Maps of Arabic
African Ethnic Groups (Public Content)
Ethnic Groups of Africa
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 Downloaded: 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.
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 Downloaded: 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).
Ngoni, Kamba, Arab-Swahili, and Yao Disruptions and Movement Within the Interior Mosiac (Newman)
Ngoni, Kamba, Arab-Swahili, and Yao Movements, Migrations, and Trade Routes Within the Interior Mosiac
Source:
Newman, James L. 1995. The Peopling of Africa. New Haven: Yale University Press. 175.
Date Digitized: 2009
Map Description:
According to James L. Newman, the interior of East Africa is one of the most complex ethnolinguistic regions on the continent, due to the continuous movement of groups, including Khoisan, Cushitic, Nilotic and Bantu peoples. During the nineteenth century, two major events brought change once again to east Africa: the arrival of the Ngoni and the growth of the trade industries from the coast. The Ngoni fought their way north, and many peoples fled, were destroyed or were assimilated; some stood their ground, however, and the constant turmoil that resulted prevented population increases for the rest of the century. By contrast, the steadily improving trade markets encouraged expansion. Arab-Swahili, Kamba and Yao traders connected the interior of the continent with the coast (Newman 1995: 175). However, during this era, no states as prosperous or powerful as those in the interlacustrine region would arise (Newman).
Other LL-MAP resources related to this project:
Eastern and Southern Cushites Introduce Food-Producing Economies to the Interior Mosaic (Newman)
Southern Nilotic Speakers Seeking the Kenyan Highlands(Newman)
Bantu Colonization of the Interior Mosiac of Africa (Newman)
Influential Eastern Nilotic Migrations(Newman)
Date Digitized: 2009
Map Description:
According to James L. Newman, the interior of East Africa is one of the most complex ethnolinguistic regions on the continent, due to the continuous movement of groups, including Khoisan, Cushitic, Nilotic and Bantu peoples. During the nineteenth century, two major events brought change once again to east Africa: the arrival of the Ngoni and the growth of the trade industries from the coast. The Ngoni fought their way north, and many peoples fled, were destroyed or were assimilated; some stood their ground, however, and the constant turmoil that resulted prevented population increases for the rest of the century. By contrast, the steadily improving trade markets encouraged expansion. Arab-Swahili, Kamba and Yao traders connected the interior of the continent with the coast (Newman 1995: 175). However, during this era, no states as prosperous or powerful as those in the interlacustrine region would arise (Newman).
Other LL-MAP resources related to this project:
Eastern and Southern Cushites Introduce Food-Producing Economies to the Interior Mosaic (Newman)
Southern Nilotic Speakers Seeking the Kenyan Highlands(Newman)
Bantu Colonization of the Interior Mosiac of Africa (Newman)
Influential Eastern Nilotic Migrations(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).
North Africa: Cushitic in Northern Africa
Cushitic in Northern Africa
Data Source:
Irvine, A. K. and David Appleyard. 2007. "The Middle East and North Africa". In R. E. Asher & Christopher Moseley (eds.). Atlas of the World’s Languages. Oxford: Routledge.
"Afro-Asiatic: Composite 2010". MultiTree: A Digital Library of Language Relationships
Date Digitized: May 2011.
Map Description:
The areas pictured display locations of where Cushitic languages are spoken today. Although there are many languages within the group, only Somali has status as an official language of a country (Somalia). Most of the languages are relatively small, being spoken by anywhere between several hundred and several thousand people (Irvine and Appleyard 2007).
This original map was made by vectorizing data from the MultiTree language database and the Atlas of the World's Languages.
Other resources related to this project:
This folder (Northern African Languages) contains other maps showing linguistic subgroups. The maps may be overlaid on each other for a more complete picture.
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.
Peoples, Cities and States 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, Cities and States 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).
Peoples, Cities and States in northern Africa ca. 1750-1775 (Ehret)
Peoples, states and cities in the northern half of Africa, ca. 1750-1775
Map Creator:
Christopher Ehret
Source: 2002. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
This map outlines several of the important African kingdoms and empires, as well as groups of people, in northern Africa circa 1750-1770 (Ehret). During this time, European influence on the continent was widespread; trade and conquest were flourishing under the colonial powers. In the east, Ottoman Empire power was beginning to fail in Egypt, and many of the Arab groups that had once been under their rule broke away. Along the Atlantic coast, many of those involved with European trade prospered, especially Morocco.
Source: 2002. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
This map outlines several of the important African kingdoms and empires, as well as groups of people, in northern Africa circa 1750-1770 (Ehret). During this time, European influence on the continent was widespread; trade and conquest were flourishing under the colonial powers. In the east, Ottoman Empire power was beginning to fail in Egypt, and many of the Arab groups that had once been under their rule broke away. Along the Atlantic coast, many of those involved with European trade prospered, especially Morocco.
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, Cities and States in northern Africa ca. 850-875 (Ehret)
Peoples, states and cities in the northern half of Africa, ca. 850-875
Map Creator:
Christopher Ehret
Source: The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. 2002. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
This map displays the important groups and locations in northern Africa around 850-875. To name a few of the important events of this period, Islamic settlement and continued expansion under differing Caliphates influenced much of the north of the continent, even spreading into modern-day Spain and Portugal. At the edge of the African continent, the Abbasid Caliphate was deeply involved in several wars, including those against the Byzantine and Omayyad Empires.
Source: The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. 2002. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Date Created: 2002.
Map Description:
This map displays the important groups and locations in northern Africa around 850-875. To name a few of the important events of this period, Islamic settlement and continued expansion under differing Caliphates influenced much of the north of the continent, even spreading into modern-day Spain and Portugal. At the edge of the African continent, the Abbasid Caliphate was deeply involved in several wars, including those against the Byzantine and Omayyad Empires.
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).