1. Do Now: What have you learned about Africa so far in 9th grade global?
Aim: How did geography and natural resources affect the development of early societies throughout Africa?
Do Now: What have you learned about Africa so far in 9th grade global?

2. Geography of Africa
The geographical features of Africa greatly affected the development of early societies
Africa’s largest climate is the savanna.
The savanna is a grassy plain that spans from the north and south of Africa’s forest zone.
Rivers played a big role in the development of early societies in Africa
The Congo, the Niger and the Zambezi river were major trade routes which traders from other countries could use to import goods and trade with Africa.
Africa is also surrounded by the major trade civilizations of Europe and Asia so they engaged in trading with them.

3. The Sahara Desert
The savanna trails off into dry steppe zones and then it lead to two major deserts in Africa. (The Kalahari desert is the second one)
The Sahara is one of those major deserts and it is located in the northern part of Africa
The Sahara was a location for migration and trade, but the terrain made movement difficult.

4. Geographic Barriers
In addition to deserts there were other barriers that made movement and trade more difficult.
Although Africa has a long coastline there were only a few good natural harbors.
Most of Africa’s interior is a high plateau.
As Rivers approach the coast they course through a progression of rapids and waterfalls that thwart travel between the coast and the interior.

5. Natural Resources Africa has a large mass of natural resources.
Some of Africa’s natural resources include trees, wood, fishes and minerals
Africa had “fisheries” and examples of these fisheries are the Nile River and the Great Lakes.
Africa was a major producer of metals and minerals.
Salt, gold, iron, and copper were lucrative in early trade
Some of the metals exported by Africa include nickel (which was used in magnets and coins) and platinum (which was used in jewelry).
These metals and minerals stimulated trade across many African regions.

6. Migration of People
Archaeologists discovered that the Great Rift Valley of East Africa was where the earliest people lived.
Neolithic farmers learned how to use the Nile River for agriculture and learned how to domesticate animals.
When farming spread throughout Northern Africa, there were Neolithic villages in the Sahara.
Before 2500 B.C the Sahara was full of forests and rivers as shown in Ancient rock paintings, but due to climate change it dried out. This process is called desertification.
Desertification contributed to the migration of people in Africa because people were forced to seek for new lands to keep living the way they used to.

7. JOHN GREEN

8. The Bantu Migrations
Scholars have traced the migrations of people in ancient times by studying language patterns.
West African farmers and herders migrates to the south and east between 100B.C. and 1000 A.D
These West Africans spoke many languages, but they all came from the root language, Bantu.
As the West Africans migrated across
Africa they adapted to it’s many different
climates and developed many cultures.

9. Worksheet Group Work

10. African Kingdoms
Despite geographic barriers, many civilizations rose and flourished in Africa. Kingdoms in the west and city-state in the east became important commercial and political centers.
The Bantu migrations, contacts with Greece and Rome, the spread of Islam, and trade with Asia contributed to Africa’s diversity.

11. Africa Kingdoms (continued)
Between 800 and 1600, a succession of powerful Western African kingdoms controlled the rich Sahara trade route.
Indian Ocean trade routes led to the growth of prosperous city-states along the East African coast.
Art and oral literature fostered common values and a sense of community among the peoples of Africa.

12. The Nile Kingdom of Nubia
The ancient kingdom of Nubia was located near the cataracts of the upper Nile. (Present day Sudan)
The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt occasionally seized Nubia, but Nubia always got their independence. This resulted in the Nubian rulers to adapt many Egyptian traditions.
At 750B.C., Piankhi, the ruler of Nubia at the time, conquered Egypt. Nubian kings ruled Egypt for a century, but their armies stood no chance against the Assyrian iron weapons.
At 500B.C., the capital of Nubia was moved to Meroe. This was so that they could control trade from the north-south Nile route and the east-west route from the Red Sea into the savanna and North Africa.
Along these trade routes Nubia traded the mediterranean empires and the middle east.

13. Exit Slip
What did you learn about the kingdoms and trading states of Africa in our lesson today? Tell us in 1-3 sentences.