... of the historical perceptions of Africa and then comparing these with present day imagery. (When considering African communities I have confined myself to black communities, as the white communities of northern Africa rarely form part of most Westerners' perceptions of "Africa".) Pre-Colonial Africa Some of the first imagery of Africa which has been found dates back to 2500 BC and represents images of Blacks in Ancient Egypt. At this time, it seems that black was seen as a colour of beauty (possibly because of connections with the fertility of black Nile silt) and so black Africans were well-integrated into Egyptian society. By 2200 BC however, Blacks were being depicted largely as warriors; then after the defeat of the Nubians in the Eleventh Dynasty, the imagery changed profoundly as Blacks began to be depicted as servants and entertainers. Between 800 BC and 300 AD, the images changed again as Blacks were once ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now