the region surrounding Lake Chad, the ancestral lands of the
modern Kanuri. Th e lower Niger River region was home to
the Nok, a metalworking culture. Th e middle Niger River re-
gion and Volta River valley were the ancestral homelands of
the later Akan, Mossi, and Songhai peoples. Th e upper Niger
River provided a home for one branch of the Mande, while the
area surrounding Tichît (in modern Mauritania, the likely site
of Africa’s oldest city) was home to another branch of Mande.
Th e Wolof and Serer (also spelled Sérère and Sereer) settled in
the Senegal River valley and along the African coast. Finally,
the ancestors of the later Fulani, Taureg, and Berber peoples
occupied semiarid regions on the border of the desert. Th is
band of civilizations formed a major east–west trading route.
Farther away from the equator are deserts, including
the vast Sahara of northern Africa. Here, people settled pri-
marily around rivers such as the Nile. Th e Nile River valley
was home not only to the ancient Egyptians but also, farther
south, to the Nubians and the Kushites. Water was provided
entirely by the rivers, which fl ooded during rainy seasons at
their source and then carried silt and water for irrigation to
the desert regions. Th is fertile silt was the lifeblood of agri-
culture for these cultures. Nomadic herders lived in the des-
erts, where they could move their livestock about in search of
scarce brush.Finally, the northernmost and southernmost portions of
the continent became temperate, with seasonal climates and
rainfall similar to those of agricultural regions in the United
States and Europe. Here people settled to grow such crops
as grapes, olives, and wheat, and to raise livestock, such as
cattle and goats. Th e emergence of agriculture produced ma-
jor changes in settlement patterns. People had to gather and
strike down more or less permanent roots to tend their fi elds
and herds, and they lived their lives according to the rhythm
of planting, tending, and harvesting crops. Th e result was the
formation of villages and the allocation of the land that sur-
rounded them. As people gathered in villages, more formal
lines of authority had to be developed, typically those sur-
rounding the rights and duties of the lineage or clan. In gen-
eral, these communities did not form “states.” Rather, they
remained autonomous (independent), forming alliances and
networks as necessary.
Resources had to be managed so that people had equal
access to them. Practices surrounding marriage and the rais-
ing of children became more formalized. Social and eco-
nomic patterns changed as people developed new specialties,
such as pottery making. Religious practices became more
formalized as people worshipped ancestors and gods associ-
ated with land, crops, the weather, and so on. African societyAerial view of the Niger River and surrounding savanna during the rainy season; savanna farming communities were the most common form of
settlement in ancient Africa. (© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System)settlement patterns: Africa 9630895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i963 963 10/10/07 2:30:35 PM