Question

How does the physical geography of Africa impact human cultures?

Answer 1

I am thinking some high mountains and plateaus can block ancient travel and therefore make separate culture groups. other times, a river like the Nile can draw people, the desert like the Sahara can isolate and separate people.

Would this be fine?

Answer 2

To develop a community that is stable rather than nomadic you need arable crops (like wheat or corn, meaning you can stay in one place and farm what you need to survive and more left over to sell), or the ability to domesticate animals (such as cattle, again for food and trade). In the northern parts of Africa such as Egypt they had access to such crops, they stayed on the Nile and developed communities, the excess from the crops was traded, creating enough wealth to enable parts of the community to work on higher arts, and also enabling knowledge sharing with those that they came into contact with. Once you get into the jungles of Africa it becomes much harder/next to impossible to have city style living, it is nomadic due to food supplies. This constant movement makes it very difficult to develop the wealth to develop the higher arts. Further, this lack of contact with other areas that are more developed makes knowledge sharing impossible. Hope this helps some