History of Tanzania – What is the early history of Tanzania?
By: Jason Steller
Submitted: 2011-02-02 11:20:07 | Word Count: 478
The history of Tanzania includes some of the earliest human history. Archeologists have located several sites in the Olduvai Gorge region of Tanzania that include evidence of early human settlements. There have also been finds of fossils that came before modern humans in the evolution path. Because of these finds, the Olduvai Gorge is sometimes referred to as the Cradle of Mankind.
There are several key archeological finds that help form the scientific knowledge of human evolution and early history in Tanzania. One of these is a fossil of the Paranthropus that is believed to be over 2 million years old. Probably the most significant find in the Olduvai Gorge was the discovery of footprints that date back to about 3.6 million years ago. These footprints are important because they are the oldest known footprints from the direct ancestors of humans.
[ advertisement ]
The early history of Tanzania includes a long period of prehistory due to it being considered one of the earliest areas to be inhabited by humans. The more modern human prehistory includes Tanzania being inhabited by various hunter and gather communities by about 10,000 years ago. These people are believed to have been Khoisan speaking. The Khoisan speaking people are believed to have been absorbed into the Cushitic speaking people that moved into the Tanzanian region about three to six thousand years ago. It was the Cushitic people that first settled down in the area as farmers including developing agriculture and cattle farming.
Bantu speaking people began to move into the Tanzania region about 2,000 years ago. The Bantu people came from the West and brought with them knowledge of ironworking and further developed these skills. The Bantu also introduced new social and political organization ideas to the region. The Cushitic and remaining Khoisans were absorded in the Bantu people. The area also saw the immigration of the Nilotic people into the region through the 18th century.
The coastal history of Tanzania includes the country interacting with other cultures as early as the first millennium of the common era. There are references of trading in the region in Greek texts. Trade with the Romans is also known due to the archeological fins of Roman coins along Tanzania’s coast. The texts of other cultures do not refer to the region again until the Arabs began to trade and have influence over the region in the late first millennium of the common era and second millennium.
Author Resource:-
Access2Tanzania.com provides first hand experience and know-how for all of your Tanzania vacation or Tanzania safari needs. We've lived in Tanzania and run a non profit there . No worries. We know Tanzania. Learn more about
History of Tanzania
