Ethnography

In the northern portion of the continent, including the Sahara, Causasoid peoples-mainly Berbers and Arabs-predominate. They constitute about one-quarter of the continent's population. South of the Sahara, Negroid peoples, constituting some 70 percent of Africa's population, predominate. Pockets of Khoisan peoples, the San (Bushmen) and Khoikhoi (Hottentots), are located in southern Africa.

The Pygmies are concentrated in the Congo River Basin and in Tanzania. Scattered through Africa, but primarily concentrated in southern Africa, are some 5 million people of European descent. An Indian population, numbering some 1 million, is concentrated along the eastern African coast and in South Africa. More than 3000 distinct ethnic groups have been classified in Africa. The extended family is the basic social unit of most of these peoples.

In much of Africa the family is linked to a larger society through kin groups such as lineages and clans. Kin groups generally tend to exclude marriage among their members, and members generally marry outside the group. The village is frequently constituted of a single kin group united by either male or female descent.