South African History

Posted by Cindy on September 2, 2009

The earliest people of South Africa are the San and Khoekhoe people commonly referred to as the Bushmen and Hottentots or khoikhoi known collectively as the Khoisan. Both of these peoples were resident in the southern part of the continent for many thousands of years before the begining of written history and the opression of European seafarers.

And before that, modern human beings had lived here for more than 100000 years – indeed, the country is an archaeological treasure chest and the cradel of human history. This can be discoverd with trips from your best hotels South Africa.

The San, hunter-gatherers, ranged widely over the area; the pastoral Khoekhoe lived in the comparatively well watered areas of the region. Mainly along the south and west coastal area, where plentiful grazing could be found. So it was with the Khoekhoe that the early European oppressors first came into contact with the Khoekhoe and of course this was much to the disadvantage of the Khoekhoe.

As a result of diseases such as smallpox were spread by the Europeans and probably intentionally as was the case in with the North American Indians. Assimilation with the settlers and especially with the slaves who brought in as forced labor were to arrive in later years, and straightforward extermination, the Khoekhoe have effectively disappeared as an identifiable group. Other long term people that lived in this area of South Africa were the Bantu speaking people that moved to to the north eastern regions of what is now known as South Africa. The Thulamela site in the north portion of Kruger National Park is thought to have been occupied for 13 centuries. The ruins of Mapungubwe have eveidence of trade with far away places like China as evidenced with the discovery of artifacts of Chinese origins. The location at the horn of Africa world make this a natural trade route in the ancient world