First Farmers in ZA Flashcards
How long ago did people from East Africa start to settle as farmers in South Africa?
1700 years ago
Why did the farmers move to the East coast of SA and later on to the biggest part of SA?
They needed Summer rainfall for their crops to grow
From which modern countries did the first farmers come?
Nigeria and Cameroon
What could the first farmers do?
- Keep animals
- Grow crops
- Make tools from iron
True or false: Herders and Hunter-gatherers sometimes joined the farming groups
TRUE
What was the most important thing in the farmers’ way of life?
Land (which the chief gave you) to plant crops and graze cattle
What did Hunter-gatherers give farmers in exchange for cattle?
They performed rain ceremonies (calling on the ancestors to send rain) for the crops to grow
What evidence do we find that herders traded with farmers
Sea shells, bone arrowheads and ostrich shell beads in farming sites
What did the Khoikhoi herders get from the farmers in trade?
Iron tools
Copper
What did Archaeologists find at a place like Molokwane that tell us how the First Farmers lived?
- Farmers’ houses floors
- Grain storage places
- Stones for grinding grain
- Pottery
- Iron tools
- Places where iron tools were made
What were the first crops that were grown in southern Africa?
Sorghum
Millet
When did the African farmers begin growing maize?
When the Europeans came to southern Africa
What things did the women do in the farming villages?
- Work in the fields
- Fetch water
- Make music
What things did the men do in the farming villages?
- Look after cattle
- Smelting
- Fishing
- Making music
When farming people help each other when working on the chief’s field (by giving new farmers seed or lending them cows or giving someone food) this is called …?
Co-operation (it is a culture of co-operation)
How did the chiefs in the farming villages grow more powerful?
By getting more seed and cattle with which he could get more wives and children to work on the fields and then get more crops he could grow and store.
Cattle were very important! What was cattle used for?
- A man could get wives
- Pay fines
- Slaughter them for the ancestors’ happiness
For the farmers to break up hard ground, harvest crops and mke weapons for hunting and defense they needed what?
Iron tools
Name the five steps of metal working (think of the booklet you made)
- Rocks with iron in smelted in a hot fire
- A bellow (leather bag) used to blow air onto the fire for super hotness
- Fire melted iron out of the rocks (collected when cold)
- Cold iron heated up and made into a lump
- Lump was then beaten into desired shape when still hot.
True or false: The men made the pottery
False: The women made pottery things from clay
What special pottery things were made that were found at Lydenburg?
The Lydenburg Heads
What were the Lydenburg heads?
Pottery masks (some were shaped like animals) that were worn over the head for unknown special ceremonies - maybe they were symbols of strength.
What kinds of trade went on between farmers?
- iron tools for grain or cattle
- Gold and ivory for bead and cotton
How did the farmers catch the elephants for their ivory tusks?
They dug holes and drove the elephants into the pit traps.
