Topic Diverse Societies in Africa EQ How did

Topic: Diverse Societies in Africa EQ: How did the environment in Africa help to develop diverse societies?

Africa: A Land of Geographic Contrasts • Africa is the second largest continent in the world • 4, 600 miles east to west, 5000 miles north to south

Challenging Environments • Deserts – unsuitable for human life, make movement to better environments challenging • Largest – Sahara in the north, Kalahari in the south • The Sahara desert covers an area the size of the United States • Desert is spreading into the semiarid area known as the Sahel

Challenging Environments • Rainforest – Trees up to 150 feet tall with a canopy that prevents sunlight from reaching the ground • Tstse fly found in the rain forest makes it hard to inhabit • Parasite (bloodsucker) • Transmits diseases • Prevented farmers from using cattle, donkeys, and horses to farm near the rainforest • Silver lining – prevented invaders and European colonizers from occupying the area

Welcoming Lands • Northern coast and southern tip – Climate similar to the Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, etc. ) and fertile soil • Heavily populated with farmers and herders • Savannas – 40% of the continent, where most people live • grassy plains with mountainous highlands and swampy tropical stretches • Alternating wet/dry seasons

The First Humans • The first humans appeared in the Great Rift Valley and migrated outward

Hunter-gathering societies • First form of social organization • Still exist in Africa today – small tribes with own languages and culture

Hunter-gathering societies • The Efe • Nomadic hunter-gatherer society that still exists today • Groups of 10 -100 live together in temporary grass/brush shelters • Move frequently to follow food • Women forage, men hunt using bow/arrow • Patriarchal – led by a respected male elder • No formal laws

Pastoral societies • Pastoral = herd grazing animals • Early Africans – cattle, goats, sheep • Modern Africans – The Masai of Kenya/South Africa are still pastoralists and measure their wealth by the size of their herds • The Masai diet includes: Meat, milk, BLOOD • Traditionally lived in bands of 12 households, smaller groups today • Multiple bands work together in animal husbandry

Transition to a settled lifestyle • Agriculture developed in Africa around 6000 BC • Between 8000 -6000 BC the Sahara received increased rainfall and became a savanna, dried up again by 6000 BC • Early farmers moved east to the Nile Valley and south into West Africa • Some settled in the savanna – best land for growing grain

Transition to a settled lifestyle • South and east of the rainforest, cattle became important • Farming in the rainforest – root crops • Growing food = permanent shelters, increased lifespan and birthrate, development of skills • Metalworking, pottery making, etc.

Early Government • Permanent settlements = increased complexity = need for governance • Village chief, council of family leaders • Stronger groups conquered weaker settlements, eventually grew into great kingdoms

Stateless Societies • In many African societies, families are organized into groups called lineages • Lineage – people who are descended from a common ancestor • Includes past and future generations • Stateless societies use lineages for leadership, no formal central government • Authority balanced among lineages

Stateless Societies – the Igbo (Ibo) People of West Africa The Igbo elders come together to settle problems in the community

Stateless Societies • Patrilineal societies – trace ancestry through their fathers • Inheritance passes from father to son • Matrilineal societies – “ ” mothers • Young men inherit land wealth from mother’s family • Age-set System – Young people form ties with people outside their lineage • Go through stages of life together (warrior, elder, etc. ) • Marked by ceremonies • Used by the Igbo

Stateless Societies • Practice local, polytheistic religions • Animism – Religions that believe spirits are present in nature and regulate daily life • Also honor the spirits of ancestors • Ceremonies to ask spirits for intervention in health, fertility, wealth, protection, etc.

Stateless societies • Few societies had written language • West Africa - Used Griots to pass down history and stories through oral tradition

How did people come to West Africa? • Archeologists believe people migrated from North Africa to West Africa as a result of desertification • Soil dried up, forcing people to move to find better farmland • Led to the development of advanced societies in presentday Mali and Nigeria

West African Iron Age • Evidence suggests that West African cultures began smelting iron for tools and weapons as early as 500 BC, skipping the Copper and Bronze ages. • Pottery, charcoal, slag – a byproduct of iron smelting • Major technological achievement of the Nok people, West Africa’s earliest known culture

Nok Culture • Lived in Nigeria between 500 BC and AD 200 • Artifacts found in a 300 mile stretch from the Niger and Benue rivers • First West African people to smelt iron

Djenné-Djeno • Ancient city south of the Sahel located on a tributary of the Niger River • Oldest known city south of the Sahara – Oldest objects from c. 250 BC, lasted until c. 1400 AD • Advanced civilization – artifacts include pottery, copper hair pieces, clay toys, glass beads, stone bracelets, iron knives, etc.

Djenné-Djeno • Ancient city south of the Sahel located on a tributary of the Niger River • Oldest known city south of the Sahara – Oldest objects from c. 250 BC, lasted until c. 1400 AD • Advanced civilization – artifacts include pottery, clay toys, iron knives; glass, bronze, and stone jewelry

Djenné-Djeno • Early – lived in round reed huts plastered with mud • Later – Mud bricks • Fishing, rice, cattle • River trade - Traded rice, fish, and pottery for copper, gold, and salt • Important center of trade – from the river and overland camel routes