Ancient Africa - by Christopher Ehret

Book Synopsis

A panoramic narrative that places ancient Africa on the stage of world history

This book brings together archaeological and linguistic evidence to provide a sweeping global history of ancient Africa, tracing how the continent played an important role in the technological, agricultural, and economic transitions of world civilization. Christopher Ehret takes readers from the close of the last Ice Age some ten thousand years ago, when a changing climate allowed for the transition from hunting and gathering to the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock, to the rise of kingdoms and empires in the first centuries of the common era.

Ehret takes up the problem of how we discuss Africa in the context of global history, combining results of multiple disciplines. He sheds light on the rich history of technological innovation by African societies--from advances in ceramics to cotton weaving and iron smelting--highlighting the important contributions of women as inventors and innovators. He shows how Africa helped to usher in an age of agricultural exchange, exporting essential crops as well as new agricultural methods into other regions, and how African traders and merchants led a commercial revolution spanning diverse regions and cultures. Ehret lays out the deeply African foundations of ancient Egyptian culture, beliefs, and institutions and discusses early Christianity in Africa.

A monumental achievement by one of today's eminent scholars, Ancient Africa offers vital new perspectives on our shared past, explaining why we need to reshape our historical frameworks for understanding the ancient world as a whole.

Review Quotes

"In this panoramic, millenniaspanning account of the continent, Ehret uses innovative linguistic methods to reconstruct the histories of preliterate peoples."-- "Daily Telegraph"

"

Ancient Africa: A Global History, to 300 CE is a passionate, provocative, engaging, and eye-opening account that has swept away any preconceived notions I had of a part of the world that is certainly deserving of more attention.

"-- "Ancient History"

"A vital reconsideration of world history."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year"

"A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year"

"Although the ancestors of all human beings alive today lived in Africa, the continent and the history of its peoples occupy remarkably little space in histories of the ancient world. Ancient Africa goes a long way toward rectifying that. . . . This masterful, accessible summary of a brilliant historian's life's work will appeal to everyone interested in ancient world history."-- "Choice Reviews"

"Ehret charts the many pathways of interconnection between Africa and the world. . . . At a time when people seem more divided than ever, it's refreshing and rather moving to read a book which humanely reminds us of how much we all have in common."---Toby Green, Daily Telegraph

"Ehret provides a vital new perspective on Africa's significant role in the ancient world. This is an essential book on early African history that uses several types of evidence to demonstrate how different groups in Africa impacted each other and eventually the world."-- "Library Journal"

"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Biological Anthropology, Ancient History, and Archaeology, Association of American Publishers"

About the Author

Christopher Ehret is Distinguished Research Professor in the History Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. His many books include The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800 and History and the Testimony of Language.