Bantu society has been illuminated by recent archaeological discoveries. Iron working may have been practiced in the region of Lake Victoria as early as the seventh century B.C.E. Bantu society was essentially rural and was based on subsistence farming, and the land was often tilled with both iron and stone tools. There was a clear division of economic functions within the family as women tilled the fields and men tended the herds.

             The next great kingdom in Africa developed with the coming of Islam. By the end of the sixth century C.E., the kingdom of Axum was in decline, in part because of a shift in trade routes, and the rise of Islam on the Arabian peninsula hastened this process. In the clash with the Arab world, Axum declined even further and also underwent significant internal changes:.

             The Zagwe dynasty, which seized control of the country in the mid-twelfth century, centralized the government and extended the Christian faith throughout the kingdom, now known as Ethiopia. Military-commanders or civilian officials who had personal or kinship ties with the royal court established vast landed estates to maintain security and facilitate the collection of taxes from the local population.4.

             The level of government and social control was at least as advanced as that in Europe at the same time period.

             The analysis of the various nations that developed on the African continent during the same time period as Europe was developing into the nations we know today shows that African societies were not backward or inferior, only different. African towns developed along lines similar to those of Europe at different periods in history. The towns started as fortified walled villages and then evolved into larger communities serving different purposes:.

             Here, of course, were the center of governments and the teeming markets filled with goods from distant regions. Here also were artisans, skilled in metal or wood working, pottery making, and other crafts, as well as some farmers who tilled the soil in the neighboring fields.