Chapter 2.1 African Beginnings Thousands of years ago the Sahara Desert was very wet, and produced some of the best farming. Scientists believe some of the first humans lived here.

I. Changing Survival Skills  Early on people had simple necessities, they were merely seeking food, water, and shelter

A. Hunting and Gathering  Early humans in Africa were hunters and gatherers  They ate meat from animals and used their skin, fur, bones etc… for many aspects of life and also gathered fruits, nuts, and plants for food  Tools were originally made of wood, animal bones and stone

 Tools were remarkably made, using a 2 inch stone knife found by scientist they could still skin an animal in 20 minutes

B. Farming and Herding  As farming was introduced people began planting barley, grains, rice etc…  Others also got into herding animals and of course they began domesticating the animals for use in the fields and for travel

C. Early Settlements  Domestication allowed for better control of food. How so???  Many could now settle in one place and plant the crops they wanted  Of course water supply was a must for this lifestyle

II Civilizations on the Nile  Society expanded all over Africa, but most importantly on the Nile River  As discussed earlier Egypt and Nubia were some of the first civilizations here

III. The Bantu Migrations  Over 4000 years ago one of the largest migrations took place  The bantu speaking people began to migrate out of Northwestern Africa and head south

A. Why Migrate  New Farming methods made migration possible, people now could farm in areas they previously couldn’t  Certain foods became popular so many moved to where these foods were in abundance  Food shortages in the north also forced people to move

B. Bantu Spread their Language  As the Bantu spread to farm so did their language  The Bantu traveled main trade routes in search of Prime Farming land  Notice where most paths were located

C. Language and Ethnic Groups  Thousands of ethnic groups now flood the Continent of Africa, mostly due to the beginning of the Bantu

Class work for Remainder of the Hour  Make sure vocabulary is in your learning logs  Complete Chapter 2 section 1 section review questions in learning log