Chapter 17 Social studies.

From discovering Jenne- Jeno what did historians learn about west Africa

Before it was rediscovered, historians thought that cities did not exist in West Africa until outsiders arrived and helped local people build them. The discovery of Jenne-jeno proved this theory wrong.

Technology of The Nok people

By the 500s B.C.E., a people called the Nok were making iron tools.

Reason of trading of different materials

Different resources are found in each of the vegetation zones. As a result, people living in different zones had to trade to get items they could not provide for themselves. For example, people on the savanna may have traded grains for yams or mahogany from forest dwellers.

Villages

Extended families usually banded together in villages to get needed help. For example, people might need to work together to control a flooding river or to mine for iron or gold. Structures suggest that the villagers united to defend themselves from attacks by outsiders.

West African societies

For centuries, the people of West Africa had limited contact with lands to the north because travel across the Sahara was very difficult. By the late 700s, however, Arab Muslim traders from North Africa were crossing the Sahara. Trans-Saharan trade played a key role in the growth of the three great medieval kingdoms of West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

Most important product across Africa

Gold ( and iron I think)

Why did extended family groups settle in the Sahara

Iron working and trade.

Vegetation zone of Jenne-jeno

Jenne-jeno was built where the Niger River meets the Bani River. This was an ideal location for farming, fishing, and trade.

Geographic factors that contributed to growth of jenne-jeno

Jenne-jeno was located by The niger river.

Advantages of becoming an Empire

Kings provided protection for the conquered territory. Armies made sure that trade routes were safe, and they kept out raiders and foreign armies. Wars between small cities ended. Kings collected luxury goods from their subjects and distributed them fairly throughout the kingdom. They also gave expensive presents to their governors.

Kingdoms

Rulers also collected tribute from the people they conquered. West African kings were both the political and the religious leaders of their kingdoms.The rulers of some trading cities in West Africa became wealthy by collecting taxes from the goods that were bought and sold.Trade was a major factor in the rise of West African kingdoms.

Why are their no settlements in the Sahara

Sand dunes cover one-quarter of the Sahara, but this desert also has bare, rocky plains, and even mountains. The Sahara is very dry except for some scattered oases, or water sources with some vegetation. As you can imagine, the Sahara was not a suitable place for large settlements.

How did the Niger River influence trade

Several major rivers served as trading routes in West Africa. The Niger is the region's longest river. It became a kind of trading highway. People in ancient times traveled the Niger and other rivers by canoe to trade goods.

Towns and Cities

Some West African villages gradually developed into towns and cities. Ancient cities in West Africa were not as large as modern cities, but some had thousands of residents. Why did villages grow into cities in West Africa? Two important reasons were the growth of ironworking and the expansion of trade.

Trade barrier to trade between Jenne-jeno and northern cities

Some traders also crossed the Sahara from North Africa, but most early trade was among West African settlements.

Comparison to Savanna to Sahel

The Sahel is not as dry as the Sahara. It has enough water for short grasses and some small bushes and trees to survive. The savanna has a long rainy season. Because of the rain, grains such as millet, sorghum, and rice can be grown there. Grasses provide food for cattle, camels, goats, and sheep. Rivers, such as the long Niger River, help make nearby land fertile and also provide fish for eating.

How did Extended families defend the villages and control floods

The banded together and with their combined strength over came these to problems.

What did finding copper indicate about the people living their.

The copper was 600 miles away which means they trade their surplus goods for copper.

Early communities

The earliest farming communities were made up of extended families. An extended family includes close relatives, such as grandparents, as well as aunts, uncles, and their children. An extended-family community might have had about fifteen to twenty members.

Process of a city becoming a kingdom.

The rulers of some trading cities in West Africa became wealthy by collecting taxes from the goods that were bought and sold. With their wealth, they could afford to raise large armies. These armies could conquer other trading areas nearby. Then the ruler could take over the trade of those areas and become even wealthier.

Yams/palm oil,kola nuts are in what vegetation zone

This zone is wetter than the savanna. Its northern part is a woodland forest of trees and shrubs. Oil palms, yams, and kola trees grow here.

Early kingdoms of west Africa

Trade brought some cities great wealth. The rulers of the wealthiest cities conquered neighboring areas, leading to the rise of kingdoms and empires. Rulers gained even more wealth through tribute, as well as by controlling trade.

Artifacts

archaeologists have found some artifacts of their culture, such as their iron tools and iron-smelting furnaces.

What did high walls suggest about an ancient African community

archeologists have discovered ruins of high walls and gates at the ancient West African village of Dhar Tichitt, in the present-day country of Mauritania. These structures suggest that the villagers united to defend themselves from attacks by outsiders.