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

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 Iron and the Nok Djenné-Djeno- 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 thatspirits 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, forexample, these storytellers, or griots, kept this history alive, passing it from parent to child

- 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

- In the region south of theSahel, 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 from250 B.C., making Djenné-Djeno 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 AfricaExtended FamilyAnimismGriotsNokIron Age in Sub-Saharan AfricaDjenné-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.

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? ________________________________________________________________________