Chapter 3: Geography and Early History of Africa

How might the languages of Africa be a problem in building unified nations?

-1000+ languages spoken in very close proximity to one another (many "families") -communication barriers between local groups --misunderstanding, even just a little, could lead to a lack of trade and/or massive conflicts. -studying language patterns gives clues as to the early movements and migrations of African peoples

Population Patterns

-763 million -growing rapidly -not densely populated

The equator runs through the middle of Africa

-80% of Africa is in the tropics -Higher elevations have somewhat cooler climates

Describe achievements of Egyptian civilization.

-Construction of still standing pyramid tombs and temples -Development of hieroglyphics (writing) -365-day year (star and planet knowledge for farming) -Mathematical surveying; data collecting -Medical treatments (repair wounds/bones, mummification) and surgeries

The Aswan High Dam; mistake?

-Disrupted flooding/renewed silt of Great River Valley -Farmers must purchase fertilizer to grow crops

What are the five basic kinds of societies in Africa?

-Farming -Herding -Fishing -Hunting and Food Gathering -Urban

What are the four major climate zones of Africa?

-Tropical Wet (8%) Tropical Wet and Dry (biggest) (~50%) -Desert (40%) -Mediterranean (~2%)

Olduvai Gorge

-an area along the edge of the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania -Mary and Louis Leakey found bone fragments that were nearly 2 million years old -speculated to be of the earliest people on the planet (earliest evidence of human life).

How do different scientists help us learn about the ancient past?

-archaeologists(study early civilization remnants) -geologists (help determine the age of rocks since their formation, when fossils are found within them). -botanists (help determine types of plant life and the climate needed for them) -biologists (like prior, but more broad on life)

How have the landforms of Africa discouraged movement?

-cataracts made it impossible for ships to sail in some directions (usually up river).

Deserts

-cover 40% of Africa -the Sahara is larger than the continental US -Sahara, Kalahari and Namib

Hydroelectric power

-electric sourced/produced from moving water -causing dam construction

hieroglyphics

-form of writing (pictures and symbols) used by the Egyptians -allowed people to communicate then and make advancements -historians and archeologists can understand/hypothesize ancient culture

What resources do African nations export to the world?

-heavy in mineral resources -gold (in the past) -copper (D.R. Congo and Zambia) -diamonds and cobalt (South Africa, D.R. Congo, Botswana) -offshore oil (Angola and Nigeria)

Ezana

-king of the Axum Kingdom (Ethiopia and Eritrea today) -conquered Kush around 350 AD. -brought Christianity to Africa (specifically Ethiopia).

Kastha

-king of the kingdom of Kush (south of Egypt) around 750 BC -conquered the Nile Valley to the north of them during Ancient Egypt's weakening of power

Tropical Wet and Dry climate region

-largest climate zone in Africa (~50%) -covered by savanna -home to most Africans -summer= rainy -winter= dry -rainfall; unreliable and hard to predict -droughts; common -population growth, natural forces, and human interaction -> desertification

drought

-long periods of time with little to no rainfall -rain unreliable and unpredictable

disease carrying insects

-major concern -tropical—mosquito; malaria savannah—tsetse fly; sleeping sickness (affects people and livestock) -others? River blindness (flies), bilharzia (snails)

How has Africa's location both set it apart from and linked it to the rest of the world?

-many bodies of water bordering the landmass (Atlantic to the west, Indian to the east, Mediterranean to the north, Red Sea to the NE). -caused other lands, such as Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, to easily travel around Africa and transport people, goods, and ideas -ideal spot for world transportation routes today

How have the landforms of Africa encouraged movement of people and goods?

-plateaus allowed great farm land, several migrations across the continent, and the potential for trade

The Aswan High Dam; major achievement?

-provides irrigation for crops in upper Nile Valley -supplies hydroelectric power to cities and industries -Stopped house damages from flooding

pharaoh

-rulers (and seen as gods) of ancient Egypt. -under their ruling, the Nile villages were "unified" (large empires, trade, early world civilization).

Tropical Wet climate region

-runs along the Equator -makes up only 8% of Africa -abundant rainfall and warm temperatures produce lush plant growth. -the soil is poor due to leaching

How has the land affected the location of these societies?

-savannas (most of population) ;farming or herding societies -by rivers; fishing societies. -urban societies are rapidly growing -hunting and food-gathering societies; minimal and/or dying out.

Mediterranean climate zones

-southern tip and northern coast of Africa (~2%) -farming, herding attracted European colonists

Escarpment

-steep cliffs -plateaus and coastal plains

desertification

-the slow transition of a semidesert area (i.e., savanna) to a complete desert -sped up by human interaction

Why is rainfall a key to Africa's climate?

-too heavy or too little, can affect if and how people can settle in certain regions -some areas unknown on when or how much rain will fall in some years -differentiates seasons from one another; temperature constant year-round

tropics

-warm year-round -between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (latitude lines). -80% of Africa's land area -determines the cultures in Africa

leaching

-when heavy rain dissolves or washes away nutrients/minerals -poor soil in Tropical wet climate regions results from this.

What do ancient rock paintings reveal about the Sahara?

Sahara may have once been a tropical wet or wet and dry land area where basic societies thrived; it wasn't always a desert

How was the culture of Kush affected by trade and warfare?

Trade: Egyptian religion and hieroglyphics Warfare: Iron weapons

Cataract

large waterfall or rapid

Rainfall is distributed very ________ throughout Africa.

unevenly

Temperatures in Africa are generally...

warm

Alternating ___ and ___ seasons

wet, dry