Transcript Chapter 5 Early West African Societies

Chapter 5: Early West African
Societies
► rifts
► sub-Saharan
► Sahel
► savannah
► rain
forests
Africa
► extended
► animism
families
Notes for Section 1: Geography of Africa
Start notes on page 74 of NB
► Read
the “If YOU were there...” section
► Consider why would this be a good place to live?
► Write the following:
 Living in a village near a great bend of the Niger
River in Africa in about AD 800, where the river
is full of life – birds, fish, and crocodiles – this
would be a good place to live because...
 Also, because I use the river’s water to grow
crops and raise cattle,...
 Traders using the river to bring wood, gold, and
other products from the forest would be good for
me because...
Landforms, Water, Climate, and Plant Life
– second-largest continent on earth (Only
Asia is bigger) – shaped like a soup bowl.
► rifts – in eastern Africa mountains – these rifts are
long, deep valleys formed by the movement of the
earth’s crust. From all of these mountains the land
dips into plateaus and wide, low plains.
► Draw a picture of a rift from these examples:
► Africa
Landforms, Water, Climate, and Plant Life
sub-Saharan Africa – Africa south of the Sahara
► Plains in sub-Saharan Africa are crossed by mighty
rivers – Ex: the Congo, the Zambezi, and the Niger
► Along the Niger River in West Africa, great civilizations
arose.
►
West Africa’s Great River
► Look
closely at the map on
page 113, where in Africa is
the Niger River located?
► What did the Niger River
provide people living in the
region? (write questions and answers in this section of your notes)
West Africa’s Climates & Plants
►4
different regions make up the area surrounding
the Niger River – desert – Sahel – savannah – rain
forest.
► They are like broad bands / stripes across West
Africa – entire area is warm, but rainfall varies
from north to south.
► Amount of rainfall each region gets has an impact
on what vegetation, or plant life exists there.
Sahel
desert
rainforest
savannah
(Draw a picture and name each region with a description)
West Africa’s Resources
► West
Africa’s land is one of the region’s resources.
► With its many climates, land could produce many
(Draw a picture of
different crops:
each resource next
 Dates
► Raised
to your notes on
each)
in desert oases.
 Kola nuts
► Used
► Other
for medicines – from forests’ trees.
resources were minerals.
 Salt
► When
ancient lakes were dried up, they left salt behind.
 Gold
kept exact locations of the gold mines a secret – to this
day, no one knows exactly where the mines were located.
► Gold became a valuable trading good.
► Miners
Notes for Section 2: Early Culture & Trade
Start notes on page __ of NB
► Read
the “If YOU were there...” section
► Consider how these new tools change your life?
► Write the following:
 Living as a farmer in West Africa in about 400
BC, farming is hard work because I only use a
wooden stick to dig the soil to put seeds in the
ground. When a trader brings farm tools made
of dark metal I’ve never seen before, I know that
they will change my life because...
 I’m happy that they will not break because...
 The details of a clean, sharp edge will help
because...
Families, Religion, and Daily Life
► Thousands
of years ago, West Africa had a damp
climate.
► About 5,000 years ago – climate changed and the
area became drier – desert life made people move
to areas where they could survive – used to live
free – had to move closer together to survive.
Families, Villages, & Loyalties
family –
included the father,
mother, children, and
close relatives in one
household.
► Extended
"Tree of Life" which depicts
the members of an
extended family, including
past and present
generations, gently
supporting each other,
generation after generation,
around the family ancestor.
http://www.blackwoodconse
rvation.org/carving.html
T-W-P-S
Write out “T-W-P-S” – the question & your answer
► Think
about your understanding of family.
► Consider how typical West African family were
structured.
► Write the following:
 How can I compare my family life to that of
typical West African families?
► Write
your answer. (3 minutes)
► Share your answer with the person next to
you. Start with person on left – then let
other partner share their answer.
► If randomly selected, share either one of
your answers with the class.
Religion and Culture
► Another
central feature of village life was religion.
► A traditional belief showed the importance of
families.
 Belief that the unseen spirit of their ancestors stayed
nearby.
 Families marked places as sacred places & put
specially carved statues there.
 Families gathered and shared news and problems with
ancestors.
 They believed that as long as they kept them happy, the
ancestors would keep the village protected from harm.
believed in animism – the belief that bodies of
water, animals, trees, and other natural objects
have spirits.
► Also
Technology and Change
► As
time passed, people developed advanced and
diverse cultures.
► Technology helped that change.
► Around 500 BC, West Africans found that they
could heat certain kinds of rock to get hard metal.
 Iron
► Heating
iron again allowed them to shape it into useful things.
► Tools – for farming
 hoe – allowed farmers to clear the land more quickly.
► As a result, they could grow more food.
► Iron tips – for arrows and spears
► As
a result, they were better prepared to defend against
invaders.
► Also helped in hunting.
► The
Nok (living in present day Nigeria) used this new technology.
Trade and West Africa
► As
people grew more food, communities had more
than they needed – this lead to trade.
Desert Trade
►
►
Early travelers could not go far
from oasis to oasis because
their horses needed water.
In AD 200, it changed because
Romans started using camels
to carry loads.
 Camels could store water and
energy in their bodies for long
periods of time.
►
With camels, people could
cross the Sahara in two months
making it easier to trade with far
away places.
Trade in Gold & Salt
►
►
►
Although trading in the desert
was dangerous against thieves,
West Africa’s gold .and salt
mines became a source of
great wealth.
Traders took salt south to trade
for gold.
Traders took gold north to
Europe and the Islamic world.
 Some places where people
gathered to trade became
towns.
►
Timbuktu was one such place.
Project – African Mask Making
► In
groups of 3-4 (boys-girls mixed), you will
work on creating papier-mâché masks that
will later be decorated with items to represent
one of the three African Empires.
 The 3 empires are detailed in Chapter 6 & will be
assigned to you later.
► Let’s
watch a You Tube video on how to
prepare your groups to make these masks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCiYNE_hmNg
 Prepare a list of items that each member will
provide in the coming weeks for this project.
► The
mask project will be due Friday, Nov. 4th