1. Early African Civilizations
Chapter 13

2. Bell Ringer – February 15, 2016 Page 413 Africa Physical Map
What is the world’s longest river and in what direction does it flow?
In what area of Africa does the Niger River start?
What could the Niger River provide for the people in the area?
What impact would the vast Sahara Desert have on the people of Africa?
Nile – it runs north
In West Africa – Fouta Djallon
Water, Food, Transportation
Trade & Travel Barrier

3. Geography and Early Africa
2nd largest continent
Sahara Desert -> North Africa
Atlas Mts. -> Northwest Edge
Drakensberg Mts. -> Southeast Edge
Great Rift Valleys -> Eastern Africa
Rivers -> Sub-Saharan
Congo, Zambezi, Niger

4. Regions of West Africa Niger River -> Water, Food, Transportion
Sahel: strip of land, little rainfall that
divides the desert from wetter areas
Savannah: open grassland with scattered
trees
Rain Forest: moist, densely wooded area

5. West Africa’s Resources
Land: produce many different crops including – dates, kola nuts, and grains
Minerals: gold (forests), salt (Sahara),

6. Early Peoples’ Way of Life
Extended Family: Father, Mother, children, close relatives
Age-Sets: Men or Women born within 2-3 years of each other formed special bonds.
Men – Hunted, farmed, livestock
Women – farmed, collected firewood, ground grain, carried water & cared for children
Religion – Ancestor spirits, Food at sacred graves
Animism: Water, Animals, Trees, have spirits

7. Iron & Trade
500 BC – West Africa: Heat certain kinds of rock to create iron.
Good for Tools & Weapons
Villages began to trade with buyers thousands of miles away.
Gold and Salt became a source of great wealth
Traders across the Sahara - >
Camels carried goods to North Africa

8. Essential Question What factors shaped early African civilizations?
BIG IDEA: Geography, resources, culture, and trade influenced the growth of societies in West Africa

9. GROUP WORK
Draw Conclusions: Why might more people live in the Savannah than in the Sahel?
Predict: How might the different climate in West Africa affect it ?
Recall: What crops were harvested in West Africa?
Explain: Why was salt important to West Africans?
Identify: Who made up extended family?
Analyze: What role did Animism play in West African culture?
Elaborate: Why were extended family & age sets important in early West African cultures?

10. Bell Ringer February 16, 2016 Page 417 – Interpreting Maps
What were some goods traded across the Sahara?
Why was salt a valued trade good?
Gold, salt, ivory, silk, spices
Salt was used to preserve and flavor food

11. The Empire of Ghana Soninke – Earliest people in West Africa
Farmed along the Niger River
AD300 – began to band together for protection
Learned to work with iron
Started trading with gold and salt
Silent Barter – exchanging goods without
contacting each other directly.
Kept location of gold secret

12. Ghana Creates an Empire
Trade in gold and salt increased & Ghana’s rulers gained power and took full control of trade routes
Built armies with iron weapons
Traded in many items, including slaves
Became very prosperous by trade and taxes.
Gold was traded as far away as England
Only Ghana’s rulers could own gold nuggets.
Common people owned gold dust.

13. Ghana’s Decline
Invasion: North African Muslims called the Almoravids attacked in the 1060s. After 14 years the Almoravids defeated Ghana and cut off trades routes. Ghana still existed but was weakened.
Overgrazing: Almoravids brought herds of animals that ate all the grass, forcing Ghana’s farmers to move in search of better land
Internal Rebellion: AD1200 surrounding people rose up in rebellion. Ghana had conquered these people in earlier days and the rebels took over the entire empire of Ghana. They could not keep order and the entire empire fell apart

14. Essential Question What Factors shaped early African civilizations?
Big Idea: The rulers of Ghana built an Empire by controlling the gold and salt trade

15. Events Leading to Rise & Fall of Ghana
Rise : Location, Silent Barter, Controlling Trade from the North and South
Fall: Invasion, Overgrazing, Internal Rebellion

16. Bell Ringer February 17, 2016 Page 423 – Interpreting Maps
On what river are Timbuktu & Gao located?
The Senegal River was located within what Empire?
Niger River
Mali

17. Mali Mali’s rise to power began under a ruler named Sundiata.
1230s - Mali lay along the upper Niger River
Sundiata took over the salt, gold, and slave trades
He improved agriculture
He introduced cotton to Africa – a cooler fabric than
animal skin or fur
He started the title - Mansa

18. Mansa Musa Mali’s most famous ruler was Mansa Musa - > Muslim
Reached the height of wealth, power, fame 1300s
Islam spread through West Africa
Added Timbuktu to his empire
1324 – left Mali on a pilgrimage to Mecca
Spread Mali’s fame far and wide (Page 427)
Supported Education – Spread the Arabic language
Built Mosques throughout the Empire

19. Fall of Mali Mansa Musa died and his son was a weak ruler
Raiders from the Southeast raided & burned schools & mosques
1431 Tuareg nomads from the Sahara seized Timbuktu, provinces broke away, Mali declined

20. Songhai Empire Songhai Kingdom – Capital -> Gao
1300s – Mansa Musa conquered the Songhai
1400s – Mali declined and Songhai regained their freedom
Songhai were Muslim also – and grew rich through trade
Leaders: Sunni Ali -> organized and enlarged Songhai
Askia the Great-> Timbuktu flourished. Thousands of people
came to universities, libraries, mosques.
People came to study math, science, medicine, law
Created organized departments within government

21. Fall of Songhai 1591 – Morocco invades Songhai
Morocco wanted Salt mines
Morocco had Arquebus – early form of Gun
Morocco had cannons – destroyed Timbuktu & Gao
Trade patterns changed to the Atlantic coast.
Overland trade declined.
South Africans & Europeans preferred
dealing with coastal Africans rather
than Muslims.

22. Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe: powerful kingdom in southern Africa
Center of a large trading network -> Gold
Huge fortresses s
1400s – Gold Trade declined
Zimbabwe weakened.

23. Essential Question What Factors shaped Early African civilizations?
BIG IDEA: Between , three great kingdoms; Mali, Songhai, & Great Zimbabwe developed in Africa

24. Bell Ringer February 18, 2016 Page 430 – Linking to today
How did West Africa music affect modern American music?
Over- time – enslaved Africans brought to America music traditions that have been handed down and adapted to modern styles

25. Clothing
Kente Clothing – handwoven brightly colored fabric

26. Music
Music honored history and marked special occasions.

27. Essential Question What factors shaped early African civilizations?
BIG IDEA: African culture has been handed down through Oral History and the Arts

28. Historical & Artistic Traditions
Writing was never common in West Africa
None of the major early civilizations of West Africa developed a
written language
Arabic was the only written language they used
They passed along information through oral histories
The storytellers of early West Africa were called griots.
Griots helped keep this history alive for each new generation

29. Visitors’ Written Accounts
Ibn Battutah was the most famous Muslim visitor to write about West Africa. From 1353 to 1354 he traveled through the region.
Ibn Battutah’s account of this journey describes the political and cultural lives of West Africans in great detail.

30. Art, Music, Dance
West Africans expressed themselves through sculpture, mask-making, cloth making, music, and dance
They made ornate statues and carvings out of wood, brass, clay, ivory, stone, and other materials
Their sculpture inspired Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso