African South

of the Sahara Chap. 11 – Lesson 1

Objectives

Explore the geographic factors affecting

population patterns in early Africa south

of the Sahara.

Explain how migration affected the history

of Africa south of the Sahara.

Analyze the various cultures and societies

of early Africa south of the Sahara,

Key Content The Nok people were probably the first

Africans to use iron tools and weapons, which made them powerful.

As Bantu-speaking people migrated east and south from Cameroon, they shared their farming and iron working skills, and language, with others.

Aksum became first a center for trade and later an important center for Christian learning.

Early Peoples

Many scientists agree

that humans like

ourselves lived on the

continent of Africa

longer than any other

continent.

The early people

living in Africa mainly

lived south of the

Sahara.

From there, these early

people spread all over

Africa and to other

continents.

As early Africans spread

out through the

continent, each group

had to adapt to its

environment.

Sometimes, however,

the environments they

lived in changed.

Early Peoples

Almost over 11,000

years ago, the

Sahara in Africa was

not a desert but

instead a grassland.

Early Peoples

The region of the Sahara had a wetter climate, lakes and streams, and plenty of wildlife

In around 4,000 B.C., desertification began as the climate became drier.

As the desert area grew larger and larger, it pushed people who lived there to the south.

The Sahara separated

the lands that lay to

the south of it from

northern Africa and

Europe.

Travel across the

desert was so difficult

that information and

new ideas could not

be exchanged easily.

Early Peoples

The barrier formed by the Sahara had a major effect on the societies that developed in Africa south of the Sahara.

This barrier formed by the Sahara had a major effect on the societies that develop south of the Sahara.

Because Africa south of the Sahara has a variety of landforms, many different ways of life developed there.

People learned to live in its deserts, grasslands, and rain forests.

Each environment had its challenges.

Early Peoples

Survival was easiest for the early people of western Africa because it was a savanna.

The Niger river flows through the western part of Africa and as a result when the river would flood, the soil would become fertile and crops would grow.

Because of this geographic resource, western Africa’s population grew quickly.

The first known city south of the Sahara was known as Jenne-Jeno and lasted for more than 1,00 years.

During that time it became the region’s first trade center.

Early Peoples: Nok culture

The earliest iron use in

Africa may be traced

to the Nok culture.

The Nok people

flourished between 500

B.C. and A.D. 200.

The Nok people

learned how to smelt

iron ore. Then the Nok

people heated the iron

until it was soft enough

shape.

Working with iron changed the lives of the Nok people because it gave them stronger weapons for hunting and fishing.

Iron tools made it easier for them to clear land and grow crops.

Because of these advantages, the Nok people and other iron users grew powerful.

The Bantu Migrations The early Bantu-

speaking people

were among those

who learned about

iron use.

They lived in the

country of what is

now known as

Cameroon.

The name of the

people come from

their language –

The Bantu

Languages.

The Bantu Migrations The Bantu speakers

were farmers and cattle herders.

They learned the use of iron from their neighbors, the Nok People.

Like the Nok people, the Bantu people used iron to make weapons for hunting and warefare and tools for agriculture.

Iron tools allowed

the Bantu people

to produce more

food.

As a result, this

could have been

the cause of the

Bantu peoples

problem of

overpopulation.

The Bantu Migrations

Facing

overpopulation,

groups of the

Bantu speakers left

their homeland in

search of more

land. (Earlier groups

migrated by 500 B.C.

Migrations to begin to

increase in the A.D.

100’s.)

As the Bantu

spread across

Africa south of the

Sahara, they

carried their

knowledge of

farming and iron

with them. Many

groups took their

cattle with them.

The Bantu Migrations

The Bantu people that migrated took two separate routes.

One group of Bantu people moved south-east of Africa.

The second group moved south across the coastline of western Africa.

Both migrations

avoided the

Sahara to the north

and the rainforest

to the south which

had too much rain

and Tsetse flies.

The Bantu Migrations

AS the Bantu-

speaking people

migrated, they met

other groups of

Africans.

There groups were

herders, hunters,

and gatherers or

farmer. But they

were not iron users.

The Bantu-speaking

people settled

among there other

groups and over

time mixed with

them.

They taught the

other Africans :

how to work with

iron,

how to farm better,

and how to speak

Bantu.

The Bantu Migrations

Each group

developed their

own dialect.

Today there are

more than 500

dialects.

Bantu is the main

language family

spoken by Africans

south of the Sahara

Bantu

Speakers

Spoke Bantu Language

Herded cattle

More food led to overpopulation, migration from Cameroon

From Nigeria

First Africans to smelt iron ore

Taught iron working to Bantu people

Made iron

weapons for

warfare and

hunting.

Grew more

crops with

iron tools.

Iron use led

to power.

Nok

The Kingdom of Aksum South of the Sahara,

one area in eastern Africa had a lot of contact with places outside the region.

Around 500 B.C. people from southern Arabian peninsula crossed the Red sea and settled long the African coast.

These people mixed with African people in the area and spread inland to what is now Ethiopia.

The Kingdom of Aksum

In Ethiopia a

Kingdom was setup

in around 50 A.D.

The capital of this

kingdom was

Aksum.

Aksumite kings

gained control of

several seaports

along the Red Sea.

There was so much trade happening that soon Aksum became a wealthy city.

Aksum became a crossroads for many different cultures.

Many people spoke Greek as well as the local language Geez.

The Kingdom of Aksum Over the years Akum

kings started taking control of many regions that are countries we know today in Africa. Somalia, Dijbouti, Yemen

King Ezana, led the Aksumite army against the kingdom of Kush, which at the time was in Nile Valley

King Ezana was a warlike ruler. He also made Aksum a Christian state.

Soon Aksum became an important center for Christian learning.

Eventually Aksum lost control of its Red Sea ports when traders from south-western Asia took over.

By time the Aksum’s rulers moved father from the cast where they formed the Kingdom of Ethiopia.

Graphic Organizer

People Origins Skills

NOK Nigeria Hunting, farming,

iron working, war

BANTU Cameroon

Hunting, farming,

iron working, war,

cattle herding

AKSUMITE

African coast along

the Red Sea to

highland of

Ethiopia

Trade, war

Graphic Organizer

Nok

People

Bantu

Speakers Aksumite

When and

where lived. 500 B.C. to A.D.

200; Nigeria

Began migrating

south A.D. 100

from Cameroon

along the Great

Rift Valley and

into northern

Namibia

A.D. 50 to A.D.

600’s; at peak

ruled African

coast along the

Red Sea and

inland to the

highlands of

what are now

parts of Ethiopia,

Somalia, Djibouti,

and Yemen.

Achievements Probably the first

African to smelt

iron ore

Taught other iron

working, farming

skills, Bantu

language

Formed a

kingdom; traders;

established

center for

Christian learning

in Aksum