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Inside Collection (Course): Natural Sciences Grade 5
One of the first human ancestors, Homo erectus, was smaller and weaker than the wild animals in his environment and took refuge in groups in caves.
Dictionary Work:
Look up the meanings of the following words and write them down.
Ancestor:
Traditional:
Environment:
The San and the Khoisan:
The San group lived together in groups as hunters and followed herds of game. They lived in caves and temporary shelters made of grass and branches.
The Khoi Khoi had cattle and did not move around as much as the San. Their huts had a framework of bent poles covered by reed mats. Huts like this are still to be seen in Namaqualand today.
The Zulus and Swazis:
The Zulus and the Swazis build either a domed hut or a rondavel hut. The floor of the hut is made from earth and ant heaps that have been crushed into fine grains by the women. Cattle manure and water are spread on the floor to make it stronger. There are no windows and just one door opening.
The domed huts are made from branches and grass. The rondavel wall has a framework of sticks that is filled with clay. The roof is made of poles and sticks covered by thatch.
The first houses at the Cape:
The Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town was built from clay and stones. The houses of Jan van Riebeeck’s time had sturdy walls of clay or rough stone. The walls were plastered with clay made from seashells. The roofs were covered with reeds.
Seashells contain lime, which is almost like cement.
Farmers’ Houses
Trek Farmers lived in simple thatched houses. Young trees were planted in two parallel rows and the tops bent to meet. The walls were constructed from stiff reeds or rushes and were called a “hartbeeshuisie”.
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Framework of a “hartbeeshuis”
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“Hartbeeshuis”
When the British occupied the Cape they had a definite influence on the building style. Local stone, wood, thatch and tiles were used. Later enamel tiles, chrome and bronze were used for decorations.
Questions:
1. What do you think is meant by ‘rough stone’?
2. What kind of house was called a “hartbeeshuisie”?
3. Who influenced the building style of the Trek Farmers?
4. Why did the Trek Farmers build their houses the way they did?
5. Why was clay used a lot in the building of houses?
6. Why were reeds often used?
Let’s summarise:
You have learnt about the early building styles and materials used in South Africa. Use this information to make a list of materials that were used and what they were used for.
Work in groups. Decide what sort of house you want to build, either one from long ago or a modern one.
You may use only available materials or waste material, for example, empty boxes, sticks, reeds, matches, clay, etc.
Use the information given to you in this module. You are welcome to use other sources, such as the library or the Internet.
Learning Outcomes(LOs)
LEARNING OUTCOMES (LOs)
LO 3
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Learners are able to show understanding of the underlying connections of technology, the community and the environment.
ASSESSMENT STANDARDS (ASs)
We know this when the learner:
3.1 understands science and technology in the context of history and personal knowledge;
Qualities and uses of materials in the distant past
Dictionary work:
LO 3.1 Questions:
1. rough stone: unhewed stone found in the surroundings
2. hartbeeshouse: firm reeds or rushes
6. Reed could be obtained in the marshes. They were light and could keep the house dry and cool in warm weather.
Branches, grass, rough stone. Firm rushes, flexible poles, reed mats, sea shells, earth, ant heaps, young trees, water, clay, reeds, stone, thatch, tiles, wood, bronze, chrome, enamelled tiles
Let’s build a house:
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Last edited by Siyavula Uploaders on Mar 13, 2009 4:00 pm -0500.