Transcript Africa - Welcome to SchoolPage

What you may not know?
When you think of Africa you
usually think of….
But there is a lot more to Africans
than what they show on “Feed the
Children”…
Africa is not a country!
“I just visited the country of Africa”
–George Bush
Fact: Africa is a continent, like
Europe, with a lot of diversity.
Did you know?
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Africa is the second largest continent.
The earliest evidence of human beings
comes from Africa. Many great cultures
developed here.
It would be wrong to assume that…
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Everyone in Africa speaks the same language. Fact:
There are over 2,000 languages currently spoken in
Africa.
Traditional Africa is uneducated and uncivilized. Fact:
One of the first universities was located in Timbuktu
where they taught in Arabic. Greeks and Romans
came to the west and north Africa to get an
education also.
Africa is a poor continent. Fact: Africa is THE richest
continent in terms of natural resources containing
gold, diamonds, petroleum, cooper, cobalt, and zinc
(colonialism and exploitation has left them ill-equipped
to compete in the global market).
Geography
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Most of Africa lies in the tropics warm
temperature
Has three natural regions
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Savannas (50% of continent)
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Deserts (40% of continent)
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savannas: vast stretches of dry grasslands with very
fertile soil
Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world
Tropical Rain Forests (10% of continent)
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areas that receive more than 100 inches of rain a year (hot
and wet)
included jungles
Geography
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Much of Africa consists of rivers
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most of the rivers are blocked by rapids (due
to plateaus)
these obstacles protected Africans from
outsiders
unfortunately, also made trade and
communication harder (prevented unity)
Climate diversity
African Kingdoms
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Almost all African kingdoms were located
on trading routes
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especially the Trans-Saharan trade routes
developed extensive trade in gold, ivory and
salt
Africa was
home to
many great
kingdoms
prior to the
arrival of the
Europeans.
Cultural Diversity
Patterns of Life during Early Africa
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Most early Africans lived in small, independence
villages farming, fishing and trading
Unlike other civilizations, women were the head
farmers (sign of power)
African economies were based on agriculture
and trade
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African were known for trading
Societies in Africa were very matrilineal
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matrilineal: people traced their heritage and
inherited property through mothers
African Religion/Family Relations
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African religion believed in animism and
ancestor worship (very religious)
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animism: belief that spirits inhabit
everything, living and nonliving
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similar to Shintoism in Japan
family was stressed in Africa (filial piety)
Identity was determined by membership
in an extended family or lineage group.
Modern Day Religions
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Please take a few moments to define the key
terms on page 236.
Please read the section on Community Education
and Initiation on pages 237 to 238, then
continue on with the section on Slavery.
After you have read these pages please
summarize each section with a minimum of
three sentences.
Then complete the Religious Expression web on
page 241.
Please turn in the assignment when finished.