Answer to Question #129910 in History for Marno Plank

Question

Briefly discuss the effect of climate on the precolonial communities of southern africa

Answer 1

Climate according to the dictionary is the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general over a long period of time usually five years and more. Climate is characterized by temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, and other meteorological elements in an area.

Climate records from southern Africa reveal that both temperature and rainfall have changed over the past millennium. In addition the patterns of rainfall have dropped drastically over some time. The drought emerged abruptly, hence changes in the amount of water this region receives thus affecting the ecological and socio-economic processes.

During the pre-colonial period, most communities in southern Africa depended mostly on agriculture, fishing and rearing of animals. This is due to fact that there was enough rainfall in the region. But due to the climate change, the amount of rainfall received started decreasing slowly making it difficult for these communities to carry out their economic activities. The change in climate in this southern part of Africa during that period led to immense impact on communities which were sometimes disastrous, as conflicts started to emerge eventually leading to some communities to migrate to other parts of the continent to search for a better life.