Final answer:
The most significant cross-cultural encounter between the Bantu peoples and another group of people was likely with the rainforest-dwelling Twa and the Khoekhoe herders of South Africa. The Bantu migrations had a significant impact on Africa's economic and cultural practices. However, the migrations also resulted in displacements of earlier inhabitants.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most significant cross-cultural encounter between the Bantu peoples and another group of people was likely with the rainforest-dwelling Twa and the Khoekhoe herders of South Africa. The Bantu intermingled with these populations and learned important skills and knowledge from them, such as adaptation to the environment and cattle-herding techniques.
The Bantu migrations had a significant impact on Africa's economic and cultural practices. They borrowed and adapted innovations in plant and animal husbandry and metalworking from the groups they encountered, forging a common cultural framework throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and enabling the development of complex settled societies.
However, the Bantu migrations also resulted in displacements of earlier inhabitants. The more technologically advanced Bantu farmers displaced the San and Khoekhoe peoples in South Africa, leading to their own widespread migrations and scattering of the rainforest-dwelling peoples.