Transcript World Green 1

Early Societies in West Africa
Chapter 12
Words need to know
• Woodland forest – an area of abundant trees and
shrubs
• Rainforest - an area of lush vegetation and yearround rainfall
• Extended family – an immediate family (parents
and their children) plus other close relatives, such
as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
• Excavate – in archeology, to carefully dig out an
ancient site.
• Tribute – a payment made by one ruler or country
to another for protection or as a sign of submission
Introduction
• 3 kingdoms between 500 - 1600 C.E.
– Ghana, Songhai, and Mali
• Cities and kingdoms began as family based communities to
villages, turned into towns and cities and then became
kingdoms
• For hundred of thousands of years there were no written
records
• First started keeping records in 800s - when Ghana at least
300 years old
– By that time they had iron tools for advanced farming methods
•
Trade played a major role in the growth of
West African societies
– Different zones had to trade for things in
other zones
– Several main rivers served as trade routes traveled by canoe or over the desert
•
Geography includes
– Desert - Sahara approximately 3,500,000
square miles in North Africa with scattered
oases
– Semi desert - Sahel short grasses and
small bushes
– Savanna - tall grasses and scattered trees long rainy season - millet, sorghum and rice
grown - goats, camels, cattle and sheep Niger River keeps nearby land fertile and
provides fish for eating
– Niger River extends into the forest zone
wetter than savanna
• Northern part is woodland forest of trees and
shrubs - oil palms, yams and kola trees grow
here
• Southern part is rainforest - rain falls year
around - mahogany and teak grow here
Geography and trade
Early
communities
and villages
• By 4000 B.C.E. people settled and
farmed
• First communities – extended
families
– Aunts, uncles, grandparents, and their
children (15-20 members)
– Produced all needed – cleared fields,
planted, and harvested crops, traded
with other extended families for other
needs
– Male elder made all decisions for
community over time became
• Village– contained 100 to 200
people
– Leader chosen for his wisdom
(banded together extended families)
– People work together to control a flood
or mine iron or gold
– Come together for protection
install high walls and gates to protect
selves from attacks
Towns and cities
• Why did cities develop?
• Ironworking and trade
– Nok were making iron tools by 500
B.C.E.
– Smelting – heating and melting ore
to get iron - blacksmiths
•
Use a lot of charcoal – made axes, hoes
and weapons
– With iron tools could clear more land
and grow more crops = more food
and freed people to do other trades
(weaving, mental work and pottery)
– Easy trading for people along the
river, they could control trade and
charge for trading = grew wealthy
• Cities grew along rivers and
places with natural resources
Jenne-jeno
In West Africa – built in 3 B.C.E.
existed for over 1,600 years
Built where Niger River meets Bani
River
– Good spot for farming, fishing and trade
– Traded catfish, fish oil, onions, and rice
for salt, iron ore, copper and gold
– About 20,000 people
– Surrounded by a 10 foot wide – 13 foot high wall – the wall gave the city status and made
it easier to control coming and going traders.
• Lived in circular houses
– First made of bent poles and woven mats later – mud blocks
• Had farmers, potters, metal smiths, weavers, leatherworkers, bead makers,
blacksmiths and ivory carvers
– Blacksmiths were believed to have supernatural powers, therefore were given many
responsibilities – political leaders, judges and doctors – some were charged with
predicting the future
• Trade was a major reason for the rise of kingdoms –
Ghana, Mali, and Songhai all trading powers ruled over
Rise
large areas.
–
–
of
Kingdoms formed because cities collected taxes from goods
kingdoms
being sold and bought so they could raise large armies. Then
armies could conquer other trading areas nearby, ruler could
and
takeover and become richer –
collected tribute from people they conquered – showed that theyempires
accepted king’s authority and to pay for protection
– African kings political and religious leaders of kingdoms
•
Special powers given to them by the gods.
– Kingdoms grew into empires
•
Sent governor to rule or let rule themselves
– Disadvantages to becoming an empire
•
•
Obligation to pay tribute
Men had to serve in king’s army
– Advantages to becoming an empire
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•
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Protection
Trade routes safe
No wars between small cities
Collected luxury goods and passed out throughout
Gave expensive presents to governors
kingdom
Chapter Summary
• Geography major reason (where located) for development of these
societies
• Communities grew below Sahara Desert where they could farm
• Traded for only what they couldn’t produce
• Rivers used as trade routes
• Earliest societies were family-based communities
• Some joined together to form villages – these allowed people to take
advantage of natural resources and protect themselves from attack
• Iron making and trade (important trading sites) helped them to grow into
towns and cities.
• Iron tools allowed farmers to grow food more efficiently
– So other people could engage in other crafts
• Villages traded surplus food
• Trade brought cities great wealth – conquered neighboring areas and
became kingdoms and empires