The Geography AND PEOPLE of Ancient Africa

Satellite View

Satellite Viewat night

The NileWorld’s Longest River

The Congo River Basin

Covers 12% of thecontinent.

Extends over 9countries.

2,720 miles long.

99% of the countryof Democratic Republic of the Congo is in theCongo River basin.

The Niger River Basin

Covers 7.5% of the continent.Extends over 10 countries.2,600 miles long.

Great Rift Valley

3,000 miles long

Home of “Lucy”

Mt. Kilimanjaro:Snow at the Equator?

Tropic of Cancer 20° N

Tropic of Capricorn20° S

Equator 0°

The Tropical Continent

Rain Forest

Annual rainfall of up to 17 ft.

Rapid decomposition (very humid).

Covers 37 countries.

15% of the land surface of Africa.

African Trade Winds

West Africa: Home of our Hurricanes

The Horn of Africa

Somali Peninsula

The Sahara Desert

The Sahel

The Serengeti:Natural Wonder of the World

Natural Resources

Review from Ch. 2 –-Beginnings of Civilization

Most anthropologists believe…Homo sapiens ( “wise man”) originated in the African savanna between 100,000 and 250,000 years agoOldest remains found in the Horn of Africa, near modern-day Addis Ababa, Ethiopiadescended from Homo erectus (“upright man”)colonized Eurasia and Oceania by 40,000 years agocolonized the Americas by 10,000 years ago

Beginnings of Civilization

Domestication of livestock +/- 10,000 years ago

Cows were highly valued (more than gold)

Domestication of agriculture (crops) +/- 8,000 years ago

Iron working technologies +/- 4,500 years ago

1000 different languages; 1000+ different tribes

Family Structure”

1. Nuclear Family

2. Extended Family

3. Age-Set

4. Clan

5. Lineage (Ancestry)

TRIBE (communal living)

Traditional Family Structures

Nuclear Family:

Extended Family:

C

C

C

HW

C

C

C

HW

GP

CsGP

Cs

U

A

Age Sets: People born two to three years apart; formed bonds together

Africa : Tribe :: America :Ethnic Group?

Benefits of Tribal Life

1. The good of the group comes ahead of the good of the individual.

2. All land is owned by the group.

3. Strong feeling of loyalty to the group.

4. Protection from enemies.

5. Your tribe is a huge family.

6. Everything is shared.

Problems of Tribalism Today

1. The tribe is more important than the nation.

2. Communication problems.

3. Inter-tribal warfare --> civil wars.

4. Members favored for gov’t jobs Nepotism

5. Urbanization:Breaks down tribal traditions.Tribal intermingling on

the job.

Traditional African Religion

ANIMISM1. one Supreme Being.

3. ancestor worship.

4. magic, charms, fetishes, and nature spirits (god of the mountain, etc).

2. world of spirits (good & bad) in all things.

5. Diviner / Shaman fortune teller; mediator between tribe and God.

Which civilization(s) we studied earlier have similar religious beliefs ???

African Diviner (Shaman)

•African Spirituals had a strong influence on the development of Southern Baptists and other Evangelical Christians of ‘The Old South’.

Spiritual BaptistTribal Shaman

World of the Spirits

Dogon “Spirit House”

Mask With Headcloth Zaire (19th century)

Kisokolo Initiation Costume Democratic Republic of the Congo

Woman & ChildCongo

Family GroupTanzania

Ancestors