The+Bantu+migration+patterns+and+their+contributions+to+agriculture,+technology,+and+language

Early Civilizations of Africa

The Influence of Geography

**Geographic Patterns** Africa includes tropical rain forests, grassy plains called savannas, and deserts such as the vast Sahara. Deserts, rain forests, the interior plateau, and rivers with cataracts, or waterfalls, limited travel and trade. On the other hand, an interior valley and the Mediterranean and Red seas provided overseas trade routes to Asia and Europe.

**Resources Spur Trade** By A.D. 200, camel caravans helped transport goods across the Sahara. Valuable minerals also encouraged trade.

People and Ideas Migrate

**The Sahara Dries Out** Before 2500 B.C., there were forests and rivers in the Sahara. A climate change, however, slowly resulted in the area drying up and becoming desert—a process called desertiﬁcation. As a result, people migrated to ﬁnd new farmland.

**The Bantu Migrations** Between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1000, people from West Africa moved south and east. They spoke forms of a root language known as Bantu. These Bantu people merged with existing cultures and brought skills in farming and ironworking.

Nubia Flourishes Along the Nile

**Nubia Rivals Egypt** About 2700 B.C., the civilization of Nubia, or Kush, developed on the upper Nile. Egypt controlled Nubia for about 500 years beginning in 1500 B.C. Early Nubian culture was inﬂuenced by Egyptian architecture and religion.

**Meroë Masters Trade and Iron** Forced to move by Assyrian invaders, the Nubians established a new capital in Meroë about 500 B.C. Meroë developed into a successful trade center. Nearby areas were rich in iron ore and timber. Using wood to fuel smelting furnaces, the Nubians made iron tools and weapons, improving their defense.

**Splendor and Decline** The Nubians also established a new religion and a system of writing. In A.D. 350, Nubia was conquered by an invader from the south, King Ezana of Axum.