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AP Art History
Unit 6: 1100 - 1980 CE
Africa
Images 167-180
Main Ideas:
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Africa was divided into many small kinship-based societies that each had their own religion and customs based on ancestral and nature worship; this idea is represented as the artworks have these similar ideas but vary in local styles
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As larger societies & civilizations started to form, communities commissioned artworks to showcase the wealth and power of their king and of their kingdom to encourage other neighboring people to submit to their power
Main Ideas of the Topic
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Generally uses visual imagery & architecture to showcase the dynamics of the king-subject relationships in various kingdoms
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The features of the visual imagery represent the cultural backgrounds of various kingdoms, alluding to their own commercial power or their former colonial status
Main Ideas of the Topic
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Often are mini abstract representations of kings, ancestors, childbearing women, and other important people that could be kept in people's houses to be worshipped
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Often activated through a special dance or masquerade that would honor the respective person in front of the entire community
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