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