GGS - Chapter 19

The current distribution of languages in Africa points to five major anatomical distinctions co-existing in Africa around 1400 AD. Whites occupied the north, easily explained by the migration of people from Eurasia. Their Afro-Asiatic language is closely related to Aramaic (of Jesus fame), suggesting that Africa gave birth to the languages of the Old and New Testament and the Koran. The disparity and isolation of pygmy and Khiosian languages suggests that they were overrun by black farmers speaking Niger-Congo (in the pygmy case their language is gone entirely and in Khiosan there is a diffusion of the recognizable "click" in language). It seems that Bantu arose from the family of Niger-Congo languages of West Africa and engulfed te pygmy and the Khiosan, why?

Archaeological evidence suggests that all plant domestication occurred above the Saharan Desert (West Africa, Sahel and Ethopia developed it seperately and North Africa adopted wheat and barley from the north). This suggests that farming (and available plant candidates) was the main reason why Bantu farmers originating from West Africa were able to engulf southern hunter-gatherers (there is also evidence that they picked-up ironworking from the north).

Although human life originated in Africa, Diamond points to three main reasons why Europeans were able to conquer them despite Africa's head start. The paucity of plant and animal candidates are two important reasons. Finally, Africa's major north-south axis severly impeded plant and animal diffusion (different rain seasons and fly-borne diseases) as well as cultural exchange.