Hunter-gatherers and herders in southern Africa - Topic 5 Flashcards
Who lived in South Africa first? Hunter-gatherers or herders?
Hunter-gatherers (10000 years ago)
How do we find out about older hunter-gatherers and herders?
The objects they left behind
Rock paintings
Stories and books (of old)
Observing people who live in a similar way today
Who are the professionals called that dig up things that people of long ago left behind (and then tells us how the people lived from the evidence)?
Archaeologists (check the spelling - it is an awesome word!)
What kind of objects do archaeologists look for in the ground when they dig?
Seeds from fruits Animal bones Stone tools Fireplaces Seal bones Shell fish
What is an archaeologist?
A person who studies people who lived long ago by looking at the things they have left behind.
True or false … Rock paintings tell us more about how herders lived long ago?
False (the hunter-gatherers were more the people who made rock paintings)
True or false: The hunter-gatherers wrote down their stories in books
False (they told the stories to their kids - it was historians who wrote down the stories)
What did Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd do that was so amazing?
150 years ago they got the last hunter-gatherers together in Cape Town, learned their language and wrote down some of their stories.
True or false: There are still (today) people who live like hunter-gatherers today in South Africa?
True: We have photos from the 1950s but these people are very few
Why did the dinosaur cross the road?
Because the chicken did not exist yet!
Name a group that were hunter-gatherers in the Later Stone Age
The San people
Name a group that were herders in the Later Stone Age
The Khoikhoi people
Hunter-gatherer women did what kind of tasks?
Dug up roots
Collected fruit
Hunter-gatherer men did what kind of tasks?
Catch small animals in traps
Catch fish in the river
How could the hunter-gatherers kill large animals with small bows and arrows?
Describe in more detail but in short:
- Carved arrows from stone and bone
- Tie arrow to shaft
- Put (beetle larvae) poison on the arrow
- Stalk animal and shoot
- Arrow falls out but arrowhead keeps poisoning
- Hunter follows animal until it falls down
What do we know about the social organisation of the hunter-gatherers?
They shared everything (plants and animals) equally within a group
Name what some of the plant medicines were for that the hunter-gatherers told the historians about.
Healing headaches
Help hunters shoot well
Help find honey
To heal someone who was ill (eat in tiny pieces)
What was one of the main parts of the San religion?
A dance where the dancers went into a trance (they seem asleep and dreaming and it feels like they go into another world).
It is correct that the oldest rock paintings of the San are 25000 old
OK - that was not a question ;)
What is more scary than seeing a T-Rex?
Two T-Rex’s
What did the San paint with on the rocks?
Plants
Blood from animals
True or false: The rock paintings show what people saw and felt when they went into a trance?
True - and was therefore part of their religion
What interesting depiction do we find on the South African Coat of Arms?
Two figures taken from Hunter-gatherer rock paintings from the so-called Linton Panel
What is the motto (saying) on the SA Coat of Arms?
!ke e:/xarra //ke
What does !ke e:/xarra //ke (the motto on the Coat of Arms) mean?
Diverse people unite (or Unity in Diversity)
Try and say !ke e:/xarra //ke …
Listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCJDXAtmB2g
True or false: The hunter-gatherers and herders did not really live together
False: The Khoikoi herders lived with the San hunter-gatherers
Why do we call the herder’s way of life “Pastoral”?
Because they moved to find pasture (grass) for their cattle
What animals did herders keep?
Cattle
Sheep
Name five objects that are found by archaeologists AND say of what they gave evidence of how the people lived
Stone tools = Hunted Animal bones = hunted Fireplace = Cooked food Seeds = Ate fruit seal bones and shellfish = Fished
Name a few similarities between Hunter-gatherers and Herders
Both are self-sufficient
Both live off the land
Both hunt and gather food
Name a few differences between Hunter-gatherers and Herders
Herders have larger family groups/ communities
Herders have cattle and sheep with them
Herder homes are more structured (with skins and poles)
How did the San hunter-gatherers manage the environment so there was always food?
- They only stayed a few weeks in an area and then moved on
- They lived in small family groups (10-20 people)
- Houses are temporary and built from materials in the environment
- Each family group had its own area with enough food
How did the San encourage working and sharing together?
- Nobody became richer as everything comes from nature
- They used stories to share their values (selfish people who cause trouble are bad characters)
- Hunters borrowed each other’s arrows (the owner of the arrow that killed the animal shares the meal)
How did the San encourage sharing between different groups?
- They share food between groups (like when an Eland is killed)
- Each person has 10-15 Gift partners with whom they regularly exchange gifts (one day you can ask for a favour back)
What can you serve but never eat?
A volleybal - this one is for Jeremy ;)
