Early Culture and Trade
Extended family
Daily life
Religion
Technology
Trade
Extended Family
 Father, mother, children & close
relatives live in one household
 Age-sets
 Loyalty
 Social groups
 Elders
Those born within the same two or three years…or peers.
Daily Life
 Value hard work
 Men hunted and farmed
 Women farmed, carried water, cared
for children
Religion
 Traditional beliefs- honoring unseen spirits
of ancestors
 Animism
 Shows importance of nature and family
 Traditional means customary or timehonored
What societies have we studied that
have believed in more than one god?
Greek Society (Neptune, Venus)
Roman Empire – Polytheistic at first,
then when a king became Christian,
the people became Christian.
Native American Societies – Rain
dances, corn and fish ceremonies.
Animism
 The belief that
bodies of water,
animals, trees, and
other things in
nature have spirits.
Technology
 Discover iron for tool
making
 Nok used iron for farm
tools and weapons
 Iron lets people move
onto new land, population
grows
Trade
 Began using camels to
carry heavy loads
through desert,
expands trade
 Took salt from Sahara
south to trade for gold
 Took gold and copper
to the north to trade in
Europe/Islamic World
 Places where people
gathered for trade
become towns, like
Timbuktu
Review Questions
 Men and women in traditional West
African society were loyal to their
a. work groups and parents.
b. extended families and age-sets.
c. religious and military leaders.
d. nobility and elders.
Review Questions
 Farming in Africa improved around
500 BC because
a. people learned to build structures to
transport water.
b. people began using animals to help
harvest.
c. people learned how to make iron tools.
d. people began fertilizing the soil.
Review Questions
 How did West Africans find iron?
a. They heated certain kinds of rock.
b. They took it from invaders.
c. They bought it from traders.
d. They baked clay miniatures.
Review Questions
 What does the animistic belief
system reveal about traditional West
Africans?
a.
b.
c.
d.
They were well-traveled.
They were influenced by Asian culture.
They relied on nature for survival.
They kept religious practice separate
from daily activity.
Review Questions
 Which of the following statements about
trade routes in Africa is true?
a. Salt was carried south while gold
was carried north.
b. Salt was carried north while gold
was carried south.
c. Salt was carried east while gold
was carried west.
d. Salt was carried west while gold was
carried east.
Review Questions
 Which of the following best explains
the different parts of West African
village society?
a. The village chief organized all of the farming
activities and the elders organized religious
practices.
b. A village inclueded basic family unites,
extended families led by village chiefs, and
council of elders.
c. West Africans depended on the natural world
for survival in their villages.
d. Families had little power in the village and the
village chiefs led the elders.
Review Questions
 Which two factors contributed most
to the survival of early West African
villages?
a. Farming and geography
b. Religion and culture
c. Work and family
d. Technology and natural resources
Review Questions
 What two factors had the biggest
impact on the growth of West Africa?
a. Slavery and salt
b. Iron tools and farming
c. Climate and religion
d. Technology and trade