Art of Ancient Africa Answers

Answers may vary, but should be similar to the following: The earlier discovery of Paleolithic art revolutionized ideas of what primitive human cultures might have been capable of. The creation of art is considered to indicate an advance in both the linguistic and cultural development of a population. The discovery of the cave paintings in the 1940s in France led to an hypothesis that while humans most likely originated in Africa, and learned to make tools there, it was not until the time of the French cave paintings, 35,000 ago at most, that forms of modern behavior including advanced language and symbolic expression, such as art began to appear.

It was found in the Blombos cave in South Africa and dates back more than 70,000 years. This discovery suggests that abstract thought in humans occurred much earlier than once thought, as seen with the complex geometric array of carved lines.

- A: Saharan rock art, Algeria - B: Benin Bronzes, Nigeria - C: Great Zimbabwe ruins, Zimbabwe

Trade relations increases and were solidified by the conversion of the Kingdom to Christianity. The nation began to create textiles and regalia for trade. This led to the Kingdom becoming wealthy.

The Igbo Ukwu site contained an elite burial and shrine complex. It held the earliest known examples of copper alloy or bronze casting in Sub Saharan Africa. The site also increased historians’ understanding of both art and culture of West African civilizations.

By the ninth century, Islam became an economic and religious force in West and North Africa. The architecture took on an Islamic style as a result.