the fi rst obstacle; most people did not want to venture into
it. Th e Sahara was another enormous impediment. Central
Africa is full of dense rain forest and mountain ranges, both
of which present diffi culties to travelers. Middle Eastern crops
grew well in the Nile River valley, with its stable climate and
regular fl ooding. Th ey also grew well in other locations with
climates similar to that of the Near East, such as the Ethio-
pian highlands. Th ey did not, however, grow well in Sudan,
which has periodic monsoons. Th e Sahara likewise did not
provide a suitable climate for Near Eastern grains. South Af-
rica has a climate suited to Near Eastern grains, but it was so
far away that no one could get there from North Africa.
As a result of these geographical limitations, agriculture
did not spread readily through Africa, as it did through Eu-
rope and Asia. People domesticated plants and animals, but
they did so in isolated pockets and independently of one an-
other. Th is domestication also happened much later in Africa
than it did in Eurasia; scholars believe that Africans did not
domesticate their own grains until 2000 to 1000 b.c.e.
NILE RIVER VALLEY
Th e Nile River valley was the fi rst place agriculture ap-
peared in Africa. Th e Nile is a very long river, fl owing more
than 4,000 total miles through eastern Africa. Th e White
Nile begins in Rwanda and fl ows north through Tanzania,
Lake Victoria, Uganda, and Sudan. Th e Blue Nile starts in
Ethiopia and fl ows through Sudan as well. Th e two tributar-
ies meet in Sudan and fl ow north through the desert into
Egypt. People lived all along the length of the river. Th ou-
sands of years ago they lived as hunter-gatherers, hunting
wild animals, fi shing in the river, and gathering the many
w i ld pl a nt s t hat g re w i n t he r iver v a l le y. Th e Nile River valley
has a very regular annual fl ood schedule. Th e Nile overfl ows
its banks every summer, and the fl ooding reaches south-
ern Egypt by the middle of August and the Mediterranean
about a month later. Th is fl ooding wets the soil along the
length of the river for about two months, creating a moist
environment for plants.
Agriculture traveled south down the Nile River valley be-
tween 6500 and 5500 b.c.e. People living in the Near East had
started growing plants for food about 8000 b.c.e. Travelers
venturing southwest into Egypt brought agricultural tech-
niques with them, and these practices gradually made their
way south into Africa. By 5000 b.c.e. the Nile River valley
was populated by people living off domestic crops and live-
stock. Th ey also made pottery similar to that of the Near East.
Near Eastern agriculture traveled as far as the highlands of
Ethiopia, where the climate was similar to the climate where
the plants and animals had fi rst been domesticated.SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Th e Sahara is now a desert that grows bigger every year. Few
people venture into it, and no one farms it. In prehistoric
times, however, the Sahara was very diff erent; it was fertile
enough to be one of the places where humans developed agri-
culture. Scholars are not sure whether people living in AfricaView of rice fi elds in the Malagasy Republic of southern Africa (© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System)
agriculture: Africa 17