Study Guide: ANCIENT EMPIRE of MALI
Gold &
Salt
History SOL 3.2 & 3.4
TEST DATE:
Students will need to know the following information for the test. Please help them study.
Thank you, The Third Grade Teachers
1. Africa was home to several great empires. One of the most prosperous was the empire of Mali.
2. The empire of Mali was located in the western region on the continent of Africa.
3. Mali became one of the largest and wealthiest empires in the West African region and was an important
trade center.
4. Mali was located on the trade routes between the salt mines in the Sahara Desert (near north Mali) and
the gold mines of West Africa (near south Mali).
5. Salt was a natural resource for people living in the Sahara Desert.
6. People used salt for their health and for preserving foods.
7. Gold found in the West Africa was traded for salt.
8. Camels were the animals used to carry goods along the trade routes.
9. Camels traveling together= caravan
10. Rivers, desert-like conditions, and gold mines were physical characteristics of the empire of Mali.
11. Mali’s climate was hot and dry.
12. The Niger River, is an important river for trade in Mali.
13. Farming, mining, and trading are human characteristics of the empire of Mali.
14. The kings of Mali were rich and powerful men who controlled trade in West Africa.
15. Sundiata and Mansa Musa were two famous kings of Mali.
16. Mali’s form of government = dictatorship (one ruler)
17. The famous form of architecture in Mali was their temples; called mosques.
18. A special journey that people of Mali would take, was called a hajj.
19. Griots (storytellers) in Mali passed on oral traditions and stories from one generation to the next.
20. To tell a story orally means to tell it out loud.
21. Timbuktu was an important city in Mali.
22. Timbuktu had a famous university (school), with a large library containing Greek and Roman books.
© MacCabe ~ Fall 2012