South Africa

Start of the Early Stone Age

200,000 BCE

The Early Stone Age started about 2.6 million years ago in the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa. This event marked the use of stones as resources in the economy, and the first stone tools created then included choppers and subperiods. These are a part of the Oldowan industry, and they are stone-chopping tools that are sharpened using another stone. As Oldowan tools were prone to break, later Acheulean tools like handaxes had a prepared core to induce bifacial sharpness.

The Start of the Middle Stone Age

130,000 BCE

The Middle Stone Age was between the Early Stone Age and Late Stone Age. It was also called Mesolithic. They were focused on using stones and blades. Ochre, an iron rich stone, was used so they could make tools, persistent edges, and surfaces. Blades were turned into knives, spear tips, drills, and many other tools because they were used to hunt. They would hunt, shred plants and make clothes. The main tools for hunting were made out of stone, but some people used wooden spears.

Arrival of the San People

125,000 BCE

The San people started to populate South Africa around 125,000 BCE and were famous for being hunter-gatherers. They were the descendants of the homo sapiens that first originated in the area, and they impacted the surrounding habitat with their paintings and traditions. Although the San only had access to stone-age technology, their methods led to new developments for new generations to come. For example, their practice of making brushes and creating paints with pigments and solutions.

San Bushman Rock Painting

73,000 BCE

Indigenous people in South Africa did ancient rock paintings and carvings. Their artwork is found in caves or on rock shelters. The artwork made them connect with their ancestors and the spiritual world. They made their paint with bird droppings, manganese minerals, and charcoal, and they used red, brown, and yellow pigments. Although blue and green were never used, they were added into the blood of an eland to add pigment. They made their painting brushes out of animal fur and bird feathers.

The Start of the Late Stone Age

41,000 BCE

In Africa, the Late Stone Age started earlier than much of the world, almost 20,000 years earlier. People made more advanced tools than the rest of the world much earlier than thought. Until this time, people in Africa were still nomadic hunter-gatherers. Then people started to domesticate animals, farm, and build towns. This was much earlier than much of the world, and towns began fighting with each other. This was the start of different cities in South Africa.

The Start Of Trading

10,000 BCE

Trading in South Africa was only between the tribes currently living in the area, including the ones that colonized there. They would mainly trade things like weaved baskets, beaded accessories, and objects decorated with geometric designs. These are things the women made. However, the most traded item were the beads formed out of ostrich eggs. This is important because as the years passed, the South African trading system expanded, and it became very successful.

Rise of Zimbabwe

1100 BCE

As Zimbabwe grew, it became known as a religious empire. They began raiding nearby settlements, explorers, and traders for resources. The resources and technologies propelled them through the bronze age and into the iron age. As Zimbabwe grew its territory, it took over different settlements, growing into numerous wars with smaller tribes and settlements. Zimbabwe used its ever-growing military might to threaten and take over other kingdoms; they grew into an empire that owned South Africa.

The First Rulers of Great Zimbabwe

320 BCE

The First Ruler of Zimbabwe was Munhumutapa. Stories that were passed down about this kingdom say that the land was for the King and Queen. Although the king had about 200 other wives, the other wives were treated as servants. Most of the time, the king would set himself on high ground, and he would watch his wives work or summon them when he needed something. Knowing this is important because it shows us how the forms of government in South Africa started.

The Bantu Expansion

240 BCE

The Bantu Expansion was one of the most important movements in African history. It is important because as the tribe came, their customs and traditions came with them, the Bantu would introduce their lifestyle to the people who were currently living there. They introduced things like their way of cooking and their religious practices/beliefs. Despite their other stops, South Africa was the main destination because the Bantu wanted to live near the coast.

Khoi Khoi Migration

100 BCE

The Khoi Khoi was a nomadic ethnic group that migrated to South Africa from modern-day Botswana and Namibia during 100 BCE. When they first arrived, their beliefs, livestock, and social hierarchies clashed greatly with the customs of the long-isolated San people. Government systems were a subject foreign to the San nation, and the Khoi Khoi would determine social rankings through the number of cattle one owned. Because of this, the Khoi Khoi's arrival led to a decline in the San community.