Fossil remains and stone tools found at sites in eastern Africa point to the region as the home of humankind's earliest known ancestors. While the origins of humanity may not be completely understood, it is clear that African culture stretches back for millennia. The countries of Sub-Saharan-Africa -- the and south of the Sahara Desert -- share a common past shaped by ancient civilizations, European colonization, and the drive for independence. At the same time, the region is incredibly diverse. Thousands of African ethnic groups reside in this region, as well as other ethnic groups from other continents.
Today, nearly one billion people live in Africa south of the Sahara. Most people live in densely populated areas along the coastal belt of West Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea, and along the eastern coast of southern Africa. Fertile soils, abundant water supplies, and mild climates help to support agriculture, industry, and commerce in these areas. While the vast majority of Africans south of the Sahara live in rural areas, the world's fastest rate or urbanization occurs in this region. Diseases such as AIDS and malaria, along with famine and poor nutrition, threaten the population, although great strides have been made in the past decades. The promise of better economic opportunities, health care, and public services causes many people to migrate form the countryside to cities.
Ancient civilizations in Africa developed powerful kingdoms that dominated patterns of trade throughout the region. Later, the development of agriculture and trade led to the rise of African city-states, kingdoms, and empires. These African civilizations left few written records of their achievements. Through oral traditions, legends, and history, early African peoples passed down knowledge about their cultures. Thus, archaeologists and historians have had to rely on these traditions and artifacts to learn about early African civilizations. African cultures developed technologies and trade based on regional natural resources. Civilizations rose and declined and were influenced by the movement of peoples and by the way in which natural resources (such as gold, salt, and iron) were developed. In northeast Africa, the Kush kingdom and later the Axum empire thrived. On the west coast of the region, the empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai traded their abundant gold for scarce salt resources from the Sahara.
From the 16th to the 19th century, Europeans explored the African continent, enslaved many Africans, and sent them across the Atlantic Occean to Brazil, the Caribbean Islands, and the southern part of the present-day United States. Europeans began colonizing the sub-Sharan region in the 19th century. By 1914 Europeans had divided nearly all of Africa among themselves. They often established colonial borders without regard to the different ethnic groups living in the area. Their boundaries cut across ethnic homelands; replaced traditional, small-scale farming with plantations; and generally promoted European culture over African ways.
In many parts of Africa, however, Africans resisted European rule. By the late 1960s, most of Africa was made up of independent nations. Descendants of European settlers, however, continued to rule the country of South Africa, carrying out the policy of apartheid that withheld many rights from black Africans and other non-Europeans. In the early 1990s, South Africa became a genuine democracy, extending civil rights and the right to vote to all of its citizens.
Since independence, African countries have struggled to forge national identities and to diversity and develop their economies. Saddled with colonial-era boundaries, many nations have diverse populations, often bitterly divided by their ethnic differences. In many countries, loyalty to an ethnic group is more important than loyalty to a national government. Ethnic tensions have engulfed countries such as Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda, and Burundi in devastating civil wars. Africa gained a new nation in 2011 - the Republic of South Sudan - and changes are likely to continue.
Africans belong to many different ethnic groups, most of which are indigenous to the region. Language, religion, and ways of life unite members of each group and define ethnic homelands that cross the boundaries of the countries of Africa today. More than 2,000 languages are spoken in Africa, including Agrican dialects such as Swahili and Zulu. With so many languages, communication among ethnic groups can be a challenge. Millions of people in the region speak more than one language, however, and Arabic, Hausa, Swahili, and various European languages are used widely. English and French serve as lingua franca (the common language used when people have different first languages).
Most Africans in this region are either Christians or Muslims, or follow one of the many traditional religions. African traditions often are transmitted through the arts. One art form flourishing today is textiles with patterns that reflect distinct ethnic groups. Music, dance, and oral literature also have strong traditions.
Much of the region's working population derives its living from agriculture. Most families only grow enough to feed themselves or their villages. Commercial farms, typically foreign-owned, usually rely on only one or two cash crops. Some countries have rich deposits of minerals, such as gold, diamonds, bauxite, and oil, but profits are often diverted into the hands of foreign owners. Industrial growth has been slow in these developing countries due to a lack of skilled workers, capital resources, equipment, and reliable energy sources. Several countries have given high priority to developing their highway and railroad systems. Radio continues to be the dominant form of mass communication, while the low literacy rate limits the impact of printed materials.
Starvation threatens millions in the region. Climactic changes have transformed semi-arid lands, which were once capable of sustaining marginal levels of agriculture, into desert lands. Extended periods of drought and wars also led to food shortages. The region is working to preserve its environment. Rapid deforestation of rainforests causes animal habitats to disappear. Hunting and poaching also threaten big game animals. Some countries have created huge game preserves that have helped some animals make a comeback. The resulting ecotourism brings millions of dollars into African economies.
Today, sub-Saharan Africa is making the slow transition from an economy based on subsistence agriculture to one that is a part of the global economy. The region is working to resolve human-made conflicts and environmental challenges that have interrupted the supply of food and endangered its plant and animal life. Improving standards of living, fighting diseases such as AIDS, raising literacy rates, and settling regional conflicts are among these challenges. Some African countries are joining together to deal with the issues that affect the region as a whole.
LEARNING:
Read Geography the Human and Physical World pages 489-500, 511-524, 535-548, 559-570, 581-592
MAPPING: With nearly 50 countries located in sub-Saharan Africa, it helps to divide them into regions. Focus on one region at a time on your map. Try to label one section per day rather than hurrying through them all. Add the national capitals.
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chad
Cote d'Ivoire
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
The Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal'
Sierra Leone
Togo
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