Foundations of Sub-Sharan African civilizations West Africa (Nok), the Bantus and East Africa (Aksum)

Western (European) culture is based on the religion and ethics of Judaism and Christianity and the law, art, architecture, language and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome. At the same time that Western culture was developing around the Mediterranean sea area, other cultures were developing in Africa. You have already read and learned about the importance of ancient Egypt and the Nile River Valley, but other cultures also shaped African society.
The Nok culture of West Africa along the Niger River is perhaps the oldest know advanced culture in sub-Saharan Africa. The town of Djenne-Djeno was an important trading and iron smelting area. The Nok displayed the five aspects of culture just as the ancient Romans and Greeks did, expect they used griots to to record information as they did not develop a written language.
Years later around present day Cameroon, the Bantu "the people" migrated from their traditional homeland and spread all through sub-Saharan Africa in search for new farmland. Today, almost 2/3 of Black Africans are descendants of these early Bantu travelers. Please remember that the Bantu are not one tribe, but instead a group of over 400 separate tribal groups who share a common background, language and ancestry. At the same time that the Bantu were migrating in the south and west of Africa, Semites crossed from Arabia to East Africa and develop the Kingdom of Aksum in modern day Ethiopia. Aksum will become a powerful Christian empire in Eastern Africa and will develop its own writing system under King Ezana.

see and hear Akon's video Mama Africa to gain a greater appreciation for the continent and its people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9YE8dHMxvw&mode=related&search=
learn more about the Bantu peoples of Africa and their contributions to world history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu
Bantu are not the only peoples of sub-Sharan Africa, Semites (people related the the Arabs and Jews of the Middle East) intermarry with Africans and found the Kingdom of Aksum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEUM8QUt3g