The Bantu-speaking farmers settle throughout southern Africa…
676 CE to 819 CE
The farmers choose to minimize risks rather than to maximize production in their use of the environment.
They keep large herds of cattle and invest these animals with great material and symbolic value.
Cattle provide a means to acquire and to display considerable wealth, and they are used for significant social and political transactions, such as bridewealth compensation (lobola) and tribute demands.
Cattle are also valued for their milk and for their hides, but they are seldom killed for their meat except on ceremonial occasions.
Hunting of game continues to provide a major source of protein, while additional supplies come from domesticated goats and sheep.
Bantu speakers also cultivate a range of indigenous crops, including millet, sorghum, beans, and melons along with other grains and vegetables.
Those close to the sea fish and collect shellfish.
By utilizing such a great range of food sources, the farmers spread their risks in a difficult ecological system constantly subject to drought, disease, and crop failure.
Topics
Commodities
Subjects
Regions
Southern Africa
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