AFRICA

The Dark Continent

ETYMOLOGY:

Africa:

• Aprica a Latin word means “Sunny” – Isidore of Seville

• Aphrike a Greek word means “Without Cold” – Leo Africanus

PREHISTORY:

Africa is considered by most paleoanthropologist to be the oldest inhabited territory on the earth, with the human species originating from the continent.

During the middle of the 20th century, anthropologist discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago.

Lucy Australopithecus

Afarensiss

Geography

Geographic

al Featu

re

Sahara Desert

•Worlds Largest Desert•Makes up 25% of the continent

ERGS

• 20% of the Sahara desert

• Sand dunes, covers Algeria, Libya, Mali and Nigeria

• Contains large quantities of salt

REGS

• 70% of the Sahara Desert

• Plains Contains Sand and Gravels

• Remains of prehistoric seabed and riverbeds and they are know waterless

HAMADAS

Elevated plateaus of rock and stone

OASIS

A hub of water in the desert, often in form of springs, wells or irrigation system

SAHEL

A narrow band of semi-arid land that forms a transition between the Sahara desert and the Savanna to the South

SAVANNA

A grassland covered almost half of Africa

ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS

Began to rise 75 million years ago, as Magma from Earths mantle uplifted a broad dome of ancient rocks.

80% of Africa’s tallest Mountains is in Ethiopia’s Highlands

80% of the Africa Rain Forest is concentrated in Central Africa

RAIN FOREST

MOUNT KILIMANJARO

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa standing at 5,895 meters

above sea level.It consist of three peaks, Shira, Kibo, and Mawenzi with Uhuru peak being the highest on the Kibo crater

rim.

Nile River

Longest River in the world

Great Pyramids of Giza

The Giza pyramids were erected on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile in northern Egypt and were connected, by covered causeways, to mortuary temples in the valley below the plateau. These temples had landing stages which were linked to the Nile by a canal. In ancient times they were included among the Seven Wonders of the World.

GREAT ZIMBABWE

•Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the southeastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo. •It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's Late Iron Age.•Construction on the monument by ancestors of the Shona people began in the 11th century and continued until the 14th century•Great Zimbabwe served as a royal palace for the Zimbabwean monarch and would have been used as the seat of political power.•One of its most prominent features were the walls, some of which were over five meters high and which were constructed without mortar

The Swahili people live on the East African coast from southern Somalia to northern

Mozambique. Swahili is a mixture of Bantu and Arab

culture Men wear amulets around their necks

that contain verses from the Koran, which they believe will protect them.

Only teachers of Islam and prophets are permitted to become spritual healers.

SWAHILI COAST

Stretches about 1,610 km along the Indian ocean from Somalia to Mozambique .The nearby coral reefs and barriers Islands protect the coast to severe weather.

Lake Victoria

Largest lake in Africa

A shelf of bedrock that is more than 2-6 billion years old

CLIMATE:• Africa ranges tropical to subarctic on its highest peak.• Northern half is primarily Desert• Central and Southern areas are both Savanna plains and very dense Rain forest Regions

AFRICA is the Hottest Continent

on the earth.

60% of the land surface

consist of dry lands

and Deserts.

FAUNAWorlds largest

combination of density and “Range of Freedom” of wild animals population and density.

CULTURE

Africa’s Culture, Art, And Music

Ethiopian Basketry

African Art Royalty

Africa has rich tradition of arts and

crafts. African arts and crafts find expression in a variety of wood carvings, brass and

leather arts.

Africa’s music uses drums, guitars, likembes (thumb pianos), strung bows, trumpets, and xylophones.

A great variety of masks from different materials was worn with elaborate costumes and mimicked the human or activities of nature and forces in the different seasons.

Is an old as the beginning of human evolution on earth.

You will find Africa’s cultural history enriched with unique tribal life and customs, early

Neolithic rocks carvings petroglyphs, group hunting, metalwork and many great wonders of Ancient Egypt.

The African tribal life has always attracted the world to discover the oldest form

of culture since human evolution. There are many ethnic groups and tribes in

Africa with their own distinct culture, norms and

customs

Folklore and Religion

African folklore and religion represent a variety of social facets of the various cultures in Africa. Like almost all civilization and cultures, flood myths have been circulating different parts in Africa.

Folktales also play an important rule in African cultures. Stories reflect a group culture identity and preserving the stories of Africa will help preserve an entire culture

Cuisine The various cuisine’s of Africa used a combination of locally available fruits, cereal grains and vegetable, as well as milk and meat products.

The continents diverse demographic make-up is reflected in the many eating and drinking habits, dishes and preparation techniques of it’s manifold populations

Wasota

AFRICAN JARS

African culture has always placed emphasis on personal appearance and jewelry has

remained an important personal accessory. Many pieces of such jewelry are made of cowry shells and

similar materials.

The Samburu are a Nilotic people of north-central Kenya that are related to but distinct from the Maasai.The Samburu are semi-nomadic pastoralists who herd mainly cattle but also keep sheep, goats and camels. The name they use for themselves is Lokop or Loikop, a term which may have a variety of meanings which Samburu themselves do not agree on. Many assert that it refers to them as "owners of the land" ("lo" refers to ownership, "nkop" is land) though others present a very different interpretation of the term

These were worn by various early cultures but are especially associated with the ancient Celts of the European Iron Age, where they were evidently a key indicator of wealth and status, mostly worn by men. In a few African and Asian cultures neck rings are worn usually to create the appearance that the neck has been stretched. Padaung (Kayan Lahwi) women of the Kayan people begin to wear neck coils from as young as age two. The length of the coil is gradually increased to as much as twenty turns. The weight of the coils will eventually place sufficient pressure on the clavicles to cause them to deform and create an impression of a longer neck. The custom of wearing neck rings is related to an ideal of beauty: an elongated neck.

CLOTHING

Women’s traditional clothes in Ethiopia

are made from cloth called “ Shemma “ and used to make Habesha Kemis.

Men wear pants and knee length shirt with

a white color and perhaps a sweater.

Men often wear knee high socks. Men as

well as woman wear shawls, the netela

LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE:

Afroasiatic Language Khoisan Niger- Congo

Language Austronesian Sudanic

RELIGION

ISLAM is the most dominate

Religion in Africa followed by Christianity

CHURCH OF SAINT GEORGE

•Carved from solid red volcanic rock in the 12th century.•"Eighth Wonder of the World".• Lalibela, King of Ethiopia.• sought to recreate Jerusalem, •According to Ethiopian cultural history, Bete Giyorgis was built after King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty had a vision in which he was instructed to construct the church; Saint George and God have both been referred to as the one who gave him the instructions.•Lalibela is a pilgrimage site for members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church•"Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela"

Saint Joseph Cathedral Asmara

St. Joseph's Cathedral is a large Romanesque style cathedral in the centre of the city of Asmara, Eritrea. It was built in 1922 by the colonial authorities in Italian Eritrea. The edifice was constructed in the Lombard Romanesque style, and is now the seat of the Eparchy of Asmara. The Catholic Church in Eritrea is a part of the Eritrean Catholic Church, an autonomous particular church in communion with the Pope of Rome.

HistoryThe building took six years to construct and was consecrated in 1922. The tower rises 52 meters into the sky and it is possible to tour the tower and see fantastic views of the art deco city. On the cathedral site, there is also a primary school, a monastery, and a convent, all of which have existed since the initial construction of the cathedral.

Ethic groups & there Religions, Customs, and Traditions

Africa is made up of 54 different countries and many ethnic groups.

A group’s customs and traditions often come from religion, from where the group lives, or from the demands of daily life.

For example, nomadic Bedouin tribe must have customs that can be practiced while traveling.

Most Africans today are either Muslim or Christian, but traditional religions and customs still play a role in African culture.

EDUCATION

Education and school system in

Africa•The boys and girls are taught separately.•They’re in school from January to December.•The school was based on the youth becoming adults.•Over the years the schools have become more about education.

Most Africans earn less than 1$ per day

Education in Africa began as a tool to prepare its young to take their place in the African society.

Education in early African societies included such things as artistic performances, ceremonies, games, festivals, dancing, singing, and drawing.

Only 2.4% of the Africans enter tertiary education, most of those are in N. and S.Africa

The high point of the

African educational

experience was the ritual

passage ceremony from

childhood to adulthood.

There were no academic

examinations necessary to

graduate in the African

educational system.

When European colonialism and imperialism took place it began to change the African

educational system. Schooling was no longer just

about rituals and rites of passage, school would now mean earning an education that would allow Africans to compete with countries such

as the United States and those in Europe.

However, education in Africa is still less developed than

other parts of the world, and many African countries have

low rates of participation. Schools often lack many basic

facilities, and African Universities being lured away

to Western countries by higher pay and better conditions.

ParticipationAccording to UNESCO's

Regional overview on sub-Saharan Africa in 2000:

only 58% of children were enrolled in primary schools, the lowest

enrollment rate of any region.

Marked gender inequalities: in most parts

of Africa there is much higher enrollment by boys,

but in some there are actually more girls, due to sons having to stay home

and tend to the family farm.

Children sent to Primary

Schools

Sent

Not Sent

58%42%

Distribution of Out-Of-School Youths, 2000 Arab States/NorthAfricaCentral & EasternEuropeCentral Asia

East Asia/Pacific

LatinAmerica/CaribbeanNorth America/Western EuropeSouth/ West Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

* Africa is one which has one of the highest %

Take a look at…

An AFRICAN Classroom

Compare to an..

An AMERICAN Classroom

We must consider ourselves lucky

since we have a high educational

level, unfortunately unlike other

countries …

ECONOMY

ECONOMY

The economy of Africa consist of trade, industry, agricultural, and, human resources.Africa is a resource-rich continent but many African people are poor.

NATURAL RESOURCES

•Petroleum•Oil•Platinum•Gold•Chromium•Tantalum•Coltan

•Diamond•Manganese•Coal•Natural gas•Phosphates•Asbestos•Iron ore

FACTS:

More people are killed in Africa by crocodiles than

by lions.

FLAGS

Egypt

Ghana

Mali

Sierra Leone

Democratic Republic Of Congo

Ethiopia

Zimbabwe

Sudan

THE END