South African History, Part 1 (of many)

Because yesterday's fact was so fun, I feel like I need to balance it out with something a little more dry - history! Sorry to all you history buffs out there, I just don't have the attention span it takes to really love history. I know it's important, though, and thus I will give it the attention it deserves. But I will have to break it up, because if you're anything like me, you are not going to read an entire history of a country in one sitting. So today is going to be all about early EARLY South African history.
Okay, so two billion (that's 2,000,000,000) years ago, a meteorite 10 km (approximately 6 miles) in diameter hit the earth about 100km Southwest from where Johannesburg stand today. It created a huge impact crater known today as the Vredefort Dome. The impact may have actually increased the earth's oxygen levels to a degree that made the development of multicellular life possible (www.southafrica.info). I wouldn't normally delve back 2 billion years into a country's history, but seeing as I will have the opportunity to see this World Heritage Site in person, I thought it would be good to explore.

Vredefort Dome

Okay, now we're going to fast forward to a time when there were actually humans out and about. Around 25,000 BCE, archeological evidence places the San people in South Africa, making them officially the oldest inhabitants of South Africa. The San (also known as bushmen) were hunter-gatherers who ranged all over the area that is now called South Africa. San clans followed seasonal game migrations between mountain range and coastline, and made their homes in caves, rocky overhangs or temporary shelters. They did not domesticate animals or cultivate crops. Today, San communities still exist and consist of up to about 25 men, women and children. The men have reputations as great trackers, following the 'spoor' (tracks) of an animal across virtually any terrain.
The Khoikhoi are closely related to the San people, but apparently did not come to occupy South Africa until only about 2,000 years ago. They were more pastoral, living in well-watered areas along the southern and western coastal strips. Because of their locations along the coast, they would be the first to encounter European settlers. Today, the Khoekhoe (/Khoikhoi) have effectively disappeared as an identifiable group due to assimilation, extermination and imported diseases.

San Rock Painting

Around 400 ACE, the Bantu and other northern peoples began to push the Khoikhoi and San out of their homelands. These newcomers were farmers and herders, which gave them more food, which gave them more people, which ultimately made them more powerful than the original inhabitants. In addition, these invaders had iron spears and arrowheads, and pushed the San and Khoikhoi into the deserts and undesirable lands.
It wasn't until 1652 that Jan van Riebeeck and 90 other men landed at the Cape of Good Hope, under the directions of the East India Trading Company. Their landing was bad news bears for the native people of South Africa, but I'll save that for the next history fact.

CHEETAH TIME! Get excited, today we're talking about early human-cheetah relations.
The cheetah's association with humans dates back to the Sumerians, all the way back in 3000 BCE. In early Lower Egypt, the cheetah was known as the Mafdet cat-goddess and was revered as a symbol of royalty. Pharaohs actually kept tame cheetahs as close companions, to serve as a symbolic protection to the throne.
The best records of cheetahs as royal pets are from the 14th-16th centuries. The sport of coursing, or hunting for sport with cheetahs, became very popular. Adult wild cheetahs were caught because they already had well-developed hunting skills. It seems that it only took a few weeks to train and tame these cheetahs. The cheetahs wore hoods and were taken near the prey on a leash, a cart, or the back of a horse on a pillow behind the rider. When the hood was removed, the cheetah would chase down the prey in return for a reward of meet from the trainer.

This whole taking-cheetahs-out-of-the-wild-for-fun thing probably didn't help with keeping the species thriving in the wild. Just a guess, though. Yay for humans and the lengths to which they will go to stave off boredom!