12.2 Keys to Africa’s Past Pg. 322-323

One way to study ancient civilizations is to study their language. Linguistics

Long ago that Bantu, left their homes on the Benue River and migrated into central and eventually eastern and southern Africa. This migration took place over hundreds of years. Linguistics

When the Bantu migrated, they took their language with them. When the settled, they learned to speak with the people already there, and the groups shared language. Linguistics

The study of the structure and changes of languages is known as linguistics. Linguistics helped trace the migration of the Bantu. Linguistics

Botany Botanists; scientists who study plants can trace people’s movements by their crops. Botanists can also make assumptions about why people moved or spread out and how their methods of food gathering changed.

Botany When Bantu farmers moved, they took seeds with them so they could plant crops.

Archaeology What does archaeology provide us when studying civilizations? In some caves in Africa archaeologists have found paintings. These drawings taught them about the weapons that early African people used for hunting and fighting.

Archaeology Some of the paintings have symbols that could be from their written language.

Oral History Has your family ever told you a story from when they were a child? These stories are called oral history. Most African villages had at least 1 official story teller, or griot. It was his job to learn the village’s history; he didn’t write it down, instead he kept it in his mind and passed it down verbally.

Oral History The griot taught the children and reminded the adults of their past. He described the journeys of their ancestors and reminded them of their traditions.

Oral History He would tell stories as often as possible, because he didn’t want their history forgotten. Historians will compare oral histories looking for evidence of true events.

Oral History

The Story of Liongo Fumo pgs. 423-424

Discussion Questions What methods were used to track the migration routes of African people? How do historians evaluate the truth of a story that has been passed down orally?

WB pg. 178