Standards• SSWH6 The student will describe the diverse

characteristics of early African societies before 1800 CE. • a. Identify the Bantu migration patterns and contribution to

settled agriculture. • e. Analyze the role of geography and the distribution of

resources played in the development of trans-Saharan trading networks.

History of People in Africa

A Very Short Introduction

Western Desert of Egypt

• 8000 BC– Domesticated cattle

• 7000BC– Domestication of wheat– storage of grains

• 6000 BC– Storage pits

• 5000 BC– Domestication of sheep

and goats

• Food storage = social hierarchy

Migration • Why migrate?

– Overpopulation – Ecological necessity– Violence

• Frequency– Intermittent and

incremental• Absorbs local populations• Spreads:

– Cultures– Languages– Religions– technologies

Causes of MigrationPush Factors

• Environmental:– Climate changes– exhausted resources– Natural Disasters

• earthquakes; volcanoes; drought; famine

• Economic:– Unemployment – slavery– Lack of available land

• War

Causes of MigrationPull Factors

• Environmental– More space– Resources– climate

• Economic: – Land Ownership– Job opportunities

• Politics• Religion

Bantu Migrations

• From the savanna• Nomadic herders• slash-and-burn

farming • S&B = soil depletion• Need knew land every

few years

Bantu Migrations

• Bantu means “the people”

• Started migrating south & east around 3,000 B.C.

• Shared skills• learned new customs • adapted to

environment

Effects of Bantu Migrations

• drove out some inhabitants, intermixed with others

• produced a great variety of cultures

• Language helped unify the continent

• Swahili most common language today

Effects of Bantu Migrations

• Technology – ironworking– bronze, copper & iron

tools/weapons– Superior weapons– Excellent tools

• social & political organization

Innovations & Technologies

• New crops – Ie: Banana, via

Madagascar, native to south Asia

More efficient food production

– More & better nourished people

• Agriculture takes space…with Population increase, need to spread out on more land.

SummarySummary• 4000 BCE to 400 CE in Africa & Eurasia, & earlier in

Oceania.

• Migration Migration spread & mingling of cultures:– Technologies– Religions– Governments– People!

• WhyWhy migrate?• HowHow do we know?

– Languages!– DNA– Material Culture (artifacts)

• EffectEffect on World History?

Photo: Division of India & Pakistan sudden mass migration – largest in modern history.

Standards• SSWH6 The student will describe the diverse characteristics of

early African societies before 1800 CE.

• a. Identify the Bantu migration patterns and contribution to settled agriculture.

• e. Analyze the role of geography and the distribution of resources played in the development of trans-Saharan trading networks.

• List 5 facts which will help you remember this lesson:

•

•

•

•

•