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Early Africa

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Africa’s Four Regions

The northern band across West Africa is the southern part of the Sahara. It has the world’s largest desert.
The Sahel divides the desert from wetter areas. It has enough vegetation to support hardy grazing animals.
Farther south is a band of savannah, or open grass with scattered trees. Grazing animals are common there.
Rain forests, or moist, densely wooded areas, are near the equator. They contain a variety of plants and animals.

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Congo River

The Congo River is located in west central Africa.

It begins in central Africa, near Lake Tanganyika, and flows west.

It crosses the equator twice and is surrounded by rainforest.

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Congo River

The Congo River is the second longest river in Africa and the fifth longest in the world.

It’s over 3,000 miles long.

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Niger River

The Niger River is located in western Africa.

It flows through Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, & Nigeria.

The Niger River is the third largest river in Africa.

It runs over 2,600 miles.

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Niger River

The mouth of the Niger River flows through a large delta, often referred to as the “Oil Delta” because of the petroleum industry that’s centered here.

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Nile River

The Nile River is located in eastern Africa.

It starts in the mountains of central Africa and flows northward through eastern Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Nile is the world’s longest river at 4,150 miles.

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Nile River

The Nile River provides water for Sudan and Egypt.

It’s an important waterway for transporting people and goods.

The Nile also provides a source of irrigation for agriculture.

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Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is located in central Africa between Tanzania and Congo in the Great Rift Valley.

Lake Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world.

It is the deepest lake in Africa and the second deepest in the world.

It’s also one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes.

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Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world. (Lake Superior is the largest.)

It is located in central Africa and extends into three countries: Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.

Lake Victoria is a headwaters reservoir for the Nile River.

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Lake Victoria

Even though it is shallow, Lake Victoria is vital in supporting the millions of people that live nearby.

It provides a living for many fishermen and attracts millions of tourists each year.

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Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in north Africa.

The mountains extend from Morocco to Tunisia, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert.

They separate the northern coastal regions from the Sahara Desert.

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Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area that’s located in southwestern Africa.

It covers parts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

Its dunes range from 20 to 200 feet high and can be 50 miles long.

The region is surrounded by semi-arid areas that are slowly becoming more dry due to desertification.

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Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari Desert is not a “true” desert because it receives 3-10 inches of rain per year.

Because of the precipitation and underground water supplies, grass, shrubs, and wild animals manage to live in the Kalahari desert.

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West Africa’s Resources

West Africa’s land produced many crops, such as dates and kola nuts. Kola nuts

Gold could be used for jewelry or coins.

Salt was a resource that was found deep in the earth, from lakes that had dried up.

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The Family’s Role

Family is the foundation of traditional African society.
Needs of family put before needs of individual
Each family member has a duty to look out for one another

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African Culture

Family and religion influenced daily life in early West African society.
A typical West African family was an extended family including close relatives.
Some people took part in another type of group, called age sets.

In these groups, people who had been born within the same two or three years formed special bonds.

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Governing of African Villages

Age grade system

Trains young people to become leaders

Divided into groupings of boys and girls of same age with specific responsibilities

Elders

Respected older leaders who make laws for the village
Rule by elders is common system of governing in rural Africa

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The Family’s Role-cont.

Families live with extended family
Includes several generations of relatives living together

Fewer African societies have arranged marriage where the parents decide whom their children will marry.

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The Family’s Role-cont.

Every person belongs not just to a family, but a larger lineage group.

Lineage: tracing of descent from a single ancestor

Patrilineal: descent through the father’s family

Matrilineal: descent through the mother’s family

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Iron technology

Changes in technology helped some early communities grow.
People began using iron to make farm tools and weapons.
Farmers could work the land faster and grow more food.
Warriors gained power with better weapons.
People could live in places they had not been able to before.

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Trade Shapes History

West Africans began to trade the area’s resources with buyers who lived thousands of miles away.
They traded gold, salt, cloth, copper, silver, and other items.
Camels were used to transport goods over long distances because they could store water and carry heavy loads.

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Spread of Islam

Islam spread quickly into North Africa.

Muslim traders introduced Islam to West Africa and East African coastlines.

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Spread of Christianity

Christianity First came to Africa through Egypt
Spread of Christianity began when Europeans missionaries followed European explorers into the interior of Africa.

Missionaries translated Bible into African languages

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Religions Gain Followers

Both religions allowed Africans to continue their traditional African culture.

Traditional practices have been blended with Christianity.

Many Africans still turn to healers to find causes of misfortune.
Blend Christianity with drumming and dancing