Third Take-Home Examination
 

Answer any TWO of the questions set out below. You are required to return your answer papers not later than December 18, 2001. Please make sure that your essays are well reasoned. The organization and presentation of your paper will be given some credit. You are free to make use of material from class lectures, readings from the recommended texts, and other sources that you may have consulted on your own. However, you should identify your sources whenever you incorporate the thoughts and words of authors, even from the internet.
 
 
 

1. What do you understand by the Bantu migrations? Assess their importance in spreading ancient African cultures.
 

2. Write an essay on the Zimbabwe ruins, offering explanations for their existence and their decay. Why do you think they have so often been misinterpreted?
 

3. What accounts for the retardation of African civilizations from Africa's remarkable past? Is it fair to say that the African past is richer than the African present? Give examples to illustrate your arguments.
 

4. Considering the material and topics covered in this course, to what extent would it be justified to say that ecological features hold the key to a full interpretation of the ancient African past?
 

5. What is civilization? How much help does the study of ancient African civilizations offer in elucidating the causes and failures of civilizations.
 

6. What d you understand by "Toynbean challenge-and-response" thesis in the rise and fall of civilizations? Use material from this course to illustrate your contentions on this thesis.