Early Societies in West Africa

What belongs in the empty box?

City rulers conquer other cities.

What is the main reason why people in different vegetation zones traded with each other?

Different resources were found in each zone.

Which product of West Africa was most important in the trade across the Sahara?

Gold

From the discovery of Jenne-jeno, what did historians learn about the history of West Africa?

It existed for more than 1,600 years.

How did the Niger River encourage trade?

It was a transportation route.

Archaeologists found copper at Jenne-jeno. The nearest copper mines are 600 miles away. What does this indicate about the people of Jenne-jeno?

They carried on long-distance trade.

Which technology did the Nok people adopt as early as 500 B.C.E.?

ironworking

What is the best title for this list? • Ghana • Songhai • Mali

Early Kingdoms of West Africa

Archaeologists have found remains of high walls around one ancient West African community. What does this suggest about it?

The inhabitants faced a threat of attacks.

What did extended-family groups do for defense against dangerous floods or enemies?

They joined other communities to form villages.

Suppose you are an archaeologist studying a site in West Africa. The pit at your site has four layers. The words on the side-wall tell what kind of society lived at each layer. The lowest site in an archaeological dig is generally the oldest. As you learn from materials found in each layer, decide what you think was the most significant factor in the development of the society at that layer. Then do the following: • On the wall of each layer, write one or two sentences telling what you think was the most significant factor in the development of that society and why. • After you have written on all four layers, decide what you think was the single most significant factor in the development of societies in West Africa. On the bottom of the pit, write one or more sentences that state and explain your answer.

Write your own answer.

Which of these clues about the African past describes an artifact?

a farming tool

Few large settlements developed in the Sahara because it was too

dry.

Suppose a West African community produces the goods listed below. That community is most likely in which vegetation zone? • yams • palm oil • kola nuts

forest

Which of these was an advantage of becoming part of an empire?

getting protection from raiders

Based on the map, a specific geographic factor that contributed to the growth of Jenne-Jeno as a trading center was

its location on the Niger River. (Also accept other plausible answers that draw on information in the map, such as "its location near the border of two vegetation zones." Do not accept "on major trade routes" without further explanation, as it is non-specific and does not use the map.)

Compared to the West African savanna, the Sahel has

less rainfall.

Jenne-jeno was located in the vegetation zone called the

savanna.

The principal barrier to trade between Jenne-Jeno and cities on the north coast of Africa was

the Sahara or the desert.

Why did extended-family groups first settle south of the Sahara?

to farm