1. Native American Cultures
Section 2

2. Anasazi
Lived in the four-corners region (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Adapted to dry environment by growing corn, beans, and squash
Irrigation helped increase food supply
Skilled basket makers and potters
Lived in pueblos: aboveground houses made of a heavy clay called adobe
Like giant clay skyscrapers
Lived in canyon walls to help against attack

4. They built kivas: underground ceremonial chambers
Usually at the center of each community
Sacred areas used for religious ceremonies that often focused on life-giving forces of rain and maize
Survived for hundreds of years until AD 1300
It is believed that they abandoned villages because of drought, disease, or raids by nomadic tribes

5. Mound Builders Mississippi, Ohio, and lower Missouri river valleys
Mississippian
Hopewell
Mississippi, Ohio, and lower Missouri river valleys
Supported population with trade and agriculture
Built large burial mounds to honor the dead
1000 BC – AD 700
Same area as Hopewell
Skilled farmers and traders
Largest city: Cahokia
Hundreds of mounds for religious ceremonies
Mounds were flat with a temple on top
Many were gigantic

6. Other mound-building cultures thrived in eastern North America
More than 10,000 mounds have been found in the Ohio River valley alone!
Some mounds shaped like birds and snakes
Societies no longer existed by the 1700s because of European explorers

7. Iroquois
Farmers, hunters, and traders
Lived in long houses with families
Formed Iroquois League
Alliance/confederation established by Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca
Waged war and made peace with non-Iroquois peoples
Goal: strengthen the alliance against invasion
Became very powerful

9. Shared Beliefs Religion linked to nature
Spiritual forces were everywhere (heavenly bodies and sacred places on earth)
Property: ownership only belonged to the crops you grew
The land belonged to everyone
Land should be preserved for future generations
But Native Americans could not form one political unit so they never formed large empires

11. Native American Culture Areas
Culture areas: geographic locations that influenced societies
Helped to describe ancient Native Americans
North America divided into several areas

12. Trading Kingdoms of West Africa
Section 3

13. They would make money by forcing traders to pay taxes
Kingdom
Rise
Role of Trade
Religion
Great Leader
Decline/Fall
Ghana
Farmers along the Niger River who banded together against the threat of nomadic herders
Ideal location for trade; North of Sahara; source of gold and salt; helped them become a powerful kingdom
Islam (Muslims)
N/A
1060s: Kingdom is attacked; trade routes cut off
People of Ghana were farmers along the Niger River
Soninke
Threatened by nomadic herders, so they banded together
Ideal for trading
North of Sahara
Source of salt and gold (both very valuable!)
This helped rulers gain power
Eventually they built armies with superior weapons
And they took over trade of other merchants
800: Ghana firmly in control of West Africa’s trade routes
They would make money by forcing traders to pay taxes
When they came and when they left
Arab traders brought the religion of Islam to Ghana
Believers of Islam are called Muslims
1060s: Muslim group called the Almoravids attacked Ghana to force them to convert to Islam
They weakened Ghana and cut off trade routes
Without trade, the kingdom fell 
But the influence of Islam remained

14. He wanted everyone to read the Qur’an (the book of Islam)
Kingdom
Rise
Role of Trade
Religion
Great Leader
Decline/Fall
Mali
Upper Niger River; Fertile soil; Controlled trade on the river
Made empire rich & powerful;
Traded for salt, gold, metals, shells, etc.
Islam (Muslim)
Mansa Musa: Mali was most wealthy, powerful, and famous under him; left on a hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca); Islam spreads
After Mansa Musa died, Mali ended because of poor leadership
He wanted everyone to read the Qur’an (the book of Islam)
He stressed reading and writing
Scholars sent to Morocco to study
These scholars built schools in Mali
He had artists and architects build mosques (buildings for Muslim prayer) throughout his lands
Mali’s success came from : architectural advances, organized government, emphasis on education, and expansion of trade

15. Timbuktu and Gao flourished
Kingdom
Rise
Role of Trade
Religion
Great Leader
Decline/Fall
Songhai
Niger River; As Mali weakened, Songhai grew stronger
Took over Mali lands, so same as Mali
Islam (Muslim)
“Askia the Great”; supported education and learning of Islam
Weakened after Askia died
Had been conquered by Mansa Musa
Eventually taking over Mali lands
Timbuktu and Gao flourished
Great mosques, universities, schools, libraries
People came from all parts of West Africa to study math, science, medicine, grammar, and law
Askia created a professional army
He also created 5 provinces with a governor in each province

16. West African Slave Trade
Slavery had existed in Africa and the rest of the world for centuries
Mostly between Africans
But in the 600s, Europeans and Arab Muslims got involved
People captured by warring groups and sold into slavery
Criminals also sold as slaves
Captured in village raids
Or sold by relatives
Slave trading became a big part of the West African economy
It helped contribute to the power of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai