Aim: Why did ancient civilizations rise and fall?
Mansa Musa: Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He
made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca (Islam) and
established trade routes to the Middle East (mult quest)**
traditional economy : An economy based on agriculture, with
others in society working in simple crafts, such as the
manufacturing of cloth or pottery (economics)
Irrigation system: A system to bring water to support crops
terrace farming : The cutting out of flat areas (terraces) into
near vertical slopes to allow farming. Terrace farms appears
as steps cut into a mountainside. This adaptation allowed
both the early Chinese, and the Inca of Mesoamerica to
grow enough food for their large populations
(geography/how people changed their environment essay)
Essential Questions
• How did geography of Africa encourage the
development of diverse civilizations? (geography)
• What links did Africa have with global trade routes?
(movement of people and goods)
• Why was agriculture important to Mesoamerican
civilizations? (agriculture/geography)
• Why was religion so significant in the empires of the
Americas? (belief systems)
• What were the achievements of these civilizations?
(culture)
African Trading Kingdoms
• The African Trading Kingdoms consist of three main
cultures, Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, all located in
West Africa. All three kingdoms maintained vast
trading networks across the Sahara desert and into
the Middle East and North Africa. The main export
was gold, which made each kingdom wealthy and
strong, and provided them with the conditions
necessary for cultural and intellectual achievement
• Task: Complete page 15 of the review packet
using your review book/handout
Mesoamerica
• The Mesoamerican civilizations consist of three main
cultures, Maya, Aztec, and Inca. All three cultures
built powerful civilizations through the use of a
traditional economy and limited trade
• Traditional economies rely on farming and
very simple barter trading.
• Task: complete page 16 in the review packet