Africa

Abstract

Africa's first civilization for which there are written records begins in Egypt in the fourth millennium bce; other ancient centers were Kush and Axum. Verbal arts in Africa, oral and written, are undoubtedly ancient. However, the earliest documented literature in Africa is that of ancient Egypt. Over its extremely long life, the indigenous language of ancient Egypt underwent extensive changes in phonology, grammar, vocabulary, and scribal praxis. To describe these changes, Egyptology typically divides Egypt's linguistic and scribal history into a number of phases. Issues of orality in Egyptian literature can, of course, be approached only indirectly. In our discussion of the Pyramid Texts, it was remarked that some, at least, have been thought to have their roots in prehistoric rituals.