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isaac Samuel Profile picture
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30 Apr, 4 tweets, 3 min read
early 14th cent. AD

Ife terracotta and copper-alloy artworks

-Head of a king with an 'akoko' crown
-arm of a ruler/priest with leaf motif
-beaded figure of a king with an oro cap
-bronze bowl with intricate cord patterning
#randomxt

-Berlin state museum, germany
-NCMM, nigeria
"Ife was an African civilization whose art, inventiveness and ritual primacy developed with little foreign influence: contrary to the misconception where Muslim empires of West-Africa like Mali were transmitters of high culture into the southerly regions"
uncensoredopinion.co.za/the-ancient-ci…
reading...

Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba
Suzanne Preston Blier
scholar.harvard.edu/files/blier/fi…

Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power, and Identity, ca. 1300
By Suzanne Preston Blier
books.google.com/books/about/Ar…
tag @yorubaHistory @peterpcullen

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More from @rhaplord

isaac Samuel Profile picture
23 Apr
#Triviaxt

Thread on economic dynamics of slave trade: why most west african states exported enslaved ppl and why some states didn't export them despite the overwhelming economic incentives (by extension political incentives) to do so

screeshots used are taken from these 4 books
initially, there was no "stock" of slaves in africa, waiting for European buyers. Instead, the expansion of the trade was b'se there was a price differential between retaining slaves locally vs exporting them in which the latter's high price rationalized slave exportation
for the majority of (coastal) african states that did export slaves the question of complicity and agency is best answered in Robin law's introduction to ouidah -which was west africa's biggest slave "port"

on the rationale during the trade and ultimately the legacy of the trade
Read 12 tweets
isaac Samuel Profile picture
27 Mar
Megathread on the "trivial" details in African history

-notable figures
-economic history
-African warfare
-politics & diplomacy
-miscellaneous

on the 19th century west African philosopher Abd Al-Qadir al-Mustafa al-Turudi and his works
the scale of gold trade in medieval southern africa

logistics of benin textile trade along the west african coast

from the mid-15th to late 17th century, benin's textiles were in high demand along the coast partially b'se of their use as currency

Read 12 tweets
isaac Samuel Profile picture
12 Feb
Acemoglu on Africa in "why nations fail" -a commentary thread on his analysis of the political and economic institutions of pre-colonial Africa
Detailed sources and references at bottom of the thread
<for Sources for screenshots and further reading at bottom of the thread>

1/37
2/
 His argument is that prosperity of wealthy nations was preceded by political pluralism that started a positive feedback loop of inclusive political institutions, increasing the cost of staying in power while broadening the segments of society where political elites are taken
3/
 He thus categorizes all pre-modern states' political systems as extractive and those after the glorious revolution in England, the French revolution and their western colonies as inclusive
on pre-colonial Africa, he focuses on Kongo (plus abit on Aksum, Kuba and Ethiopia)
Read 41 tweets
isaac Samuel Profile picture
18 Oct 20
Mega thread for manuscripts, inscriptions, documents and other pieces of writing from africa (ex-north)

The oldest from WestAfrica come from cities associated with ancient ghana b'tn 950-1150AD
-plaques from its capital kumbi saleh & tedgoust
-epitaphs from gao, essuk & bentyia
1st cent. BC royal stela of Queen amanirenas of kush inscribed in meroitic

The Meroitic script is one of africa's oldest (mid-third century BC)
Kush's meroitic language (since the kingdom of kerma in 2500BC) had long been written in egyptian hieroglyphics
15th century epitaph of a swahili elite from mombasa: Mwana wa bwana binti mwindani

some of the oldest preserved swahili pieces of writing come from shanga (9th cent. silver coins) and zanzibar ( 1107 mosque inscription)

Read 45 tweets
isaac Samuel Profile picture
31 Aug 19
@1ncognito___ lets continue the thread with ancient cities, there's over 100 in this thread @1ncognito___

@1ncognito___ over a dozen "zimbabwe culture" sites 1ncognito___

zimbabwe minithread
@1ncognito___ more from ethiopia @1ncognito___

Read 12 tweets
isaac Samuel Profile picture
13 Jul 19
1150AD
gede/gedi -kenya <expanded>

settled by the bantu-speaking swahili btn the 12th and 16th cent.
gede was the innermost of the swahili cities (but weaker than its neighbors malindi and mombasa), the ruins include a five mosques, multi-roomed houses and a city wall
#historyxt
gedi, like its neighbour malindi most likely exported iron, gold and ivory among others but mostly iron which was in high demand in india

Ancient Trade Between China and East Africa
kusimba
researchgate.net/publication/32…
Beyond Commoner and Elite in Swahili Society
M Pawlowicz
researchgate.net/publication/33…

others;
The Swahili World
Stephanie Wynne-Jones, Adria LaViolette
books.google.co.ug/books/about/Th…

The Rise and Fall of Swahili States
Chapurukha Makokha Kusimba
books.google.co.ug/books/about/Th…
Read 15 tweets

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