Africa

The cradle of humankind

Evolution

• “The evolution of today’s homo sapiens can be traced by the trail of skeletal remains, tools, and the remnants of settlements— such as cave paintings— that have been left throughout the ages.” National Geographic’s A Visual History of the World

Out of Africa

• After hominoids left their African homeland 1-2 million years ago, they populated Asia, Europe,

Australia and the Americas.

Fire, Tools, Symbol Systems

• Paleolithic Homo Erectus began using fire, crafting tools, developing language, and creating art. Early humans began to develop symbols. They buried their dead and performed burial rites.

Religion and Cults

• Religion and cults emerged, as evidenced by finds indicating the existence of ritual cults and sacrifice. A fascination with food preparation, hunting mysticism and fertility appear in prehistoric finds.

Agricultural Settlements

• During the Neolithic period, humans began to settle due to the introduction of agriculture and animal domestication. Ceramics and metalwork were developed, and people began to construct permanent houses.

The First Civilizations

• The earliest societies appear about 3,000 B.C.E. The first communal settlements grew up along the Tigris and Euphrates in ancient Sumer.

Egypt

• The Egyptian Empire took root along the Nile. Why do you think the first civilizations occurred near huge rivers that flooded every year?

Egyptians Spoke Afroasiatic

• “Without a doubt, the population of ancient Egypt was African. The clearest sign of its African origin is language, for the speech of ancient Egyptians belonged to the language group called Afroasiatic, a family of languages which originated probably in the southeastern Sahara. It includes not only ancient Egyptian, but also modern African languages such as Berber and Hausa, as well as Arabic and Hebrew.”-- Professor James Giblin, Department of History, The University of Iowa