1. Warm Up – October 22
Answer the following questions on a post it:
1. Where were each of the Mesoamerican Civilizations located?
2. Describe two similarities between the Mayans and previous civilizations that we have discussed
3. What effect did the Columbian Exchange have on the Americas?

2. Geography & African Civilizations
Geography of Africa
2nd largest continent in the world
4,600 miles from east to west; 5,000 miles from north to south
Narrow coastlines lie on either side of a central plateau
Waterfalls or rapids form as rivers drop to the coast from the plateau making navigation impossible to or from the coast
Coastline has few harbors, ports, or inlets
Large deserts: the Sahara in the north and the Kalahari in the south
Large rainforests with mahogany and teak trees that reach 150 feet tall
Most people live on the savannas or grassy plains which include mountainous highlands and swampy tropical stretches
The Nile River flows north in northeast Africa

4. Geography & African Civilizations
Customs of Early Peoples
Early peoples were nomadic
Experts believe agriculture started in Africa roughly by 6,000 B.C.
The family was important and African people organized into family groups
Many early cultures’ religions included elements of animism
Animism: a religion in which spirits play an important role in daily life
History was kept orally, not written down
Bantu-speaking people migrated south and east leading to:
Spread of farming techniques
Territorial wars
Intermarriages
Spread of technology such as copper, bronze, and iron work

5. Geography & African Civilizations
Early Civilizations of West Africa
Empire of Ghana 800 A.D.
Became a rich kingdom by taxing traders who traveled through their lands
Gold and salt were important & desirable trade items
By 800, Ghana was an empire
Only the king could own gold; acted as religious leader, chief judge and military commander
Eventually Ghana’s rulers converted to Islam and had to learn Arabic; much of the population never converted
1076 Muslim Almoravids conquered Ghana and disrupted the gold-salt trade
Ghana never regained its power

6. Geography & African Civilizations

7. Geography & African Civilizations
Empire of Songhai 1400s
Capital was Gao; extended their territory to the large bend in the Niger River
Two great Muslim leaders: Sunni Ali & Askia Muhammad
Created an empire through military conquest and efficient tax collecting
Unfortunately, Songhai lacked modern weapons
Defeated by Moroccan invaders and ended 1,000 years of W. African power

8. Geography & African Civilizations
Early Civilizations of East Africa
Aksum Empire
Located on the horn of Africa on a plateau on the Red Sea
Conquered the Kush people who had been pushed south by the Assyrians
Traders from Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India, and the Roman Empire travelled though Adulis, Aksum’s chief seaport
They traded salt, rhinoceros horns, ivory, & gold
Height of empire was under strong military leader Ezana
Monotheistic: worshiped Mahrem and believed king was his descendent
Aksum later becomes Christian
Depletion of soil and forests as well as Islamic invaders caused decline

9. Geography & African Civilizations
Early Civilizations of Southern Africa
Great Zimbabwe 1000 A.D.
City built by Shona people that turned into an empire built on gold trade
Leaders taxed traders and travelers who ventured through
Great Zimbabwe was abandoned by 1450; no clear reason why
Much of what is known about Great Zimbabwe comes from impressive ruins

10. Geography & African Civilizations
Mutapa
According to Shona legend, a man left Great Zimbabwe and settled a new site with fertile soil
A leader named Mutota dominated northern Shona people and were dubbed mwene mutapa meaning conqueror; thus the name Mutapa
Conquered all of modern day Zimbabwe
Gold was a cornerstone of their economy
By the 1500s the Portuguese unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Mutapa
This signaled increasing European interference in Africa for many centuries

11. TOD – October 22
Answer the following questions on the same post it as the warm up: 1. Describe the geography of Africa 2. How did a lot of early African civilizations make money? How did a lot of these civilizations end? 3. What are two important resources in Africa? 4. Why is the failed attempt by the Portuguese to conquer the Mutapa civilization around 1500 significant?