Did you know? Africa is one of the earth’s seven continents. It is the second largest continent. Africa is a land of great beauty and resources. continentresources. The earliest evidence of human beings comes from Africa. Many great cultures developed here.evidence

Using the map, answer the following questions. _____1. Africa is a small continent. A. True B. False _____2. China is larger than the USA. A. True B. False _____3. Europe is larger than China. A. True B. False _____4. Africa is larger than China, Europe and the USA combined. A. True B. False _____5. What does this map compare? a.Population of Africa b.Size of Africa c.Cultures in Africa

Africa produced many great civilizations. During the time of the Middle Ages of Europe, the African kingdoms of Mali, Ghana and Songhai were places of advanced learning and great wealth. They participated in trans-Saharan trade (across the Sahara) including salt, gold, food and slaves. Strong leaders and vast natural resources helped these cultures rule large areas of northern and western Africa for hundreds of years.

Using the map to the left, answer the following questions: _____1. Which empire covered the least area? a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai _____2. Which area extended the furthest east? a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai _____3. Which kingdom was established first? a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai _____4. Which kingdom was established last? a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai _____5. Which kingdom ruled the longest? a. Ghana b. Mali c. Songhai

Ghana developed in West Africa between the Niger (NI-jhur) and the Gambia Rivers. It was an important kingdom there from about AD300 to about The rivers helped Ghana to grow rich because they were used to transport goods and develop trade. Ghana also collected taxes from traders who passed through the kingdom.

The kingdom of Ghana probably began when several clans of people of west Africa came together under the leadership of a great king named Dinga Cisse. Ghana had few natural resources except salt and gold. They were also very good at making things from iron. Ghana’s warriors used iron tipped spears to defeat their neighbors, who fought with weapons made of stone, bone, and wood.

The court of a king of Ghana. "The King...(wears)... necklaces round his neck and bracelets on his forearms and he puts on a high cap decorated with gold and wrapped in a turban of fine cotton. He (meets people) in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses covered with gold-embroidered materials…and on his right, are the sons of the (lesser) kings of his country, wearing splendid garments and their hair plaited with gold. At the door of the pavilion are dogs of excellent pedigree. Round their necks they wear collars of gold and silver, studded with a number of balls of the same metals." Read “The Court of a King of Ghana” and answer the following questions. _____1. The King wears many things. What is not mentioned? a.Braceletsb. Rings c. Necklaces _____2. What does he do in a domed pavilion? a.Meet people b. Sleep c. Live _____3. Where are the sons of the lesser kings? a.On his left b. On his right c. Behind him _____4. What is located at the door? a.Soldiersb. Tigersc. Dogs _____5. Who wears collars of gold and silver? a.Guard dogs b. Soldiers c. the King _____6. How many horses surround the pavilion a.5b. 8c. 10 _____7. What does the King have that is made of fine cotton? a.A robeb. A garment c. A turban _____8. Who has hair plaited with gold? a.The Kingb. The Queen c. The lesser kings _____9. The lesser kings are poor. a.Trueb. False _____10. The dogs have collars with balls of what? a. Gold and silver b. Cotton c. studded

Ghana became a rich and powerful nation, especially when the camel began to be used as a source of transport. Ghana relied on trade, which was made faster and bigger with the use of the camel.

Camels – Camels made trade much easier. Why were they so useful? Read the following information and answer the related questions. A camel caravan was a group of traders and their families who traveled together, and used camels to carry most of their goods. Together, these camel caravans braved the dangerous obstacles along the 1,500 mile route from Ghana to Egypt. When you think of the desert, the first animal that you might think of is the camel. Thousands of years ago traders tamed camels and began to use them to travel across the desert. Today the people of the Sahara desert still use the camel for milk, meat, wool, shade and, of course, transportation. A camel’s body temperature is cooler than the air around them. They huddle together to stay cool! Camels do not store water in their humps like some people believe. It is really fat inside the hump. When they haven't had food in a long time the hump gets smaller and falls over. When they do get food and rest, the hump returns to normal. For food, camels are omnivorous. They can eat almost anything including vegetation, meat, or bone,-- salty or sweet, a camel’s stomach knows no limits. A mature camel (6-7 years old) weighs between 551 lbs. to 1500 lbs. and stands from 6 ft. to 6 1/2 ft. tall at the shoulders. Camels have two toes on each foot, each with a hoof on the front that looks like a toenail. They walk on their toes much like a woman wearing a pair of high heels. But, instead of a heel, a camel has a ball of fat that helps form the soft pad on the bottom of its foot. This pad supports the animal on the sand like a pair of snowshoes, and makes the camel almost completely silent when it walks and runs. It has two large eyes on either side of the head. Each eye is shaded from the noonday sun by a projecting ridge of bone that thick bushy eyebrows sit on. The eye itself is protected from sand by two rows of extra long eyelashes, one on the upper eyelid, and one on the lower eyelid. The camels ears and nose are covered in hair, including the inside of the ear, which helps keep out airborne sand and dust. A baggage camel can travel up to 40 mi. per day at about 2 mph fully loaded. A caravan will usually average only about 12 mi. per day. Together, camels and traders helped increase the wealth in the early African kingdoms. _____1. How long was the route from Ghana to Egypt? A. 1,000 miles b. 1,500 miles c. 2,000 miles _____2. Why do camels huddle together? A. To stay warm b. For protection c. To stay cool _____3. Camels only eat vegetation. A. True b. False _____4. A mature camel weighs less than 2,000 lbs. A. True B. False _____5. What does not help the camel survive in the desert? A. 3 rows of eyelashes b. Hair lined nose c. Ball of fat on its foot

After 700 AD, the religion of Islam began to spread over northern Africa. Followers of this religion are called Muslims and they worship in a building called a mosque. Muslim warriors came into Ghana and fought with the non-Islamic people there. This weakened the great civilization of Ghana and led to its decline. Islamic Mosque in Ghana blankbluesky.com/ travel/ghana/

A powerful king named Sundiata ruled this area from around AD. He led the people in conquering and expanding his kingdom to be as great as Ghana had been. Perhaps the greatest king of Mali was Mansa Musa ( ). He developed the gold and salt trade of Mali and his kingdom became very powerful and rich.

Mansa Musa was a Muslim, meaning he followed the religion of Islam. He built many beautiful mosques or Islamic temples in western Africa.

In 1324 Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage ( a journey to a holy place) to Mecca, which is a holy city in Arabia, with 60,000 servants and followers and 80 camels carrying more than 4,000 pounds of gold to be distributed among the poor. Of the 12,000 servants 500 carried staffs of pure gold. This showed his power and wealth to the other people he visited. Based on the story above, answer the following questions. _____1. How many pounds of gold did each camel carry? A. 5 b. 50 c. 500 _____2. How many followers went with Mans Musa (not including servants)? a.60,000 b. 12,0000 c. 48,000 _____3. How many servants carried staffs of gold? A. 12,000 b. 500 c. 80 _____4. How many servants did not carry staffs of gold? A. 500 b. 11,500 c. 4,000 _____5. What is a journey to a holy place? A. Mansa Musa b. Pilgrimage c. Mecca _____6. Where is Mecca located? A. Mansa Musa b. Pilgrimage c. Arabia _____7. Mansa Musa is not very wealthy. A. True B. False _____8. Mansa Musa was traveling only to show off his wealth. A. True B. False _____9. Mansa Musa planned to give the gold away. A. True B. False _____10. Mansa Musa was greedy. A. True B. False

When Mansa Musa died there were no kings as powerful as he was to follow. The great kingdom of Mali weakened. Eventually a group of people known as Berbers came into the area and other people came up from the south to claim territory that was once part of the kingdom. Although Mali fell, another advanced African kingdom took its place, the kingdom of Songhai. The Berbers still live in North Africa. This picture, taken in 1893, shows a Berber group.

This map was created in These trade routes were used by the merchants of the Songhai kingdom. What kinds of pictures do you see on the map and why do you think the mapmaker put them there?

The picture above is one artist’s idea of what the great Songhai leader, Sunni Ali might have looked like. Sunni Ali saw that the kingdom of Mali was weakening and he led his soldiers to conquer the area. He began the kingdom of Songhai. He also set up a complex government to rule all the lands he had conquered.

All three kingdoms of West Africa depended on trade for their strength and wealth. Use the map to answer these questions. ____1. What was not traded? a. Salt b. Slaves c. Iron _____2. Beads came into Africa. a. True b. False _____3. Slaves came into Africa. a. True b. False ____4. What religion was traded? a. Christianity b. Islam c. Buddhism ____5. What did not come into Africa? a. Silk b. Ceramics c. Wood TimbuktuGao Jenne Gold, Ivory, Wood, Slaves Silk, Ceramics, Beads, Islam from Europe and Asia Coming into West Africa Coming from Africa and going to Europe and Asia Salt

Sunni Ali died in 1492 CE. His son took over the rule of Songhai but he did not accept Islam as a religion. Islam was accepted as a religion by many people in northern Africa. One of Sunni Ali’s generals, named Muhammad Ture, overthrew the new king and made himself king of Songhai. Ture was a follower of Islam (Muslim) and so he made Islam the religion of his kingdom. This is a photo of a mosque, or place of worship for Muslims, in western Africa. Many mosques were built of local materials.

Songhai remained a rich and strong kingdom under Muhammad Ture’s rule. It had a complex government centered in the city of Gao, and great centers of learning. But later rulers were not as powerful. In the late 1500s, Morocco invaded Songhai to take its rich trade routes. Moroccans had a new weapon, the gun, and the army of Songhai did not. This led to the fall of Songhai.