1. African Kingdoms Aksum, Ghana, Mali, Songhai, & Zimbabwe

2. Geography of Africa Diverse: Africa has deserts, grasslands, mountains, rain forests/jungles Desertification- the Sahara grows larger every year and the Sahel (the southern edge of the desert) moves farther south The tsetse fly made it impossible to use cattle near the rain forest but also prevented Europeans from invading

3. Early History Humans originated in Africa and migrated out of the area near the Great Rift Valley The San & BaMbuti, nomadic hunter/gatherers offer clues to life in ancient Africa Griots passed an oral history from one generation to the next Few artifacts remain, like Nok sculptures & iron tools

4. Djenné-Djeno Discovered along the Niger River in 1977 Oldest known city south of the Sahara, oldest artifacts date to 250 B.C. Home to 50,000 at it’s height Mud brick homes, raised cattle, grew rice, & smelt iron by 300 B.C. Trade center- river trade & camel routes Abandoned around 1400 A.D.

5. Artifacts from Djenné-Djeno

6. Migration Push-Pull Factors- reasons people move to new places Environmental- natural disasters, limited resources, etc. Political- war, persecution, or limited rights Economic- unemployment, poverty, etc The opposites attract people to new places

7. Impact Linguists can trace migrations through the development of different languages & dialects There were several migrations of Bantu speaking people throughout Africa Unique cultures developed with each migration as cultural diffusion took place & the people adapted to the new environment

8. Aksum Located in the present day countries of Ethiopia & Eritrea Developed & prospered due to caravan trade routes along the Red Sea Products included salt, and precious metals & gems First Christian kingdom in Africa, Ethiopia is still one of the few predominantly Christian nations in East Africa

9. Map of Aksum

10. Map of West African Kingdoms

11. Ghana Located in West Africa along the Niger River Developed & prospered due to location along caravan trade routes, king taxed traders passing through the kingdom Products included salt & gold Practiced Islam & animism

12. North African Caravan Routes

13. Mali Located in West Africa, east of Ghana Developed & prospered due to location on caravan trade routes that shifted east Mansa Musa ruled from 1312-1332, he lowered the value of gold during his hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) because he gave away so much Ibn Battuta recorded his travels through Timbuktu, capital of Mali in the 1350s

14. Sand & Clay Mosque in Mali

15. Songhai Located in West Africa on the bend in the Niger River Developed & prospered due to location along caravan trade routes Defeated by Moroccans at the end of the 16 th century because the army did not have modern weapons (guns)

16. Other African Kingdoms The Hausa, Yoruba, Oyo, & Kingdom of Benin also developed and prospered due to trade East African city-states prospered through trade with Asians & Arabs Swahili a mix of Arabic & Bantu developed, Products included raw materials, luxury goods, & African slaves The Shona people built the Great Zimbabwe & prospered from the gold trade

17. East Africa Swahili CoastGreat Zimbabwe