8.1

Red Sea

A major body of water northeast of Africa. Significance: The Red Sea was a very important trade route through Europe, Africa, and Asia since it bordered Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. The ancient African city of Aksum sat directly across the Red Sea from Arabia, in what is now the country of Eritrea. Aksum grew rich from trade with cities across the Red Sea.

Bornu

A powerful West African kingdom at the southern edge of the Sahara in the Central Sudan. Also known as Kanem-Bornu, it endured from the ninth century to the end of the nineteenth. Significance: Because of its location, it served as a point of contact in trade between North Africa, the Nile Valley, and the sub-Sahara region. It was important in trans-Saharan trade and in the spread of Islam.

Ghana

First known kingdom in sub-Saharan West Africa between the sixth and thirteenth centuries C.E. Also the modern West African country once known as the Gold Coast. gold and salt trade. Significance: As trade routes were established, ancient Ghana became an important trading center and cultural crossroads between 400 and 1100 C.E., eventually being swallowed and surpassed by the Kingdom of Mali. Ancient Ghana was a society with a complex court system, military organization and gold trade.

Nile River

From its headwaters near the Equator to its delta in the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile is earth's longest river, flowing 4,132 miles. Historically, the river flooded almost every year. The overflow brought rich silt to the floodplains and delta, creating fertile arable land. Significance: Early peoples began to settle the Nile River Valley at least 6,000 years ago. Domesticating animals and growing crops produced a surplus. More people could survive with fewer of them focused on food production. Towns grew and cultures advanced. Ancient Egyptian civilization depended so fully upon the Nile for its agricultural wealth that Egyptians worshiped the river as a god.

Mali

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger and Burkina Faso, to the south by Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, and to the west by Senegal and Mauritania. Mali is located mainly in the Sahara and Sahel regions of West Africa. It is mostly flat and arid, with the Niger River providing the primary route for trade and transportation. Significance: Mali thrived off of wealth, strength, and prosperity. Mali was one of the richest and most economically powerful empires of its time, due to its massive exports to Europe and other countries.

Who were the Bantus?

One of the most successful populations has been the Bantu people. The Bantu started out in West Africa, near the mouth of the Niger River. Most were farmers, fishers, and herders. They lived in small villages where family networks were based on ties to mothers rather than fathers. Around 1000 BCE, groups of Bantu people began moving east and south. After about 2,000 years, the Bantu covered much of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Bantu

A tribe of people who were usually farmers, fishers, and herders; lived in West Africa near the Niger River Significance: The Bantu migrated eastward and southward and blended their language and culture with other groups throughout Africa. They also adapted to Africa's environment by making new tools for farming.

What were the major cities and kingdoms in medieval Africa?

Aksum grew rich from trade with cities across the Red Sea. Farther down the coast, Kilwa and other cities were founded as Arab traders came to trade with local merchants. The cities of Djenne and Timbuktu became centers of trade. They traded natural resources such as salt from the Sahara and gold from the southern forest. Djenne and Timbuktu both were along the Niger River. The city of Great Zimbabwe was in southern Africa, in the country now called Zimbabwe. Great Zimbabwe grew rich from the gold mines under its control.

Savanna

An area of grassland with scattered trees and bushes Significance: Grain was grown here. When the first humans emerged in Africa, they lived primarily in the savanna. In winter the savannas today are warm or hot, but they receive very little rain. Summer brings even hotter temperatures and, with them, a much rainier season.

Timbuktu

Ancient city on the Niger River in the modern country of Mali. It was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp sometime after 1000. Significance: As part of the Mali empire, Timbuktu became a major major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning.

What was life like for people living in early Africa? (climate, natural resources, tools, transportation)

Climate: very warm, was once a grassland but eventually dried out creating the Sahara Desert. Natural Resources: Ebony = a hard wood used to make houses Minerals = salt, gold ,and copper Farmers grew rice, wheat, barley, sorghum Cattle, sheep, goats. Tools: early tools were made of wood bronze tools made of copper Metalworking and iron to make tools stronger. Transportation: Initially people traveled by foot on land Began using pack animals such as donkey and cattle Rafts to transport goods by river Egyptians used the wheel on chariots

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest body of salt water on the earth. Only the Pacific Ocean is larger. The Atlantic separates Europe and Africa to the east from North and South America to the west. Significance: The Atlantic Ocean was used by merchants and explorers on the African coast.

Bantu Migrations

The Bantu Migration was a massive migration of people across Africa about 2,000 years ago. Significance: The Bantu Migration is the most important human migration to have occurred since the first human ancestors left Africa more than a million years ago. It led to the spread of Bantu language and culture throughout the region. Some believe the Bantu migration was connected to forest crops being brought to Africa. These crops included yams and taro. Because the Bantu learned to grow such crops, they could move to new forest regions and survive there. Other historians think that the Bantu experienced a population explosion. This prompted them to move into new lands.

Congo River

The Congo River begins in Central Africa in Zambia. From there it winds its way north, west, and southwest. It flows through several countries. It reaches the Atlantic Ocean through the Democratic Republic of Congo. Significance: Little trade from the ocean comes inland by way of these rivers. However, the rivers are used for trade upstream. The four major rivers of Africa also play an important part in agriculture.

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is north of Africa. The Nile River begins in Central Africa. It flows north into the Mediterranean Sea. Significance: the Mediterranean Sea has been an important waterway for trade and has fostered great civilizations on its shores.

Niger River

The Niger River begins in West Africa, in the country of Guinea. It loops north through Guinea and Mali. Then, it turns and flows south through Niger and Nigeria. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Significance: The Niger river is an important area because it is the major river and source of water in that part of the Sahara desert. This made it the focal point of trade across the western Sahara, and the centre of the Sahelian kingdoms of Mali and Gao.

Djenne (Jenne)

The cities of Djenne and Timbuktu became centers of trade. They traded natural resources such as salt from the Sahara and gold from the southern forest. Significance: Djenne and Timbuktu both were along the Niger River. This made trade easier for both cities. Djenne and Timbuktu still exist in the modern country of Mali.

How did the geography influence the settlement and economy of early Africa?

The different climate zones of Africa affected the economies and customs of each zone's residents. The forest area had poor soil, but they could grow kola nuts, palm trees, and yams. The Savanna farmers grew grain such as rice, millet, and sorghum. In semiarid areas, such as the Sahel, most people herded animals for a living and were nomadic. They usually herded animals such as goats, sheep, or cattle. In the desert, herders tended to use camels.

Sahara Desert

The largest desert in the world, covering most of northern Africa. It is also one of the hottest places in the world. Significance: The Sahara splits Africa in two. It is very hard to cross. The Sahara isolated the north of Africa from the south for much of history.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The part of the continent that lies south of the desert. Significance: Sub-Saharan Africa contains people of numerous cultures. They speak many local languages. They practice many religions.

Why did trade routes run north and south in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Trade routes connected the different parts of Africa that had different resources. The continent's climate zones—and its resources—changed from north to south.

Geography of the region shaped the way of life of the people living there.

Trade routes helped connect societies that had vastly different resources and climates. Trade routes helped empires to form and grow. People's lives are shaped by their environment. People migrating from one climate to another have to adapt. Climate zones determined how people made a living. In the forest farmers grew yams, palm trees, and kola nuts. In the savanna, farmers grew grain crops. In the semiarid and desert, nomadic people herded animals. Trade routes developed between different climate zones because people traded for what they could not produce.

Benin

a kingdom that arose near the Niger River delta in the 1300s and became a major West African state in the 1400s. Significance: This gave rise to the Benin Empire (1440-1897) which was a large pre-colonial African state of modern Nigeria.

Atlas Mountains

a mountain range in northern Africa between the Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert Significance: The mountains formed over millions of years, gaining their present-day shape when the African continent collided with the Iberian peninsula, in what is known as a convergent plate boundary.

Trade Products of Africa

gold, salt, yams, palm products, animals, kola nuts, slaves, manufactured goods, copper, and food products. Significance: diverse products that depended on climate and region where they were produced