Download Fusion Africa Geography Early Societies

Africa Geography Early Societies
World History/Napp
“Africa, the second-largest continent, is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea,
the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean. It is divided in half almost equally by
the Equator.
Africa has eight major physical regions: the Sahara, the Sahel, the Ethiopian Highlands,
the savanna, the Swahili Coast, the rain forest, the African Great Lakes, and Southern
Africa.
The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert, covering 3.3 million square miles, about the
size of the South American country of Brazil. Defining Africa’s northern bulge, the Sahara
makes up 25 percent of the continent. The Sahara has a number of distinct physical
features, including ergs, regs, hamadas, and oases. Ergs are sand dunes. Regs are plains of
sand and gravel that make up 70 percent of the Sahara. Hamadas are elevated plateaus of
rock and stone.
An oasis is a hub of water in the desert, often in the form of springs, wells, or
irrigation systems. About 75 percent of the Sahara’s population lives in oases.
The Sahel is a narrow band of semi-arid land that forms a transition zone between the
Sahara to the north and the savannas to the south.
The Sahel contains the fertile delta of the Niger, one of Africa’s longest rivers.
Unfortunately, the Sahel’s fertile land is rapidly becoming desert as a result of drought,
deforestation, and intensive agriculture. This process is known as desertification.
Savannas, or grasslands, cover almost half of Africa, more than 5 million square miles.
These grasslands make up most of central Africa, beginning south of the Sahara and the
Sahel and ending north of the continents southern tip.
The Swahili Coast stretches about 1,000 miles along the Indian Ocean, from Somalia to
Mozambique. Most of Africa’s native rain forest has been destroyed by development,
agriculture, and forestry.” ~ National Geographic
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Identify three significant geographic or physical features of Africa.
How does the Sahara Desert differ from the Sahel?
How does the Sahara Desert differ from the savanna?
Define savanna.
Define desertification.
Why is desertification occurring in Africa?
Where is the Swahili Coast located?
Why have most of Africa’s native forests been destroyed?
Is Africa geographically diverse? Explain your answer.
How does the geography of Africa affect people?
Early Sub-Saharan Societies
- The societies south of the
Sahara or Sub-Saharan
shared common elements
- One of these elements was
the importance of the basic
social unit, the family – often
the extended family with
grandparents, parents,
cousins, etc.
- Africa’s earliest belief
system is called animism
- Animists believe that
spirits are present in
animals, plants, and other
natural forces, and also take
the form of the souls of their
ancestors
- 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, kept this history
alive, passing it from parent
to child
Iron and the Nok
- Evidence of iron
production dating to around
500 B.C. has been found in
the area just north of the
Niger and Benue rivers
- The ability to smelt iron
was a major technological
achievement of the ancient
Nok of sub-Saharan Africa
- The Nok people lived in
what is now Nigeria between
500 B.C. and A.D. 200
- 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
- The iron was fashioned
into tools for farming and
weapons for hunting
Djenné-Djeno
- In the region south of the
Sahel, most Africans lived in
small villages
- However, cities began to
develop sometime between
600 B.C. and 200 B.C.
- One of these cities was
Djenné-Djeno or ancient
Djenné, was uncovered by
archaeologists in 1977
- Djenné-Djeno is located on
a tributary of the Niger
River in West Africa
- The oldest artifacts found
in Djenné-Djeno dated from
250 B.C., making DjennéDjeno the oldest known city
in Africa south of the Sahara
- At its height, Djenné-Djeno
had some 50,000 residents
- The people fished in the
Niger River, herded cattle,
and raised rice on the river’s
fertile floodplains
- By the third century B.C.,
they had learned how to
smelt iron
Identify and explain the following terms:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Extended Family
Animism
Griots
Nok
Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa
Djenné-Djeno
 What are the key beliefs of animism?
 Why is Djenné-Djeno important in African history?
 Why is the smelting of iron transformative for a society?
PR I M A RY S O U R C E
I am a griot . . . master in the art of eloquence. . . . We are vessels of speech, we are the
repositories [storehouses] which harbor secrets many centuries old. . . . Without us the
names of kings would vanish. . . . We are the memory of mankind; by the spoken word we
bring to life the deeds . . . of kings for younger generations. . . . For the world is old, but the
future springs from the past.”
~DJELI MAMOUDOU KOUYATE, from Sundiata, an Epic of Old Mali
- Why were griots important to African societies?
- About what percent of Africa is desert? What percent of Africa is savanna?
- If you were to fold a map of Africa in half along the equator, what do you notice about the
similar vegetation zones above and below the fold?
Which statement BEST describes the
geography of Africa?
(1) most of the continent is made up of
tropical rain forests.
(2) deserts and savannas cover almost half
of the continent.
(3) most major rivers are navigable for
their entire lengths.
(4) the irregular coastline provides many
natural harbors.
The major occupation of the people who live
on the grasslands of Africa is?
(1) lumbering.
(2) manufacturing.
(3) herding.
(4) mining.
The geographic features of the African
continent are partly responsible for the?
(1) use of French or English as the official
languages of many African nations.
(2) decline of the slave trade in the 19c.
(3) recent advances in technology in African
nations.
(4) diversity of cultures found in Africa.
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The Sahara Desert
(1) prevented transportation, trade and
travel
(2) encouraged transportation, trade and
travel
(3) slowed transportation, trade and travel
(4) none of the above
Savannas are
(1) rain forests
(2) deserts
(3) grasslands
(4) fertile coastal lands
Africa is divided by
(1) the equator
(2) mountains
(3) tundra
(4) glaciers
Animism is the belief that
(1) spirits reside in the natural world
(2) life has suffering
(3) order creates peace and harmony
(4) harsh laws ensure good behavior
Compare the two images above. How is the desert a challenging environment?
How is the desert a place of contradictions?
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