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History
Grade 5
Topic: Hunter-gatherers and herders in
Southern Africa
Contents
Unit 1: How we find out about the past ..................................................................................... 2
San hunter-gatherers and herders ........................................................................................ 2
Unit 2: San Hunter- gatherers in the Stone Age........................................................................ 5
The San community .............................................................................................................. 5
The San and the Environment............................................................................................... 5
The Bow and Arrow ............................................................................................................... 7
Using plants as Medicine ...................................................................................................... 8
San Beliefs and Religion ..................................................................................................... 10
Rock Art .............................................................................................................................. 12
Unit 3: The Stone Age: KhoiKhoi herders ............................................................................... 14
The San and the KhoiKhoi .................................................................................................. 15
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Unit 1: How we find out about the past
San hunter-gatherers and herders
Hunter-gatherers and herders were the first people who lived in South Africa. The huntergatherers were known as the San and the herders were called the KhoiKhoi. We are going
to look at the San and the KhoiKhoi in the Later Stone Age (about 10 000 years ago).
In history, we divide the different time periods according to the different tools that people
used. In Africa, there is the Early Stone Age, the Later Stone Age and the Iron Age.
What do you think tools were made of, in the Later Stone Age?
Activity 1: Ways in which we can find out about the past.
It is not always easy to find information about people from the past so historians use different
resources to try and get an idea of how people lived in the past.
a. Write a paragraph about someone you know. Include their past to present day activities.
b. List three resources you could use to find out about their past.
c. Which of these resources would give you the most information?
d. List 2 possible problems when using these resources.
There are many ways we can find out about the San hunter-gatherers and KhoiKhoi herders.
The San and the KhoiKhoi did not read or write and so they did not leave us any written
information about their lives. However, there are lots of other things that we can look at to
gather information about them.
Stories
One of the ways we can learn about
people from a long time ago is by the
stories that they told. These stories are
passed on from parents to their children
for many generations.
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Books
Authors of books research what they are
writing about. For example, the textbooks
you use at school. Many people have
researched about how the San and KhoiKhoi
lived and written books about it.
Objects
By looking at objects left behind by people we can find out more about
how they lived. Most of the things that the San and the KhoiKhoi used
were made from natural materials like wood and hide. These objects
usually rot away and decompose over the years and so they are not
often found. However, objects made of stone or bone last for a long
time and these are objects that have been found. Below are
arrowheads that were found in South Africa.
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Rock paintings
By looking at rock paintings we can learn a lot about the San.
Many of the paintings have a meaning and story. San rock art
tells us about the way they lived.
Today, there are still San people living as they did thousands of years ago. We can learn a lot
about them by observing the way that they lived their lives. This is called ethnography.
Activity 2: Finding out about the San and the KhoiKhoi
a. Why are there so few objects left from the time of the San and the KhoiKhoi?
b. What animals can you see in the pictures of the San paintings?
c. Which of all these ways of finding out about the past do you think is the best? Explain
why you think so.
d. Think about your family and community. Do you have any stories you have heard about
the past? What could you learn from these stories?
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Unit 2: San Hunter- gatherers in the Stone Age
We use the word “San” as a name for many different groups of hunter-gatherers. They were
the first people that lived in South Africa. Some of these groups even had slightly different
languages.
The San community
The San did not have a special leader or chief. They discussed things and came to an
agreement about what to do. Everyone had a chance to have a say and everyone was seen
as equal. The San shared what they had amongst each other and each group had a right to
use some land. The San believed that no one had the right to own animals.
The San and the Environment
The San lived in many small groups of about 25 men, woman and children. They were seminomadic and followed the game as it moved. They also moved to find ripe berries and plants
or roots they could eat. Semi-nomadic: means partially nomadic. Nomadic people move
from place to place rather than staying in one place. The San moved around sometimes and
settled in places at other times.
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The San really knew the environment well. They understood when and where plants would
grow and where animals moved to. They never used anything from nature that they did not
need to use and never used more of a natural resource than they needed. The San lived in
peace and harmony with nature. They had a lot of respect for animals and never hunted more
than they could use. They did not damage wildlife and vegetation and they believed animals
were a gift from the gods. The San are known to be among the best trackers in the world.
A tracker is able to follow animals by looking for the signs that they make when they move
through the area. San trackers could follow an animal for many days.
In the San community, men hunted wild animals and woman gathered plants, berries and
roots to eat. Because the San sometimes moved from place to place, they would usually build
simple shelters from grass or stay in caves. The San also understood the value of water and
would store water underground in empty ostrich shells or get water from the roots of plants.
Activity 3: San and the Environment
1. Explain why the San moved from place to place.
2. What do we call people such as the San who move from place to place?
3. Which members of the San communities were hunters and which were gatherers?
4. An environmentalist is someone who looks after nature and tries to protect it. Do you think
the San were environmentalists? Explain.
5. How do members of modern society treat the environment? (Class discussion).
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The Bow and Arrow
The bow and arrow was the most important tool for hunting that the San used. The San made
the bows from strong wood. The “string” in the bow was made from animal gut (intestines) or
plant fibre. Using a bow and arrow allowed the San to hunt from a distance without startling
the animal into running away.
Above, is a picture of a quiver and arrows used by the San. A Quiver is a portable case
used for holding arrows.
The arrows were made from wood with a stone or bone point/tip. The San hunters would put
poison, made from plants, on the point of the arrow. The arrows were very well designed and
were made so that the point would come off and stay in the animal even if the animal brushed
the arrow against bushes or trees. This was important because the poison needed time to
work. There were lots of different poisons available for the San to use. The poisons came
from a special type of beetle or from plants. Some poisons could take a long time to work.
For example, when used on a large buck, the poison could take up to 12 hours to kill the
animal. A giraffe could survive for up to 3 days before the poison took full effect.
The San hunters would then follow (track) the animals after they had shot them and wait for
them to die. To do this, they had to be good trackers. They would follow the signs the animals
made when they moved through the environment, for example; they would look for the spoor
(animal tracks) in the soil, broken plants or trees, blood or animal droppings.
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Using plants as Medicine
The San knew a lot about the plants and animals around them. This information was passed
down from generation to generation. They did not only eat plants and make tools - The San
discovered, through the years, that some of the plants could be used to make medicine.
Plants were used to treat wounds and heal illnesses, and, they were used in healing
ceremonies that were an important part of the San life. Below, are some plants that they
used:
Camelthorn tree: A tea is made from the roots as a mouthwash for toothache and a drink
against tuberculosis.
Cancer Bush (Sutherlandia): This was used for washing and cleaning wounds and drunk as
a tea to bring down fevers.
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Camphor Bush: The San would inhale the smoke from burning the leaves of a camphor bush
to heal headaches and blocked noses.
Devil’s Claw: The devil’s claw roots were used to treat pain and problems that happened in
pregnancy. It is now used in present day time for people who have sore and stiff joints.
Geranium (Pelargonium): The roots were used as a cure for coughs and stomach problems.
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Hoodia Gordonii: This was chewed by the San to make them stop feeling hungry in times
when there was little food. An overseas company recently tried to make it into diet pills. They
were made to pay some money to San organisations for every pill sold. They had to pay the
San royalties for their Indigenous knowledge.
San Beliefs and Religion
The San believed in one powerful god and other less powerful gods. They also respected and
believed in the spirits of the dead and some even believed the moon was a god. The Eland,
which is the largest antelope in Southern Africa, has a great deal of fat and the San believed
that the Eland’s fat had special powers.
Activity 4: San medicine (pairs)
1. Do you, in your culture or family use plants as medicine? Discuss with your partner.
2. Summarise the information above about the plants and what they were used for and how
they were used. Set it out in table format.
3. Do you think it is fair that the overseas company had to pay money to the San? Why?
The trance dance
Trance: A condition in which one seems to be asleep and cannot fully control movements or
the mind.
A very important part of San beliefs and religion is the ritual trance dance. This is a healing
dance led by the Shaman, or healer. The whole community takes part although they don’t all
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dance. A fire is lit where a group (mostly women) sits in a circle around it. The dancers,
mostly men, will start dancing around the women. The women will clap and tend to the fire
while the dancers are trying to enter a trance. The first few hours of a trance dance are
relaxed and sociable and later the dance becomes more intense. A normal dance will last
about 6 to 8 hours.
The Shaman would lay his hands on the people of the community to draw out the unknown
evil and ills. The San believed the dance would help protect the community against evil as
well as heal people. As part of the dance ritual, the San often acted as if they were animals.
The San believed in many spiritual beings, one of the most important spiritual beings to the
Southern San was the /Kaggen. He was seen as the creator and is seen in many of the San
stories. The /Kaggen could take the form of many animals and when he wasn’t in one of his
animal forms, the San believed he lived his life as an ordinary San man.
Below is a link to a video of a trance dance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyLF3y1YJKA
Activity 5: Trance Dance (Group work)
You have seen a video of how a trance dance is performed. As a part of the dance, the San
would often act as an animal that they saw around them.
In your groups, act out an animal the San would have known (you may not use any noises)
and let’s see if we can guess the animal.
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Rock Art
San rock paintings are found in the rocky areas of Kwazulu Natal, the Eastern Cape, Western
Cape, Free State and the Northern Cape. Many of the paintings are thousands of years old.
The artists used different coloured paints made from things around them. Charcoal was used
to make black, bird droppings would make white and yellow and red made from earth and
clay. The brushes they used were made from soft bones, chewed twigs, feathers and
anything else that could work as a paint brush.
When other people first saw rock art, they thought it was just badly drawn pictures of daily life
but this opinion changed when they learnt more about it. Rock art tells us about the lives of
the San as well as how they saw the world. It is one of the most important sources used to
find out more about the San.
San rock art is beautiful and very detailed and
it tells the story of their life and beliefs. The San
often painted what they saw in their trance
dances or the hunt. The paintings are seen as
a link between the spiritual world and everyday
life.
In the Drakensburg, at a game pass shelter in
Kamberg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, a rock painting was
discovered that helped unlock the secrets of
how to understand rock art. It is called the
“Rosetta Stone” of South African rock art. It is
famous because there are so many excellent
examples of paintings and they are well
preserved. In one of the paintings a dying
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Shaman is shown changing into an Eland (which helped us understand their beliefs).
The Linton Rock art panel
The most well-known piece of rock art is called the Linton panel. It was found on a farm in the
Eastern Cape. It was carefully cut from the rock in 1917 and was taken to the South African
museum in Cape Town. In the museum, the panel has been carefully protected. It is one of
the best kept and clearest pieces of rock art in South Africa.
The human figures in the South African Coat of arms are based on a figure in the Linton
Panel. This figure has power we can all share, the idea is that this power will continue to
benefit all South Africans.
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The motto on the coat of arms comes from the San language “!KE E: /XARRA //KE” it means
“unity in diversity”. This means that even though we are all different, we are one. The !, / and
// are symbols used when writing in San to represent the complicated and varied clicks that
are part of the language. Watch the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c246fZ-7z1w
Activity 6: Rock art
1. What did the San draw pictures of?
2. List the materials they would use as paint.
3. Why do you think the San figures and motto were used in the South African coat of arms?
4. Explain why the motto is a good motto for South Africa.
Unit 3: The Stone Age: KhoiKhoi herders
The KhoiKhoi were what we call herders or
pastoralists. These are people who depend
on livestock and move around to find water
and grazing for their animals. The KhoiKhoi
owned cattle and sheep, they would stay in
one place until their animals had eaten all the
grass and then they would move.
The KhoiKhoi would also hunt and gather food when they could and needed to. However,
they herded their livestock and used their livestock for food. The KhoiKhoi lived in much larger
groups than the San. These groups were called clans. Sometimes there would be more than
100 people in a clan. The clans were led by a chief. The KhoiKhoi believed in ownership of
animals, the more cattle and sheep you owned, the wealthier you were. Different groups also
had rights to water in their area - they did not own the water but could decide who could use
it.
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The San and the KhoiKhoi
The San hunter-gatherers were joined in South Africa by the KhoiKhoi herders. They moved
in to the northern and western parts of South Africa and then moved further south. On the
whole, the San and the KhoiKhoi lived peacefully. Sometimes there was conflict because of
their different outlooks on the world.
We do not understand the
KhoiKhoi. When we shoot
their animals they get angry.
Don’t they understand the
animals belong to all people?
A San man
The San do not own their animals
and that means they are not as
good as us. They shoot our
animals, even though they know
they belong to us.
A KhoiKhoi man
Activity 7: The San and the KhoiKhoi:
1. In your work books, draw a table comparing the San to the KhoiKhoi. It should compare:
economy, size of the groups, ownership of land and animals and movement.
2. Using your tables, your teacher will divide the class in two groups. We will partake in a
class discussion. The first group will be the San and argue their beliefs and the second
group will be the KhoiKhoi.
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