 |
| Evidence shows that Mankind crossed on the Southern Dip from Africa about 125,000 years ago |
Scientists, Archaeologists and historical evidence believe and show that
mankind evolved in Africa about 2 million years ago. However, there is a lot of
assumption from the few archaeological finds.
This is a period from the beginning of humans in Africa to the end of
the recent Ice Age which was about 10,000 years ago.
It is assumed that by 8000 BC a few million people were living in small
communities across the continent. A glimpse into prehistoric Africa gave the
knowledge that they used stone and bone tools when hunting animals and
gathering plants. It did not leave us with a better picture how these people
really lived.
There never was an Ice Age in Africa like on the rest of the world. It
still had an influence on the climate.
The Sahara had rainfall before it was barren. The rainfall created
lakes, forest and grasses. This encouraged elephants, lions and other animals
to move there. Prehistoric rock paintings and carvings were found showing
evidence of these animals existed there. The earliest rock paintings show only
animals and hunting scenes. Later pictures, around 6000 BC, show herding
agriculture in the region.
These new inhabitants still had their hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
However, as the lakes and rivers started forming, their way of life also
started to change. They started to fish and developed fish-hooks as well as
harpoons. Since their food came from more or less around the same place they
started to build huts.
AGRICULTURE
Around 8000 years ago inhabitants in the Sahara and Nile Valley started
to domesticate wild animals. They succeeded with cows and soon went with their
herd from place to place. At the same time of this development agriculture
began. They cultivated crops and were influenced by Mesopotamia, today's Iraq.
It spread along the river Nile from Egypt to Ethiopia. In this region
there was mainly barley and wheat. It is assumed that they learned farming from
the Egyptians.
They grew native African crops like millet, sorghum and rice. In the
south and west they grew cereals, yams, bananas and oil palm fruits.
SAHARA RETURNS TO
DESERT
Around 3500 BC the dessert returned to Sahara and the people moved south
and east.
By 2000 BC, it appears, they were herders and went from pasture to
pasture in the region of modern Kenya.
However, it took another 3000 years till they reached the far south of
Africa. The slow progress was due to thick woodlands in the south. Another
cause was the tsetse fly in this area which causes a serious cattle disease
called nagana.
Even agriculture was not developed there till about 1500 years ago.
Some of the ancient tribes moved north when the Sahara turned into a
desert. Tribes headed as far as the Mediterranean coast. Other tribes moved
from oases to oases in the Sahara. Most of these people spoke Berber and eventually
were known as Berbers.
By around 1000 BC a regular trading route was established through the
Sahara. They carried goods from the north and west of the continent. At first
they used to use horse-drawn chariots to transport their goods. However, as the
desert climate became more established camels from Arabia were used.
From around 4000 BC a great civilization developed in the north-east,
the ancient Egyptians. All along the mighty river Nile the Egyptians
established themselves and goods were transported all the way to Nubia.
A Kingdom of Kush established itself in about 2000 BC but the Egyptians
conquered those 500 years later.
In 759 BC, the King Kashta defeated the Egyptians and for another 100
years Kushite pharaohs ruled Egypt. The next two kings Piankhy and Shabaka
pushed further north and their powerful kingdom reached the Mediterranean
coast.
A great change came when the Assyrian Armies marched into Egypt from the
Middle East. They conquered several regions of the Kushites.
The Kushites moved back to the south to their original homeland. The
capital was Napata. In the 5th century BC they even moved further south
to the new capital Meroe. From there they established a flourishing culture
with farming and iron-working. They established trade routes to Africa, Middle
East India and China. Their culture had its peak around 300 BC but went into
decline in 200 AD.
In 320 AD Kush was conquered by Axum, a Christian trading kingdom whose
homeland was Ethiopia.
Over the next hundreds of years the people used stones, bones and wood
to make their tools. However, around 4000 BC, the Egyptians started to use the
first metal which was copper. After another 1000 years they discovered to melt
in tin with the copper and produced bronze. Maybe some West Africans also used
copper but most of the other tribes went from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
IRON AGE
The Hittites of Anatolia - today's Turkey - and Syrians discovered how
to melt iron in 1500 BC.
However, this did not spread across to North Africa till several hundreds
years later. Eventually the knowledge spread down the Nile to Egypt and then to
Meroe.
The other route came through the Sahara to the west and it came there by
5th century BC.
The first culture which mastered iron-works was the Nok. They made not
only iron tools but sculptured heads made form terracotta. It was a successful
culture till including the early AD.
The Bantu-speaking tribes lived in West Africa. They made iron tools
from the 5th century BC till 5th AD. To begin with they were farmers and their
agricultural skills spread at the same time. These iron tools enabled them to
cut through impenetrable forests. Therefore, the people in the south were able
to learn a different life style. Until such time they were hunters/gatherers.
By 1000 AD across whole Africa the people were making tools from melted
iron and farming. There were also small villages and town being built and
complex societies emerged.
Only in the south-west the tribes were still hunting and gathering.
In the north, through the Arab invasions in the 7th century AD the
trans-Sahara trade was established and constantly increasing.
After that the great African empires of the Middle Ages emerged.
No comments:
Post a Comment