Maya Segal

Asher Thomas
Eitan Boaz

Script
Prompt:​ In Medieval African society family, labor specialization, and commerce impacted
society.

https://www.powtoon.com/html5-studio/#/edit/bNMfasEr5ab

Intro
We are going to take you back in time to Medieval Africa, about 700 years ago. Imagine
a place like America but better, culturally diverse and nice to all. Medieval Africa was once like
that; filled with many different cultures, styles of living, and people.

Family
A big part of society in West Africa is family. Families were the basic group of village
society. A primary family unit is called a ​nuclear family​. These families were connected by
blood, marriage, or adoption. These nuclear families were either Patrilineal or Matrilineal. A
Patrilineal​ family is when the family bases its history on the father or through the male line. A
Matrilineal​ family is when a family is based on the female line. Regardless of the style of
genealogy, each family traced its heritage back through time. This is called their ​lineage​.
Lineages had common ancestors. Some formed clans based on common relatives. Examples of
these clans are: ​Maasai, Kenya, Himba,​ and many more. Another way that you could be
defined in society is your age-grade. An ​age-grade​ is a group of people of the same sex and
approximately the same age, having certain definite duties and privileges in common and
constituting a division of a tribe or society.

Labor Specialization
A common belief in West Africa, was that the way of life was to farm, or to own a farm;
because of this West Africans owned farms. Another common belief in West Africa was to have
big families. So, many people who owned farms had big families. The ​men​ in the family would
do most of the work outside of the house, and all the heavying lifting out in the fields. They
looked after the cattle, as well as camels. They cleared land for farming, and built houses and
fences. ​Women​ on the other hand did do some work, but most of the work they did was at
home. They prepared food, cared for children, made pottery, and carried water to the field. All of
the children in the family had jobs as well. They,​ ​gathered firewood, looked after flocks, and of
course helped their parents with anything they needed help with. Each group of nuclear families
focused on specific types of work, also known as Labor Specialization. Labor Specializations
consisted of some smaller positions. Weaving, creating textiles, working with metal/gold,
creating tools for agriculture, herding cattle, iron technology, and of course trade. Labor
Specialization helped influence Medieval Africa immensely. By ​350 BC​ West Africans were
making more and more iron tools. With the help of iron tools West Africans could make more
food, and weapons. As supplies increased so did the population and wealth. Labor
Specialization led to a more diverse economy.

Trade/Commerce
:​ With all the farming came selling. Goods were bought with ​cowrie shells or gold
coins​ and the goods traveled on camels. Trade was handled by professional merchants. With
the trade going to cities, the cities populations increased. Trade was central to the economy of
cities. One of the bigger cities because of trade was Timbuktu. The major trade cities traded
things like Gold, Salt, and Slaves. People that traded salt and gold were named Berbers.

Lesson Summary
Africa may well be one the most well diverse continent on earth. Factors such as
Africa’s geography, diverse climates, and later migration as well trade played major roles in how
early societies developed throughout the continent. Advancements such as the use of camels
for trade increased the community's resources. Trade brought more wealth which lead to the
creation of individual states and kingdoms. African communities varied in size, environment and
economics. The societies developed around four common elements; Family, Governments,
Religions, and Art. Family was a basic unit of society. Patterns of family life varied depending
the culture of the group.