Calendar of Events for the month of:
All presenters will speak during the midday break for ariston (lunch).
This month we will feature stories of imaginary travel. We will look at voyages that never took place but which would have been very interesting if they had taken place.
Day 1: Djau of Nagada will talk about trips that the Egyptians could have taken. By 3100 B.C., Egyptians in southern Egypt were drawing pictures of boats with sails. The sail was a radical invention. With the sail, people were able to harness a power beyond themselves. The Egyptians sailed north along the coasts of Phoenicia in search of cedar wood and south to the Red Sea. Cedar wood from Lebanon had been imported since between 3100 and 2800 B.C., although the wood may have traveled by land. The Egyptians had contact with the people of Mesopotamia who in turn had contact with the people of India. At one time, people have suggested that some beads and objects of gold from Britannia came from Egypt. What if the early Egyptians had sent expeditions to the north? What would they have seen? There is a largely unknown group of seafarers who live far to the west called the Polynesians. Their ships are no sturdier than the early Egyptian ships and yet they traveled vast distances. What if the early Egyptians had traveled equally vast distances? (1)
The first voyages from Egypt would not have gone far but if they had sent out exploratory expeditions, they could have discovered much that would be of interest to later generations. By 3500 B.C., the people north of the first cataract of the Nile were united enough to form two kingdoms: the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. By 3100 B.C., they had united to form a single nation. If united Egypt had sent land or sea expeditions to explore the western deserts, they would have found a land that was much different than it is today. (2)
By 3100 B.C., the Sahara was just coming out of a wet phase that had lasted from 9000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. and had peaked around 7000 B.C. During that time, the Sahara was a savanna grassland and woodland area. The people in the northern Sahara and the central mountain areas were pastoralists. People were herding sheep and goats by 7000 B.C. As the wet phase ended, around 4000 B.C., cattle raising became important. People from the mountains in the central Sahara to moutains in the south of the Sahara painted and engraved images on the rock walls of their caves. The early rock paintings show that the northern pastoralists were a mix of peoples from African and the Mediterranean. They are shown with elaborate hairstyles and body decoration. They had long-horned cattle and sheep and hunted large antelopes and buffalo with bows and arrows. Other images show scenes of fishing and dancing. The red, yellow, orange, and white paints were made from animal fats and vegetable dyes. Women would have gathered wild fruits, nuts, melons, edible roots, and tubers. Most rock paintings date from 3500 to 2500 B.C. The people of the southern Sahara were fishers and potters. People fished in the overflowing lakes and rivers of the southern Sahara. An early type of pottery appeared across the southern Sahara from the upper Niger river to the upper Nile from 8000 to 4000 B.C. By 3000 B.C., the land was getting drier and people could no longer support themselves through fishing. The people of the fishing villages turned to farming. Neolithic farming spread across the region from 3000 to 1000 B.C. The main crops were bicolor sorghum in the east and guinea sorghum in the west. Pearl millet was grown in areas closest to the growing desert. Cattle and sheep herding supplemented their crops after 3000 B.C. (2)
The Egyptians largely ignored the "Libyans" who lived to the west, but if they had recorded the stories and traditions of these people of the Sahara, what would they have been like? The Sahara was later the domain of the Berbers. Berbers have carried on indirect trade across the Sahara for a long time, perhaps even before the Sahara was a desert. Some of the central Saharan oases are the home of Nilo-Saharan speakers who are probably the descendants of the earlier fishermen and hunters and gatherers. What stories could these groups have told? (2)
The Egyptians were building huge pyramids by the 4th dynasty. What if they had turned that energy towards exploration? Turquoise mines were worked in Sinai by the beginning of the third dynasty and copper by the 4th dynasty. Nubia was also explored well before the 4th dynasty (2613 to 2494 B.C.). Diorite was quarried in Nubia by the 4th dynasty. Copper and later gold also came from Nubia. Trade with Punt (Ethiopia and southern Sudan) began by the fifth dynasty. Egypt depended on trade with Punt for myrrh and frankincense, which were used to embalm mummies and to burn on altars. Egyptian hieroglyphs had already been developed by 3100 B.C. or earlier. What if they had left written descriptions of the lands they traded with? What were these cultures like around 2613 B.C. at the start of the 4th dynasty? (3, 4, 13)
More ambitious expeditions would have been possible later. By 2600 B.C., a scribe in the time of Snefru reported an expedition of 40 ships filled with cedar logs. The ship probably had sailed north to Palestine. But what if a similar expedition had traveled the oceans in search of knowledge? The great trading center of Ebla near the Mediterranean Sea would have been a likely choice. Ebla was an independent kingdom from 2700 - 2300 B.C. Egyptian expeditions to Punt are mentioned during the time of Mentuhotep III (Middle Kingdom) and Hatshepsut (New Kingdom, c. 1500 B.C.). By the time of Hatshepsut, ships had larger sails that were broader and shorter than earlier sails. (1, 3, 12)
Some have suggested that some objects in Britannia (England) came from Egypt. Although Egyptian merchants never ventured further north than the Levant or further south than to Punt, what if these objects had reached Britannia through the hands of an Egyptian traveler? If Egyptians had traveled to Armorica (Brittany) and Britannia via Iberia (Spain), in 2600 B.C. or in 1500 B.C. in the time of Hatshepsut, they would have found a land where the megaliths had already been built but were still in use. The oldest known megalithic monument, which is in Armorica (Brittany) dates from 5700 B.C. Other stone circles were in use in Armorica from around 2950 B.C. to 1910 B.C. Stone circles in Britannia date to the same time period, from about 2800 B.C. or 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C. The well-known Stonehenge (Latin chorea gigantum, "the giant's dance") was built in stages from 3500 B.C. to 1520 B.C. The henge was built around 3500 to 2910 B.C., the silted ditch around 3300 to 2140 B.C., the avenue 2580 to 1890 B.C., the sarsen stone circle 2850 to 2200 B.C., the inner bluestone circle and horseshoe 2480 to 1940 B.C., and the Y and Z holes from 2030 to 1520 B.C. Little is known of the builders themselves. Their language has not survived. Stone circles are found throughout Britannia (England), Hibernia (Ireland), Armorica (Brittany) and elsewhere. The pastoralists who built and used the stone circles were part of a loosely-knit society that had contact with people throughout this area. Although it is unlikely that the Egyptians ever traveled to the northern edge of the world, later speakers will speculate about cultures who could more reasonably have visited the northern islands during the time of the megalithic builders. (1, 7, 8)
Day 8: Akalamdug of Ur will talk about the people of the Two Rivers (Mesopotamia). By 3400 B.C., the people there were making clay figures of skin boats, but they lacked sails. Babylonians were trading in the Persian Gulf by the middle of the fourth millennium B.C. The ships may originally have come from a place called Magan (Oman on the Arabian side of the Gulf or Makran on the Iranian side). A port at Dilmun or Tilmun (Bahrain) was flourishing by the end of the second millennium B.C. Merchants from Mesopotamia brought textiles, wool, leather, and olive oil and returned with copper from Magan, precious stones, wood, and even ivory. (1, 3)
At Dilmun, the Sumerians and Babylonians had contact with merchants from the Indus Valley. They may have called the land of the Indus Valley, "Meluhha". People from Meluhha traded carnelian, timber, gold, and ivory and were middle men for lapis lazuli. The Indus Civilization, centered on the Indus Valley in northwestern India, flourished from about 2500 BC to 1700 BC. Some of its large cities had populations of 35,000 people at their height. These cities were made of brick and had well-planned streets, pottery drainage ditches, large granaries, and large baths for ritual cleansing. The land was very rich. Grain, pottery vases, ivory combs, pearls, precious woods, and semi-precious stones were exported from India. Gold came from southern India, copper from Rajasthan, turquoise, silver, lead, and tin from Persia (Iran), and jade-like fuchsite from southern India. Farmers in the Indus Valley grew wheat, barley, field-peas, melons, sesame, and dates. They also raised humped cattle, short-horn cattle, and buffaloes, and perhaps pigs, camels, horses, and donkeys. Although the area would later be desert-like, the land used to be filled with water buffalo, tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and enormous forests. Their unique script consisted of 400 symbolic pictures. While other writing systems were simplified over time, their writing system remained unchanged for 1000 years. No public inscriptions or written historical documents have been found, making translation of the language difficult. (3, 9, 10, 11)
The Sumerians and Babylonians were especially interested in cotton from the Indus Valley. The people of the Indus Valley were the first to turn cotton into yarn and then weave the yarn into cloth. Cotton was first developed around 2000 B.C. People of the Indus Valley also traded with other cultures in Mesopotamia and with Egypt. Little is known of the culture of the Indus Valley because their unique writing system has remained undeciphered. Mesopotamian records of Meluhha deal with economic transactions. If the Sumerians had recorded the histories and culture of the Indus Valley, they would have done scholars everywhere a great service. (3, 9, 10, 11)
During the time of Sargon of Akkad, who lived between 2340 and 2315 B.C., the people of Akkad had some type of trade with eastern Africa. Was this more than just trade with Egypt? By the time of Sargon, the pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) had been built and Egypt's Old Kingdom was still going strong. Did the people of Akkad have contact with people outside of Egypt, such as the Nubians to the south? What was Nubian culture like at this time? (3, 12)
Day 15: Antromaxos of Phaistos will talk about another early sea-faring culture, the Minoans. The Minoans traded with the Egyptians since the time of Sneferu (c. 2600 B.C.). This trade may have begun as early as 2700 B.C., when Egyptian pottery first appears in Crete. Minoan pottery has been found in the Levant and Asia Minor and as far north as Makedonia. Minoan contact in Africa was not limited to trade with Egypt. They also traveled west to the islands of Sardinia and Sicilia (Sicily). Minoans imported gold, beads, faience, figurines, and papyrus from Egypt and ivory from Syria. They also used amber, which ultimately comes from the Baltic. Minoan trade was at its height from 1800 to 1500 B.C. Minoan ships had broad, square sails and rowers. Earlier ships had paddlers. In religious contexts, the use of paddlers may have continued after the advent of rowers. (1)
The Minoans knew of a medicinal plant that only grows in the land of the Libyans. The Minoan presence in northern Africa predates that of the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians journeyed to northern Africa by 1100 B.C. or earlier. Minoan civilization ended by 1500 B.C. What was northern Africa like at this time? (1, 5).
Some have suggested that an image of a dagger carved into a stone at Stonehenge represents a dagger used in Greece around the middle of the second millennium B.C. Many have suggested that there was a trade route between the Mediterranean world and the tin-bearing lands of the British Isles. Tin was mined in southern Britannia (Cornwall) by 2500 B.C. The tin made its way down Gaul and on to the civilizations of the Mediterranean. If Minoan merchants had ventured to the source of the tin in an attempt to cut out the middle men they would have found that Iberia (Spain), Armorica (Brittany), Albion or Britannia (England), and Hibernia (Ireland) were inhabited by a group of pastoralists who shared a common culture. The peoples of these lands built stone circles and megalithic tombs. Most stone circles were built between 3000 B.C. and 1000 B.C., although the oldest known megalithic monument, which is in Armorica (Brittany) dates from 5700 B.C. Stonehenge was built in stages from 3500 B.C. to 1520 B.C. The language and culture of the megalith builders is not known. (1, 7, 8, 14)
The heyday of the Minoan fleet was from 1800 to 1500 B.C. Around 1600 B.C., a volcano on the island of Thera (Santorini) erupted, sending ash as far as Crete. By 1500 B.C., the Mycenaeans conquered Crete and ended Minoan trade. The Mycenaeans were great traders themselves from 1500 to 1200 B.C. The traded for goods in the Levant, Crete, Sicilia (Sicily), and southern Italia (Italy). Sometime in the 13th century B.C., the Mycenaeans turned their ships on fabled Troy. Unlike the Egyptians and Minoans, the Mycenaeans did not stiffen the bottom of their sails with booms. Instead they used brails, a series of lines that when pulled would bunch the sail up as desired. The lines were made of leather strips or twisted papyrus fibers. The sails were made from patches of linen sewn together. The ships were fast but not very sturdy. The open sea was still feared. (1)
Day 22: Yehawwielon of Lixus will talk about the famous sea-faring people known as the Phoenicians. By 1000 B.C., the Phoenicians began to grow rich from trade throughout the Mediterranean. The Phoenican deep sea vessels usually stayed within sight of land but would sometimes venture into the open seas. Phoenician sailors were able to keep the right orientation at night by observing the Ursa Minor constellation. This constellation is so identified with Phoenician traders that it has been called the "Phoenician Star." The search for gold, copper, silver, and lead took them to the western Mediterranean coasts and then beyond the Pillars of Herakles and down along the north African coast. They established trading stations along the Atlantic coast of Africa. Some of these settlements are very old. An inhabitant of Lixus, such as our speaker, Yehawwielon, will tell you that Lixus was founded by 1180 B.C. Lixus is a settlement on the Atlantic coast of Africa that is just beyond the Pillars of Herakles. (2, 5)
Since the Phoenicians got to Lixus beyond the Pillars of Herakles by about 1180 B.C., what if they had headed north to the Atlantic coast of Iberia (Spain) about that time? They would have found a land where the megaliths were already old. Stone megaliths can be found along the Atlantic coast from Iberia (Spain) to the far north (Scandanavia). They can even be found on Malta and Sardinia. The oldest known megalith is in Armorica (Brittany) at Carnac. It dates to 5700 B.C. (5, 7)
One of the most important Phoenician colonies is Carthage. The people of Carthage settled amongst the bronze-using, settled agriculturalists known as the Berbers. Carthage became a major center for exploration by 600 B.C. and became rich through trade in tropical African products. The Berbers carry goods from tropical Africa across the Sahara and bring them to Carthage. The presence of Carthage strengthened the trans-Saharan trade and led to a network of chariot routes across the Sahara. These two-wheeled horse-drawn chariots are recorded in rock paintings in the mountains of the central Sahara. These same areas contain rock paintings from earlier times, when the southern Sahara was filled with lakes, rivers, and fishing villages. When the area became drier, the fishermen turned to farmers. They left their stories behind in images painted on rocks between 3500 and 2500 B.C. What if the more modern-day rock painters stopped to listen and record the stories of the descendants of the earlier rock painters? (2, 5)
Herodotus mentions that the Carthaginians claim to have circumnavigated Africa around 600 B.C. Pharaoh Necho of Egypt (ruled 610 to 594 B.C.) co-sponsored the expedition. The ships started on the east coast of Africa, headed south and then north up the west coast of Africa. The voyage took three years. Detractors say the voyage never took place or was not successful. What if it was? What were the peoples of Africa doing in the 7th century B.C.? (1, 2, 5)
Africa in the 7th century B.C. was an interesting place. Just to the south of Egypt, the people of Kush had become a powerful kingdom by 1000 B.C. The Kushites withdrew from Egypt after the Assyrians invaded the land in 670 B.C. Kush was still in danger of raids from Egypt, so the Egyptian-Phoenician expedition would not have lingered in the area. South of Kush, they would have come to an area that is now the kingdom of Axum. In the 7th century B.C., the Sabaeans from southern Arabia had not yet crossed the narrow Red Sea to blend with the people of northeastern Africa and form the kingdom of Axum. This would not happen until the 6th century B.C. (2, 5, 6)
As the Phoenician voyagers headed south along the eastern coast of Africa, surely they would have encountered extraordinary sights. Perhaps they even would have encountered people whose speech included clicks (The Khoisan)! Maybe they would have found that these strange, click-speaking people lived throughout the east and southern coasts of Africa. As the explorers headed around Africa's southern tip and then headed north, up the Atlantic coast of Africa, they would have found more click (Khoisan) speakers. (2, 5, 6)
As the expedition headed west, around Africa's bulge, they would have encountered still more extraordinary peoples. If the stories are true, this part of Africa was home to a vibrant people with the power to expand and dominate eastern and southern Africa in years to come (the Bantu, who began to expand around 500 B.C.). In the west they would have come to cultures who had already been working in bronze and copper for almost 500 years. As they headed north they would have come across more familiar territory. They would have come to Cerne, the southernmost of the Phoenician colonies in Africa. Then they would have passed Mogador, Jadida, Azemmour, Sala, ancient Lixus, and then Tingis. Then they would have headed east through the Pillars of Herakles and on into the welcome waters of the Mediterranean. What a welcome they would have received at home! And what a wealth of knowledge they would have brought with them. (2, 5, 6)
The Phoenicians and Carthaginians continued to send many expeditions down the western coast of Africa. Hanno of Carthage traveled along the Atlantic coast of Africa in the late 5th century B.C. By 400 B.C., the Phoenicians and Carthaginians had reached Cerne (perhaps Cape Banc in Mauritania). If they had gone further, what wonderful cultures might they have encountered? Perhaps they would have come to a distant iron-smelting culture that could make beautiful terracotta (baked clay) figurines. This culture could have learned how to use iron from the Berbers who had learned the skill from the Carthaginians. Ironworking techniques could have reached them by 500 or 400 B.C. What would we call such a culture if we encountered it? Perhaps we could call them the "Nok" culture (in the Nigeria, Niger, Mali area). What stories could these people have told? (2, 5)
What if the Carthaginians had explored the northern Atlantic coast? Himilco of Carthage did explore the northern Atlantic coast in the 5th century B.C. According to the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, he traveled as far as the Cassiterides Islands (Great Britain and Ireland) in search for an alternative route for tin. At that time, tin travelled from the Tin Islands through Gaul (France) to Massalia on the Mediterranean coast. Others say Himilco did not get that far north. What if he really had gotten that far? What would those lands have been like in the 5th century B.C.? (5)
The Celts arrived in Britannia (England) and Hibernia (Ireland) between 700 B.C., and 400 B.C. Their original homeland seems to have been the Rhine and Danube rivers. Herodotus, writing between 484 and 425 B.C., states that their homeland was along the Danube. The Celts probably brought with them the use of iron. The language and culture of the pre-Celtic inhabitants influenced the newly arrived Celts. By the 6th century B.C., new pottery styles suggest that the Celts had arrived in Hibernia (Ireland) from Britannia (England or perhaps Scotland). Others suggest that the first Celts came from Iberia (Spain and Portugal) because they settled in the south and west. These early Celts grew barley, beans, millet, and apples. Tin from Britannia was traded for amber from the Baltic and wine from the Greeks in Massalia. Sometime later, perhaps around 300 B.C., a second wave of Celts brought a new form of the language. The exact date of their arrival is not known. Records from Himilco's voyage could establish the chronology of the arrival of different Celtic groups in Hibernia (Ireland) and Britannia (England). (14, 15, 16, 17)
Sources:
(1) The Ancient Mariners: Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times, Lionel Casson, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991.
(2) History of Africa, Kevin Shillington, New York, St. Martin's Press, 1989, 1995.
(3) The Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, ed. Arthur Cotterell, New York: Penguin Books, 1980, 1988.
(4) The Story of Writing: Alphabets, Hieroglyphs, & Pictograms, Andrew Robinson, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
(5) The Phoenicians, Sabatino Moscati (ed.), New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1988, 1999.
(6) Cultural Atlas of Africa, Jocelyn Murray (ed.), New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
(7) Brittany and Normandy: The Rough Guide, Greg Ward, New York: Penguin Books, 1999.
(8) Great Stone Circles: Fables, Fictions, Facts, Aubrey Burl, New Haven: Yale University, 1999.
(9) India's Gupta Dynasty, Kathryn Hinds, New York: Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, 1996.
(10) Civilizations of the Indus Valley and Beyond, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966.
(11) A Traveller's History of India, Sinharaja Tammita-Delgoda, New York: Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., 1995.
(12) Babylonians: People of the Past, H. W. F. Saggs, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2000.
(13) The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires, Derek A. Welsby, Princeton, New Jersey: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996, 1998.
(14) Kingdoms of the Celts: A History and Guide, John Robert King, London: Blandford, 1998.
(15) The Celts, T.G.E. Powell, New York: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1983, 1997.
(16) A History of Ireland, Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, New York: Barnes and Noble Books/Routledge, 1988, 1993.
(17) The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland, R. F. Foster (ed)., New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
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