San and khoi khoi

• San


  First known inhabitants of Central and Southern Africa, hunter-gatherers living in highly mobilised groups
• San

  • Small in structure, brown in colour, have unique click languages
  • Stone Age people, did not use metals, weapons made of wood, stone and bones
  • Did not domesticate animals or cultivate crops, used ostrich egg shells for storing and holding liquids
  • Nomads, preferred rock shelter for temporary shelter
  • Accomplished fishermen, used slivers of bones and wood to hook fish and tidal traps
• Social and cultural life of the San


  No sense of ownership<|>Disputes solved by consensus<|>Status of women relatively equal<|>Wore ornaments made of seed, berries, shell and small pieces<|>Movement to different campsites organised by group<|>Lifestyle was primitive communism
• Roles of San men and women

  • Men responsible for hunting and fishing, gathered Hoodia gordonii
  • Women gathered plants, wild fruit and berries, leaves, stems, bulbs, corms, and roots
• San hunting methods


  • Devised many different hunting traps
  • Extracted poison which was used to hunt
  • Meat cooked fresh or smoked and dried for later use
• San clothing


  Light for easy movement, men wore loin skirts with short skin in front, used skin cloaks and blankets
• San leather work


  Leather made into bags for carrying food, string bags woven from fibre
• San rock paintings


  Painted on rocks and cave walls, engraved on eggshells, showed they were tuned to their environment
• San beliefs


  • Paid tribute to the chief
  • Believed in God
  • Eland considered the most spiritual animal
  • Taught children through oral tradition
• Khoi Khoi


  Early inhabitants of Central and Southern Africa, called "Hottentots" by early Europeans, origin still debated
• Khoi Khoi economic system

  • Major system based on lifestyle and production
  • Raised long horned cattle, fat tailed sheep and goats, animals kept for meat, milk and blood
  • Husbandry provided stable balanced diet and allowed larger groups
  • Grew crops and variety of other plants
  • Both sexes involved in economic activities
  • Men sometimes hunted wild animals, women milked cows and goats, gathered roots and berries, made pottery
  • Technology more developed than San, included carvings, bone ivory, smelting and smithing of iron
  • Traded with traders from Far East, extracted salt from mineral springs
• Khoi Khoi political and social organisation

  Village settlements relatively large, built dome shaped huts from young branches<|>Huts arranged in circle, domestic animals kraaled overnight<|>Each village consisted of same clan, group of male descendants with wives and children<|>Young people initiated at adulthood, marriage after ceremony with groom paying lobola<|>Organised system of authority, each village had hereditary headman, made decisions and acted as mediators<|>Senior people had more privileges, children lived with age group<|>Polygamous, several villages united into larger tribal unit with kinship base and recognised senior clan chief
• Khoi Khoi religious beliefs

  Believed in supreme being, spirits of natural forces especially water and rain<|>Gave special significance to moon, viewed as physical magnification of Supreme Being associated with heaven<|>New and full moon special occasions for dancing
• Transition from Late Stone Age to Iron Age


  Permanent settlements established, population increase due to improved food supply and health<|>Village communities created, led to formation of classes and rivalries between villages<|>Decisions made by small powerful consensus group
• Economic changes in Iron Age

  • Continued hunting and gathering to supplement food
  • Began mining minerals like copper, gold, silver and iron ore, used for tools and trade
  • Bantu farmers paid more attention to farming, grew variety of crops like millet, sorghum and pumpkins
  • Kept cattle, sheep and goats, cattle considered symbol of wealth
• Iron ore


  Mineral mined
• Hoes and axes


  • Vital for mining
  • Hoes used to dig for minerals
  • Axes used for cutting trees to use for the furnace
• Before Iron Age, minerals were ignored and regarded as colourful rocks
• Gold and copper


  Processed into jewellery
• Iron


  Used to make tools
• Iron tools

  Used for internal and external trade
• Crops grown

  • Millet
  • Sorghum
  • Pumpkins
• Cattle


  Considered a symbol of wealth<|>Killed on special occasions
• Pottery


  • Decorated
  • Used for storing grain, water and milk
• Tribute


  Paid to the ruling class as a sign of respect by the subjects<|>Could be in the form of crops, iron tools, minerals, cattle and labour
• Early Iron Age people

  • Abandoned living in caves
  • Began to live in pole and dagga huts
• Division of labour


  • Men went for mining
  • Women concentrated on household chores
• Specialisation


  Led to exchange of goods amongst neighbours
• Gaps between different classes broadened
• Chiefdoms emerged
• Polygamy


  Vital for social status<|>More wives = more respected
• Boy child


  Valued more than girl child as he perpetuated the family name
• Lobola


  Widespread<|>In the form of cattle, hoes, beads and labour
• They believed in life after death and buried the dead with their belongings
• Bantu


  People who spoke related languages<|>Originated from Sudan (Benue cross region)<|>Moved with their livestock (cattle, sheep and goats)
• Reasons for Bantu migration


  • Population pressure
  • Bad climatic conditions
  • Land exhaustion
• The Early Iron Age is the period which followed the Late Stone Age
• The Early Iron Age began to be practiced in Central Africa in AD300
• The Bantu are associated with the Early Iron Age
• The Iron Age was called the revolutionary period and it led to the formation of States