Maps of Songhay
African Ethnic Groups (Public Content)
Ethnic Groups of Africa
Map Creator: United States Central Intelligence Agency
Source: Africa Ethnic Groups
Data Source: Murdock, G. P. 1959. Africa, Its Peoples and Their Culture History. McGraw Hill.
Usage Notes/Copyright Status: This work is in the public domain in the United States under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
Date Created: 1996
Map Description:
This map displays the ethnic groups of Africa as researched by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1996. Areas with large populations of two or more major ethnic groups have been represented with one feature being superimposed over the other as represented by the Shared Areas layer.
Please note that the classification presented does not reflect current scholarly consensus.
Source: Africa Ethnic Groups
Data Source: Murdock, G. P. 1959. Africa, Its Peoples and Their Culture History. McGraw Hill.
Usage Notes/Copyright Status: This work is in the public domain in the United States under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
Date Created: 1996
Map Description:
This map displays the ethnic groups of Africa as researched by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1996. Areas with large populations of two or more major ethnic groups have been represented with one feature being superimposed over the other as represented by the Shared Areas layer.
Please note that the classification presented does not reflect current scholarly consensus.
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).
Nilo-Saharan Dispersal (Blench)
Nilo-Saharan Dispersal
Map Creator:
Roger Blench
Source: Blench, Roger. 2006. Archaeology, Language, and the African Past. Lanham: AltaMira Press
Map Description:
This maps illustrates the dispersal of Nilo-Saharan languages between 18.000 BP and 2.000 BP. With the gradual migration of groups, the language family split into many different languages and is now one of the four main groupings found in Africa today.
Source: Blench, Roger. 2006. Archaeology, Language, and the African Past. Lanham: AltaMira Press
Map Description:
This maps illustrates the dispersal of Nilo-Saharan languages between 18.000 BP and 2.000 BP. With the gradual migration of groups, the language family split into many different languages and is now one of the four main groupings found in Africa today.
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered
for compatibility with our project interface. Slight
imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration
process.
View
original image(s)to see the unaltered map(s).
Origin and Spread of Agriculture Associated with Language Families South of the Sahara and West of Ethiopia (Newman)
Origin and Spread of Agriculture Associated with with Language Families South of the Sahara and West of Ethiopia
Source:
Newman, James L. 1995. The Peopling of Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Date Digitized: 2009
Map Description:
Since developments correspond with the distribution of the Late Stone Age aquatic tradition, Newman says we are able to assume that the early Nilosaharan agricultural communities were scattered in a bandlike pattern immediately south of the desert.
Other resources related to this project:
Advancement of Food-Producing Economies Accompanying Khoikhoi and Bantu Migrations (Newman)
Bantu Colonization of the Interior Mosiac of Africa (Newman)
Bantu Expansion (Newman)
Eastern and Southern Cushites Introduce Food-Producing Economies to the Interior Mosaic (Newman)
Influential Eastern Nilotic Migrations (Newman)
Linguistic differentiation among Bantu groups in southern Africa ca. 1500 (Newman)
Ngoni, Kamba, Arab-Swahili, and Yao Movements, Migrations, and Trade Routes Within the Interior Mosiac (Newman)
Origin and Spread of Agriculture Associated with with Language Families South of the Sahara and West of Ethiopia (Newman)
Southern Nilotic Speakers Seeking the Kenyan Highlands (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa 1200-1800 AD (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa 500-1000 AD (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa ca. 1000 BC (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa ca. 1800 AD (Newman)
Rising and Falling Empires in Western Sudan (Newman)
The Arab Advance (Newman)
The Migrations and Emirates of Fulbe (Newman)
The Spread of Cushitic and Omotic (Newman)
Date Digitized: 2009
Map Description:
Since developments correspond with the distribution of the Late Stone Age aquatic tradition, Newman says we are able to assume that the early Nilosaharan agricultural communities were scattered in a bandlike pattern immediately south of the desert.
Other resources related to this project:
Advancement of Food-Producing Economies Accompanying Khoikhoi and Bantu Migrations (Newman)
Bantu Colonization of the Interior Mosiac of Africa (Newman)
Bantu Expansion (Newman)
Eastern and Southern Cushites Introduce Food-Producing Economies to the Interior Mosaic (Newman)
Influential Eastern Nilotic Migrations (Newman)
Linguistic differentiation among Bantu groups in southern Africa ca. 1500 (Newman)
Ngoni, Kamba, Arab-Swahili, and Yao Movements, Migrations, and Trade Routes Within the Interior Mosiac (Newman)
Origin and Spread of Agriculture Associated with with Language Families South of the Sahara and West of Ethiopia (Newman)
Southern Nilotic Speakers Seeking the Kenyan Highlands (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa 1200-1800 AD (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa 500-1000 AD (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa ca. 1000 BC (Newman)
Speakers in the interlacustrine region of eastern Africa ca. 1800 AD (Newman)
Rising and Falling Empires in Western Sudan (Newman)
The Arab Advance (Newman)
The Migrations and Emirates of Fulbe (Newman)
The Spread of Cushitic and Omotic (Newman)
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).
Peoples, States and Cities in northern Africa ca. 1340 (Ehret)
Peoples, States and Cities in the Northern Half of Africa, ca. 1340
Map Creator:
Christopher Ehret
Source: Ehret, Christopher. 2002. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
This map displays the important groups and their locations in northern Africa circa 1340. Around this time, Islamic expansion was well underway and a very important aspect of culture in the Songay and Mali empires. The extension of Muslim communities stimulated trade and encouraged further growth.
Source: Ehret, Christopher. 2002. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
This map displays the important groups and their locations in northern Africa circa 1340. Around this time, Islamic expansion was well underway and a very important aspect of culture in the Songay and Mali empires. The extension of Muslim communities stimulated trade and encouraged further growth.
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).
Peoples, States and Cities in northern Africa ca. 1550 (Ehret)
Peoples, states and cities in the northern half of Africa, ca. 1550
Map Creator:
Christopher Ehret
Source: The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. 2002. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
Shown here are important kingdoms, groups and cities in northern Africa around 1550. Important details of the period include the fate of the large Songay Empire, the expansion of the kingdom of Morocco and European colonization. The Songay Empire suffered from internal political turmoil and degenerated into civil war in the 1580s as it collapsed. Meanwhile, the kingdom of Morocco was growing in power, and steady trade with Europeans provided them with superior weapons, allowing them to expand further as they conquered former Songay lands. European colonial powers vied for forts and trade agreements along the Atlantic coast, although large settlements were rare (Ehret).
Source: The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. 2002. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
Shown here are important kingdoms, groups and cities in northern Africa around 1550. Important details of the period include the fate of the large Songay Empire, the expansion of the kingdom of Morocco and European colonization. The Songay Empire suffered from internal political turmoil and degenerated into civil war in the 1580s as it collapsed. Meanwhile, the kingdom of Morocco was growing in power, and steady trade with Europeans provided them with superior weapons, allowing them to expand further as they conquered former Songay lands. European colonial powers vied for forts and trade agreements along the Atlantic coast, although large settlements were rare (Ehret).
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).
Some Common Languages in West Africa (Sahel and West Africa Club)
Some Common Languages in West Africa
Map Creators:
Sahel and West Africa Club
Source: The Web Atlas on Regional Integration in West Africa. Economic Community Of West Africa States-Sahel and West Africa Club. 2006.
Date Created: 2006
Map Description:
Shown here are several of the most common languages found in West Africa and Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) member countries. Most languages are spoken in only one country, but those shown here are those with greater regional scope and populations. All those shown except Gbe are considered lingua franca (ECOWAS-SWAC).
Source: The Web Atlas on Regional Integration in West Africa. Economic Community Of West Africa States-Sahel and West Africa Club. 2006.
Date Created: 2006
Map Description:
Shown here are several of the most common languages found in West Africa and Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) member countries. Most languages are spoken in only one country, but those shown here are those with greater regional scope and populations. All those shown except Gbe are considered lingua franca (ECOWAS-SWAC).
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).
Sudan: Rising and Falling Empires in West Sudan (Newman)
Rising and Falling Empires in Western Sudan
Map Creator:
James L. Newman
Source: Newman, James L. 1995. The Peopling of Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press. 111.
Date Created: 1995
Map Description:
As shown by Newman, this map shows the locations of the various empires in Western Sudan between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. Newman notes that the first polity to gain prominence was Ghana, which did so by trading. Historians do not know for sure, however, what caused Ghana's decline.
Since Mali surrounded an area of agricultural lands and controlled routes to the goldfields, Mali was able to overthrow Soso in the 1330s. The Mali Empire continued to expand, but internal factionalism during the latter half of the fourteenth century contributed to its decline.
The Songhai took possession of Timbuktu and Djenne and then drove out the Mossi. After obtaining a considerable amount of wealth, battles over royal sucession during the sixteenth century and a Moroccan invasion contributed to the decline of the Songhai military empire.
Source: Newman, James L. 1995. The Peopling of Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press. 111.
Date Created: 1995
Map Description:
As shown by Newman, this map shows the locations of the various empires in Western Sudan between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. Newman notes that the first polity to gain prominence was Ghana, which did so by trading. Historians do not know for sure, however, what caused Ghana's decline.
Since Mali surrounded an area of agricultural lands and controlled routes to the goldfields, Mali was able to overthrow Soso in the 1330s. The Mali Empire continued to expand, but internal factionalism during the latter half of the fourteenth century contributed to its decline.
The Songhai took possession of Timbuktu and Djenne and then drove out the Mossi. After obtaining a considerable amount of wealth, battles over royal sucession during the sixteenth century and a Moroccan invasion contributed to the decline of the Songhai military empire.
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).
The Migrations and Emirates of Fulbe (Newman)
The Migrations and Emirates of Fulbe
Map Creator:
James L. Newman
Source: 1995. The Peopling of Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press. 53.
Date Created: 1995
Map Description:
This map displays the origin areas of the Fulbe people (Fulfulde speakers) and the migration paths they took. Also pictured are important cities of the times and the large civilizations which were influenced by the Fulbe group. Newman states that the original impetus for migration may have been the increasingly powerful, Islamacized Takrur. He also discusses their culture and how their movement affected government systems and other sedentary peoples (Newman 1995: 51-54).
Source: 1995. The Peopling of Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press. 53.
Date Created: 1995
Map Description:
This map displays the origin areas of the Fulbe people (Fulfulde speakers) and the migration paths they took. Also pictured are important cities of the times and the large civilizations which were influenced by the Fulbe group. Newman states that the original impetus for migration may have been the increasingly powerful, Islamacized Takrur. He also discusses their culture and how their movement affected government systems and other sedentary peoples (Newman 1995: 51-54).
Note: Scanned or downloaded images have been geo-registered for compatibility with our project interface. Slight imperfections are an inevitable result of the registration process. View original image(s) to see the unaltered map(s).