Societies in Africa

Geographic Contrasts 2nd largest continent in the world 1/5 of Earth’s surface Variety of climates Upside down plate topography

Terrain Deserts = 40% of continent Rainforests Not a lot of people live here Sahara in North and Kalahari in South Rainforests Stretches across half of the middle of Africa (5% of continent) “natures greenhouse”

Fertile Farmlands Grassy Plains Northern coast and Southern tip Great weather with mild rainfall Grassy Plains Most people live on savannas Cover about 40% of continent Supports agriculture Sahel (Coastline) Desertification

Humans and the Environment 1st humans appear in Great Rift Valley Nomads Hunter-gatherers Men hunt and women gather roots and berries Eventually learn to domesticate animals Drive animals to find food and water

Settled Lifestyle Eventually learn to grow their food Early farmers moved into the Nile Valley Settled in savannas or farmed in rain forest Began to build permanent shelters Increased birthrate Increased food = different jobs (metal work, pottery, jewelry) Development of governing bodies (keep order)

Common Characteristics Importance of the family Included grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (extended family) Clan = group of common ancestors Organized belief systems -> helped them understand and organize information about their world Most believed in one god or creator Animism = spirits played role in daily life Present in animals, plants, etc. Griots told stories -> passed history down

Early Societies Djenne-Djeno (oldest known city south of Sahara) City uncovered by archaeologists along Niger river Discovered artifacts Pottery, copper hair ornaments, clay toys, glass beads, stone bracelets, and iron knives Had around 50,000 residents Lived in huts but later lived in houses made with brick Fished the Niger River, herded cattle, and grew rice Trade by water and camel (became trade center)

The Nok Culture (earliest known culture) Lived in what is now Nigeria Farmers First known Africans that were able to smelt iron Used to make tools and weapons May have introduced this to Djenne-Djeno Possibly settled in Djenne-Djeno

Migration

Migrations Through History Reasons for migration -> chart pg. 203 Study the spread of language 2 languages similar = close contact

Massive Migrations Language = unites or divides people Niger – Congo (includes 900+ individual languages) Pronto-Bantu = parent tongue Come from “Bantu-speaking” people Made of greatest migrations in history through Africa Lived in savanna south of Sahara (Southeastern Nigeria) and migrated south

Bantu Culture Group of people that shared certain characteristics Farmers + Nomadic herders Passed along iron working skills Possibly related to Nok people Began to spread South and East Adapted to the new area Farmed river banks of Congo river (Why?) Learned to cultivate new crops (Banana) – Kenya and Tanzania Reached Southern tip of Africa Farming methods = land used quickly

Effects of the Migration Population began to increase in West Africa Not enough land to go around or to be used for farming Desertification was happening with Sahara Caused them to begin to migrate to new lands (South) Territorial wars broke out with migrations More advanced weapons = able to defeat indigenous people Exchanged ideas + intermarried with tribes Unified much of Africa