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Diverse Societies in Africa, Screen Shot 2021-10-04 at 2.51.09 PM, image,…
Diverse Societies in Africa
Early Humans Interact With Their Enviroments
Societies
Hunter-Gather Societies
Speak their own languages, hunt animals in tribes
Efe
What may the Efe attribute to their long success as a hunter-gatherer society?
The Efe split up and had different roles and jobs for the people, which allowed them to gather what they needed efficiently and trive.
Women foraged for edible plants, including roots, yams, and mushrooms.
Men hunted with poison-tipped arrows
There was a Group Leader who would make all major decisions for the clan.
The Efe also traded forest produce with nearby villages for fully grown crops.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Efe
Pastoral Societies
Agriculture
Pastoral societies learned how to domesticate and raise their own animals for food.
What happened to the pastoralists of the Sahara 8,000 years ago, and why?
They moved East into the Nile Valley, because the Sahara stopped getting rainfall and became a desert.
https://www.thoughtco.com/pastoral-society-3026442
Why would complex settlements require more government than smaller communities?
The more people in a civilisation the harder to control. These small tribes of people don't really need a government since they all share the same morals and see each other on a daily basis, where a larger group of people would need government and enforcement to make sure people aren't doing the wrong things
West African Iron Age
How do artifacts provide a picture of daily life?
By dating these artifacts, scientists can piece together a picture of life in West Africa as early as 500 BC.
The ability to smelt iron was a major technological achievement of the ancient Nok of sub-Saharan Africa.
Unlike cultures to the north, the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara seem to have skipped the Copper and Bronze Ages and moved directly into the Iron Age.
What major changes affected societies during Africa’s Iron Age?
When Iron was developed in Africa, societies could then start creating more effective weapons, and tools.
https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_a/advanced/aa_5_1.html
What are some possible reasons that Djenne-Djeno was abandoned?
The drought caused famine, and war.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Djenne-Djenno/
Nok artifacts have been found in an area stretching for 300 miles between the Niger and Benue Rivers. They were the first West African people known to smelt iron.
Development
In the region south of the Sahel, most Africans lived in small villages. However, cities began to develop sometime between 600 BC and 200 BC. Usually they were in areas along rivers or at an oasis. One of these cities was Djenné-Djeno.
Scientists discovered hundreds of thousands of artifacts. These objects included pottery, copper hair ornaments, clay toys, glass beads, stone bracelets, and iron knives.
The early inhabitants of West Africa were developing cities, cultures, and technologies that would make their mark on history. Meanwhile, other groups in West Africa were beginning to make an historic move out of West Africa.
The early inhabitants of West Africa were developing cities, cultures, and technologies that would make their mark on history. Meanwhile, other groups in West Africa were beginning to make an historic move out of West Africa.
https://www.hmhco.com/content/hmof/social_studies/hmhss/na/gr9-12/hs_ws_ese_9780544673595_/#module_6_lesson01--west_african_iron_age/
https://www.thoughtco.com/african-iron-age-169432
A Land of Geographic Contrasts
Geography
Africa is the second largest continent in the would and stretches 4,000 miles from east to west and 5,000 miles from north to south.
It occupies about one-fifth of Earth’s land surface.
Narrow coastlines on either side of a central plateau. Waterfalls and rapids form as rivers drop down to the coast from the plateau, making navigation impossible to or from the coast.
What problems might the explansion of the Sahara cause?
It pushed people into the more welcoming and livable lands. Pushing people away crowded them all because there was not a ton of food production and this forced people to live in smaller areas.
This is the Sahara desert that spread very widely.
Challenging Environments
The deserts are a very difficult place to live, it hampers peoples movement to more welcoming climates.
The largest deserts are the Sahara in the north and the Kalahari in the south.
Stretching from the Atlantic ocean to the Red sea, the Sara only covers an area roughly the size of the United States.
The desert continues to take up more and more of the semiarid region at the southern edge of the Sahara desert.
The rainforests are also difficult but it can be referred to as "natures greenhouse". It has mahogany and teak trees up to 150 ft tall.
Why might the rain forest be called “Nature’s Greenhouse”?
It was called natures greenhouse because it provided a shelter area underneath the huge trees. Being under those huge trees is almost like a huge greenhouse.
Welcoming Lands
The northern coast and the southern tip of Africa have welcoming Mediterranean-type climates and fertile soil.
This area has many more famers and herders because of the good soil.
Most people in Africa live on the savannas, or grassy plains. Africa’s savannas are not just endless plains. They include mountainous highlands and swampy tropical stretches.
Stateless Societies
Why were oral traditions important in early Africa?
There is a rich tradition throughout Africa of oral storytelling. ... So the transmission of knowledge, history and experience in West Africa was mainly through the oral tradition and per- formance rather than on written texts. Oral traditions guide social and human morals, giving people a sense of place and purpose.
What are some religous beliefs of many early African Americans
The story of African-American religion is a tale of variety and creative fusion. Enslaved Africans transported to the New World beginning in the fifteenth century brought with them a wide range of local religious beliefs and practices. This diversity reflected the many cultures and linguistic groups from which they had come.
How is lineage important to stateless societies?
Lineage helps balance the power in some stateless societies by powers being spread among more than one lineage. This prevents any one family from having too much control and power.
In a stateless society the power to negotiate conflicts shifts from generation to generation as circumstances demand. So if a member of a family is in conflict with another member of their family then a third member will side with the first member. Then on from there the parents have to make the decision because it could get out of hand
In many African societies, young people form close ties to individuals outside their lineage through the age-set system. An age set consists of young people within a region who are born during a certain time period. Each age set passes together through clearly identified life stages, such as warrior or elder. Ceremonies mark the passage to each new stage.
In African societies, the way a society traces lineage determines how possessions and property are passed on and what groups individuals belong to. Members of a patrilineal society trace their ancestors through their fathers. Inheritance passes from father to son. When a son marries, he, his wife, and their children remain part of his father’s extended family.
Local Religions - Keeping a History - Age Set System
Local Religions - In most African religions, the supreme god was not involved in humans’ lives. Instead, the nature spirits and the spirits of ancestors were responsible for many of life’s events, such as a plentiful harvest or an illness. This belief led Africans to develop many religious practices, rituals, and ceremonies focused on asking the spirits for health, fertility, and wealth. Other rituals protected people from bad spirits. Africans did not separate religion from other areas of life. Instead, spiritual beliefs and practices were integral to all areas of life.
Keeping A History - Few African societies had written languages. Instead, storytellers shared orally the history and literature of a culture. In West Africa, for example, these storytellers, or griots (gree•OHZ), kept this history alive, passing it from parent to child.
Age Set System - Men and women have different life stages, and each stage has its own duties and importance. Societies like the Igbo use the age-set system to teach discipline, community service, and leadership skills to their young.
https://www.google.com/search?q=african&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiu-IXTxLHzAhUHNa0KHfPgBawQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=african&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECAAQQzIECAAQQzIECAAQQzIICAAQgAQQsQMyBAgAEEMyBAgAEEMyBAgAEEMyBAgAEEMyCAgAEIAEELEDMggIABCABBCxA1DE2whYxNsIYJngCGgAcAB4AIABkgGIAZIBkgEDMC4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=HlxbYa7xIofqtAXzwZfgCg&bih=1001&biw=950
https://www.hmhco.com/content/hmof/social_studies/hmhss/na/gr9-12/hs_ws_ese_9780544673595_/#module_6_lesson01--west_african_iron_age/
https://www.hmhco.com/ui/#/discover/SS_NL18E_HS_WH
https://www.google.com/search?q=african+religions&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM6e_QxLHzAhUXl2oFHS6rDYwQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=950&bih=1001&dpr=1
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