The First Farmers in South Africa

Vocabulary and key concepts regarding the first Bantu-speaking farmers in South Africa, including their social structure, technology, and interactions with other groups.

Farming

The practice of breeding animals or growing crops, which human ancestors began about $10\,000$ years ago.

Bantu-speakers

The ancestors of many South African people who moved to southern Africa as the first group of African farmers.

Clicks

Sound features found in Bantu languages like Xhosa and isiZulu that were adopted through contact and intermarriage with Khoikhoi and San people.

Iron Age

The archaeological era during which Bantu-speaking farmers arrived in southern Africa, approximately $5\,000$ years ago.

Cattle kraal

An enclosure for livestock around which Bantu-speaking farmers built their villages.

Hoe

A traditional tool used primarily by women to clear ground, weed fields, and harvest crops.

Ox-plough

A tool introduced by European settlers that required oxen and replaced the hoe, leading to a shift where men took over the work of clearing ground.

Lobola

The bride price paid by African farmers, typically using cattle as a form of payment.

Homestead

A village consisting of a group of huts called kraals, arranged around a cattle enclosure and led by an elder.

Thatch

The material used to make the roofs of the clay-walled huts in early farming villages.

Chiefdom

A political unit consisting of several homesteads ruled by a chief, who was often the wealthiest man.

Council of elders

A group that supported the chief and ensured he listened to the opinions and needs of the people before making decisions.

Sangoma

A traditional healer who used drums, dance, and rituals to diagnose illness and contact ancestors for guidance or a good harvest.

Smelting

The process of extracting iron and copper from rock using high-heat furnaces.

Forging

The process of reheating and hammering softened iron to create useful tools, weapons, and ornaments.

Bellows

Tools made from animal skin used to blow air into a furnace to reach the high temperatures necessary for smelting.

Sorghum

One of the specific agricultural crops grown by early farmers alongside pumpkins, maize, yams, and beans.

Summer rainfall area

The type of climate in the eastern part of the country that attracted early farmers because it was suitable for growing crops.