Khoisan (increasingly commonly spelled Khoesan or Khoe-San) is the name for two major ethnic groups of southern Africa. From the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period, hunting and gathering cultures known as the Sangoan occupied southern Africa in areas where annual rainfall is less than 40 inches (1016mm)—and today's San and Khoi people resemble the ancient Sangoan skeletal remains. Both share physical and linguistic characteristics, and it seems clear that the Khoi branched forth from the San by adopting the practice of herding cattle and goats from neighboring Bantu groups. The Khoisan people were the original inhabitants of much of southern Africa before the southward Bantu migrations—coming down the east and west coasts of Africa—and later European colonization.