Inside This Unit: The Full Breakdown
Africa (1100–1980 CE) covers sculpture, masks, regalia, and architecture across diverse African cultures.
Why it matters
It emphasizes art’s functional and performative roles in spirituality, leadership, and community.
Key concepts
- Masks function in masquerade and performance, not static display.
- Benin court art used lost-wax brass casting.
- Great Zimbabwe evidences a complex stone-building state.
Function, Performance, and Power
Many African works are activated in performance (masquerade) or signal leadership (regalia). Benin’s lost-wax brass heads and plaques commemorated kingship and history; Great Zimbabwe’s monumental stonework reflects a wealthy state; earthen mosques like Djenné adapt to climate and communal upkeep. Interpret objects within their living contexts.
AP exam tip
Argue meaning from an African work’s function and performance context, not just its appearance.
Connections to other units
- Unit 7: Like Islamic art, much African art emphasizes function and ornament over Western portraiture.
- Unit 9: Performance and ancestral veneration recur in the Pacific.
