World Eras, Volume 10: West African Kingdoms, 500-1590

Abstract

Eras, Volume 10: West African Kingdoms, 500-1590. Edited by Pierre-Damien Mvuyekure. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomas Gale, 2004. Pp. xxxi, 385; over 100 photos, maps, and line drawings. $120.00. Eras is an encyclopedia series examining major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern that is aimed at high school students studying the humanities (p. xv). The volumes' scope ranges from daily life and important individuals to major events and wider sociopolitical developments. The series stresses a comparative, cross-cultural perspective, and timelines of world events and discussions place regional developments in a wider comparative framework. Africa outside of Pharonic Egypt at times receives limited coverage in high school curricula compared to the classical civilization of Greece and Rome, the Near East, China, and the complex societies of the Americas. West African Kingdoms is, consequently, a useful addition to a series that provides an important resource. The text is generally well written, and the intended audience should find the sections on important people and events very accessible. The first chapter consists of a list of World Events: Selected Occurrences Outside of West Africa, circa AD 500 to 1590, which spans the rise of Teotihuacan to the unification of Japan. Chapter 2 provides a brief introduction to West Africa, including limited discussions of climatic and topographical features, West African cultures, early European maps of West Africa, and a few of the early Arabic descriptions of the region. The remaining chapters are organized thematically, dealing successively with: The Arts; Communication, Transportation, and Exploration; Social Class System and the Economy; Politics, Law, and the Military; Leisure, Recreation, and Daily Life; The Family and Social Trends; Religion and Philosophy; and Science, Technology and Health. A short glossary at the end of the volume defines some of the key terms. As with all projects of this scope, it is impossible to cover everything or to devote detailed discussion to any particular topic and the editor should be lauded for putting such a wide-ranging synthesis together. Nevertheless, the expansion of some topics would have improved the volume's worth. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a poor introduction to the material that follows. At 73 pages, the former devotes over a fifth of the volume's text to events outside Africa, while the latter provides little indication of the climatic, cultural, and historical complexities of the region. In fact, the parameters of the area covered by the volume remain somewhat ambiguous. The discussion of climatic and environmental conditions in Chapter 2 deals with the Sahara, Sahel, and Sudan. The tropical rainforest and coastal margins are left unexamined, though the climatic zones of sub-Saharan West Africa are shown in a 1971 map from Ajayi and Crowder's History of West Africa. …