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CHAPTER OVERVIEW Africa was the birthplace of humanity and African-American history and culture over one million years ago. The geography of Africa divides the continent into North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara desert, both barrier and pathway, helped to shape a broader African experience from the foundations of civilization in ancient Egypt to the tribal and Muslim kingdoms of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans. Africans adopted a wide range of religious practices while herding livestock and growing grain crops. African civilizations competed against one another for regional supremacy, lands, and resources, including access to a slave trade controlled by Muslim states. LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1-1 What are the geographical characteristics of Africa? 1-2 Where and how did humans originate? 1-3 Why are ancient African civilizations important? 1-4 Why is West Africa significant for African-American history? 1-5 What did Kongo and Angola have in common with West Africa? 1-6 How did the legacies of West African society and culture influence the way African Americans lived? CHAPTER OUTLINE I. A Huge and Diverse Land a. Climatic zones shaped African history. (See Lecture Starter 1 and MyLab Activity 1.) b. The Sahara Desert limited contact between sub-Saharan Africa and the outside world. c. A huge savanna stretches from Ethiopia to the Atlantic Ocean. d. The rain forest extends east from the Atlantic coast over most of central Africa. e. Another region of savanna borders the rain forest to the south, followed by the Kalahari Desert. f. A coastal strip lies at the continent’s southern extremity. (See Short Assignment 1.) II. The Birthplace of Humanity a. Humans, gorillas and chimpan
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