition of Mauritania. Between 4th millennium BCE and 1st millennium CE, pastoralists occupied

5978-443: The city. Urbanism's emergence in the early 20th century was associated with the rise of centralized manufacturing , mixed-use neighborhoods , social organizations and networks, and what has been described as "the convergence between political, social and economic citizenship ". Urbanism can be understood as placemaking and the creation of place identity at a citywide level, however as early as 1938 Louis Wirth wrote that it

SECTION 60

#1732765145386

6076-753: The collapse of the Sanhaja union, Awdagust was taken by the Ghana empire . The trans-Saharan routes were taken over by the Zenata Maghrawa of Sijilmassa Before the Almoravids, the Islamic influence was gradual and did not involve any form of military takeover. In any event, following their subsequent withdrawal, new gold fields were mined further south and new trade routes were opening further east. Just as it appeared that Ghana would reemerge, it became

6174-532: The earlier drystone structures in the escarpment region and the later drystone structures of the Tondidarou region; both show close resemblance and apparent connection with the architectural structures of the Tichitt culture. The Malian Lakes Region and the Mauritanian Tichitt cultural region bear strong geographic resemblance (e.g., escarpments) and similar complex settlement patterns on and below

6272-482: The eastern side of Lake Fati, there are large enclosures on the massifs containing dozens of conjoined circular drystone structures, and on the eastern side of Lake Faguibine , there are similar enclosures and structures spanning 74 kilometers north from its eastern shoreside; there are also stone walls ranging about one meter in height. The Malian Lakes Region sites share connections with Tichitt Tradition sites via one of its categorized sites. Tell-type site pottery of

6370-401: The enclosure, a possible cistern building with remnants of a room that is between 6 meters and 7 meters in diameter; there are also other drystone structures of different sizes and kinds, which include a large rectangular enclosure, enclosures with small-sized circular structures, a carved stone as part of a broader system of structures, stone walls, as well as cemeteries with stones positioned in

6468-821: The epic. The Kandasi also started a school for oral history. Mandé literature includes the Epic of Sundiata , an epic poem of the Manding peoples (a branch of Mande family) recounting the rise of Sundiata Keita , the founder of the Mali Empire . Ethnomusicologist Eric Charry notes that these tales "form a vast body of oral and written literature" ranging from Ibn Khaldun 's 14th-century Arabic -language account to French colonial anthologies collecting local oral histories to modern recordings, transcriptions, translations, and performance. Tarikh al-Fattash and Tarikh al-Sudan are two important Timbuktu chronicles. By

6566-416: The escarpments. In the Malian Lakes Region, the stone villages may have been constructed between the 2nd millennium BCE and the 1st millennium BCE. In 1st millennium CE, earthen tells were created in the plains, along the shoresides and in floodplains of the Niger River at Tondidarou; the difference in distance and dates may indicate that there was gradual change in settlement sites, from the regional section of

6664-549: The head and foot areas of the graves. Additionally, there are stones that are 2 meters in diameter are set within circular patterns are found among a few stone structures, grindstone and millstone remnants, and pottery with decorative patterns. Within the region, nearby Tondidarou , a stone wall may have served as a regional boundary, stone tumuli and circles that may be cemeteries, and a couple of drystone fortification remnants; there are also pottery and stone tools at Mobangou , as well as mounds and stone structures nearby Mobangou. On

6762-569: The hundreds of tumuli present in Dhar Tichitt, compared to a dozen tumuli present in Dhar Walata, it is likely that Dhar Tichitt was the primary center of religion for the people of Tichitt culture. At Dhar Tichit, Dakhlet el Atrouss I, which is the largest archaeological site of the Tichitt Tradition and is 80 hectares in scale, serves as the primary regional center for the multi-tiered hierarchical social structure of Tichitt culture; it features nearly 600 settlement compounds, agropastoralism,

6860-469: The inputs of the Middle Niger riverine system. In the region, humidity reached its highest point in the first half of the 4th millennium BP, and reached its second highest point in the second half of the 4th millennium BP. More than one thousand stone villages were constructed, which spans 800 kilometers from the Niger Bend to the region northward of Taoudenni Basin , as well as spanning 600,000 km2 from

6958-603: The internal order of their society, with important rites of passage and entry into the gender societies as boys and girls come of age in puberty. Amongst specific Mandé-speaking ethnic groups, such as the Mandinka , Soninke and Susu , there traditionally exists a caste-based system. Amongst these Mandé-speaking ethnic groups' societies are hierarchies or "caste"-based systems, with nobility and vassals. There were also serfs ( Jonw / Jong(o) ), often prisoners or captives taken in warfare, and usually from competitors of their territory. The descendants of former kings and generals had

7056-495: The iron remnants (760 BCE – 400 BCE) found at Bou Khzama and Djiganyai. The iron materials that were found are evidence of iron metalworking at Dhar Tagant. While confirmation of the connection is still needed, Tabarit East tumuli of western Tagant are similar in form to Tichitt Tradition tumuli. In southeastern Mauritania, there are more than 9000 tumuli; the monument -building techniques of this funerary tradition resulted in tumuli being able to persist in form for millennia to

7154-470: The late 1990s, there were reportedly 64 published versions of the Epic of Sunjata. Although traditionally attributed to Mahmud Kati , Tarikh al-Fattash was written by at least three different authors. Among the Mandé-speaking ethnic groups, such as the Mandinka , Soninke and Susu , griots are a group, traditionally a specialized caste who are bards , storytellers, and oral historians . Many of

7252-429: The late period of the Tichitt Tradition at Dhar Néma, tamed pearl millet was used to temper the tuyeres of an oval-shaped low shaft iron furnace, one of 16 located on elevated ground. Iron metallurgy may have developed before the second half of 1st millennium BCE, as indicated by pottery dated between 800 BCE and 200 BCE. At Dhar Walata and Dhar Tichitt, copper was also utilized. After its decline in Mauritania,

7350-402: The leadership of Dinga Cisse . The nation comprised a confederation of three independent, freely allied, states (Mali, Mema, and Wagadou) and 12 garrisoned provinces. Located midway between the desert, the main source of salt, and the gold fields of the upper Senegal River to the south, the confederation had a good location to take advantage of trade with the surrounding cities. They traded with

7448-573: The life of Mandé-speaking people. Constant wars with the French cost the lives of thousands of their soldiers. They relied increasingly on the Atlantic slave trade for revenues. The later creation of colonial boundaries by European powers divided the population. The Mandé-speaking people are still active in West African politics; Many individuals from Mandé-speaking ethnic groups have been elected as presidents in several states. Existence amongst

7546-527: The non-Mande Wolof people , craft and bardic castes were collectively termed "nyeno". With time, in many cases, status differences have eroded, corresponding to the economic fortunes of the groups. Although the Mandé arrived in many of their present locations as raiders or traders, they gradually adapted to their regions. In the 21st century, most work either as settled agriculturalists or nomadic fishermen. Some are skilled as blacksmiths , cattle herders, and griots or bards. Fadenya or “father-childness”

7644-507: The north by a coastal route leading to Morocco via Sijilmasa . Ghanaian society included large pastoral and agricultural communities. Its commercial class was the most prosperous. The Soninke merchants of Ghana came to dominate the trade, having had Saharan trade routes connecting their great cities of the Sahara and to the northern coast of Africa. They enslaved neighboring Africans, either to sell them or to use them for domestic purposes; those who were not sold were usually assimilated into

7742-565: The oldest ceramics found in Djenné-Djenno , which have been dated to 250 BCE. The egalitarian civilization of Djenné-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of the Bozo people , which spanned from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE. Since around 1500 BCE, a number of clans of proto- Soninke descent, one of the oldest branches of Mandé-speaking peoples, came together under

7840-403: The people of the Tichitt Tradition may have migrated into the Malian Lakes Region , Macina, and/or Méma. In the northern areas of Macina and Mema, located in the Middle Niger, lithic items may have been brought from the Dhars (e.g., Dhar Tichitt, Dhar Walata, Dhar Tagant) of Mauritania. By as early as the 3rd or 4th century BCE, migrating pastoralists from Dhar Tichitt may have arrived and dwelt in

7938-617: The people of the Tichitt culture. At Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Walata, the people of the Tichitt Tradition were considerably mobile each season; they practiced animal husbandry (e.g., sheep, goat, cattle), fished , and, by at least 3600 BP, domesticated and farmed pearl millet. However, farming of crops (e.g., millet) may have been a feature of the Tichitt cultural tradition as early as 3rd millennium BCE in Dhar Tichitt. The origin of pearl millet at Dhar Tichitt may date to 3500 BCE. At Dhar Tichitt , domesticated pearl millet imprints in pottery have been dated between 1900 BCE and 1500 BCE. Based on

8036-528: The power of nyama (a spiritual power existing in nature). Many smaller Mandé-speaking ethnic groups, such as the Bobo , retain pre-Islamic belief systems in their entirety. Many Mandé-speaking groups in Sierra Leone and Liberia were also, for the most part, not islamized. According to oral histories, Mandé-speaking people, in particular the Soninke ethnic group, contributed through trade and settlement to

8134-438: The present-day. While smaller tumuli may have been built by members of the nuclear family, larger tumuli may have been built by members of nuclear and extended family. The Malian Lakes Region may have served as the second regional center of the Tichitt Tradition. In the Malian Lakes Region, there is a drystone enclosure that is greater than 4 meters in height and several hundred meters in circumference, two cemeteries, and within

8232-574: The rate of the gold dinar fell by six dirhams." Consequently, the names of Mali and Timbuktu were shown on the 14th-century world map. In the 12th century CE, the University of Sankore , which began as the Mosque of Sankore , served as an organization of higher learning in Timbuktu . The Mosque of Sankore, the Mosque of Sidi Yahya , and the Mosque of Djinguereber constitute what is referred to as

8330-523: The region that would eventually become the Ghana Empire as well as early Awdaghust . In addition to complex social structure and agriculture, tumuli construction may have also spread from Tichitt, through the Inland Niger Delta, to Dogon Country . Following the Tichitt Tradition, in the 1st millennium CE, the pre-state urbanism of southern Mauritania developed into state -based urbanism (e.g., nucleation of peoples and regional specialization) in

8428-544: The regions of the Niger Bend and Niger Delta . As aridification affected Lake Mega Chad , this resulted in the development of a nutrient abundant Lake Chad Basin ; consequently, Tichitt culture (e.g., plant materials used to stylize ceramics with a braid and twist design) may have spread into its southern region as pastoralists from Dhar Tichitt peopled the Lake Chad Basin. Some pastoralists may have also peopled

8526-437: The segue for the development of sophisticated hierarchies found in African settlements, such as Dhar Tichitt . After migrating from the Central Sahara, proto- Mande peoples established their civilization in the Tichitt region of the Western Sahara. The Tichitt Tradition of southeastern Mauritania dates from 2200 BCE to 200 BCE. Tichitt culture at Dhar Néma , Dhar Tagant , Dhar Tichitt , and Dhar Walata included

8624-442: The social and material fabric of cities" into "cellular clusters of globally connected high-service enclaves and network ghettos " driven by electronic networks that segregate as much as they connect. Dominique Lorrain argues that the process of splintering urbanism began towards the end of the 20th century with the emergence of the gigacity , a new form of a networked city characterised by three-dimensional size, network density and

8722-651: The sparse Sahel , and have a wide range of cuisines, cultures, and beliefs. After migrating from the Central Sahara , Mandé-speaking peoples established Tichitt culture in the Western Saharan region of Mauritania , which had Dhar Tichitt as its primary regional center and possibly the Malian Lakes Region as its secondary regional center. Subsequently, toward the end of the Mauritanian Tichitt culture, Mandé-speaking peoples began to spread and established Méma , Macina , Dia Shoma , and Jenne Jeno in

8820-458: The start of sophisticated social structure (e.g., trade of cattle as valued assets) developed among herders amid the Pastoral Period of the Sahara . Saharan pastoral culture was intricate, as evidenced by fields of tumuli , lustrous stone rings, axes, and other remnants. By 1800 BCE, Saharan pastoral culture expanded throughout the Saharan and Sahelian regions. The initial stages of sophisticated social structure among Saharan herders served as

8918-477: The target of attacks by the Susu people who were Mandinka (another Mandé-speaking people) and their leader Sumanguru. From this conflict in 1235, the Malinké (also known as Mandinka people ) emerged under a new dynamic ruler, Sundiata Kéita. By the mid-13th century, the once great empire of Ghana had utterly disintegrated. It soon became eclipsed by the Mali Empire of Sundiata. The most renowned Emperor of Mali

9016-534: The three half-lines symbol that is depicted in the Dhar Néma rock art may be associated with the hunting culture of Dhar Néma. Human skeletal remains found at Bou Khzama in Dhar Néma have been dated to 3690 ± 60 BP. Another human skeletal remains found at Dhar Néma have been dated to 2095 ± 55 BP. At Dhar Tagant, there are approximately 276 tumuli that have been surveyed. At Dhar Tagant, there are also various geometric (e.g., rectilinear, circular) constructions, and

9114-413: The village. Reservoirs and dams may have been used to manage water from nearby rivers ( wadis ). Millet, flour, and semolina may have been prepared to cook porridge . At Dhar Walata, domesticated pearl millet imprints in pottery have been dated between 1900 BCE and 1500 BCE. The Neolithic Pastoral rock art of Dhar Walata and Dhar Tichitt may depict chariots being drawn forward by yoked oxen and

9212-512: The western coast of Africa from the east during the first half of the 16th century. Their origin was apparent in their dress and weapons (which were observed at the time by Europeans), their language, as well as in Mane tradition, recorded about 1625. The Mane advanced parallel to the coastline of modern Liberia , fighting in turn with each tribal group that they came across. They were almost invariably successful. They did not slow until encountering

9310-502: The western region (e.g., Mauritania, Morocco) of the Sahara. The pastoralist culture included social stratification, as evidenced by lavish items (e.g., beads, bracelets, hachettes, lustrous stone axes) found in tumuli. In the Hodh Depression area of southern Mauritania, from early 2nd millennium to late 1st millennium BCE, the pastoralist culture developed into various forms of pre-state urbanism (e.g., habitat patterns of nucleation and differentiation). By 2000 BCE, as aridification followed

9408-832: Was Sundiata's grandson, Mansa Musa (1307–1332), also known as “Kan Kan Mussa" or "The Lion of Mali". His pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 quite literally put Mali on the European map. He took 60,000 porters with him, each carrying 3 kg of pure gold (180 tons in total, according to the UNESCO General History of Africa ). He had so much gold that when he stopped in Egypt , the Egyptian currency lost some of its value. According to Cairo-born historian al-Maqurizi, "the members of his entourage proceeded to buy Turkish and ' Ethiopian ' slave girls, singing girls and garments, so that

9506-481: Was converted to Islam sometime in the 9th century. They were subsequently united in the 10th century. With the zeal of converts, they launched several campaigns against the " Sudanese ", idolatrous Black peoples of West Africa and the Sahel. Under their king Tinbarutan ibn Usfayshar, the Sanhaja Lamtuna erected or captured the citadel of Awdaghust , a critical stop on the trans-Saharan trade route. After

9604-505: Was located in the Niger River valley in Mali and is considered to be among the oldest urbanized centres and the best-known archaeological sites in Sub-Saharan Africa . The site is located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away from the modern town of Djenné and is believed to have been involved in long-distance trade and possibly the domestication of African rice. The site is believed to exceed 33 hectares (82 acres). The city

#385614