Societies of North America and Africa Native Americans and West Africa

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Societies of North America and AfricaNative
AmericansandWest Africa

• Essential Questions Why and how did Native
  American migrate to the Americas?

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• Scientists think that the first Americans
• migrated, or moved, to the America
• from Asia. These ancient people may have
• crossed a land bridge called Bering Strait.

Early migration prior to 22,000 years
ago. Less than 12,000 years ago Bering
Strait Area covered by ice sheet 21,000. years
ago Area exposed by melting ice sheet, 12,000
years ago
Some people migrated over the Beringia land
bridge.
Some people may have migrated by boat.
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Native Americans had divided into hundreds of
cultural groups, speaking perhaps 2,000
languages. One reason Native Americans were so
diverse was that each group adapted to its own
environment.
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Emergence of Civilizations

• Environment shaped each groups economy,
  technology, and religion.
• In some regions, Native Americans based their
  economy on farming. In others, they relied on
  hunting or fishing. Different environments caused
  technology to vary. In coastal areas, farmers
  made tools from shells.
• In deserts, they used irrigation. Environment
  affected religion, too. Native Americans strongly
  believed that certain places were sacredand that
  animals, plants, and natural forces had spiritual
  importance.

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Iroquois League
In the late 1500s, five northern Iroquois nations
took the advice of a peace-seeking man named
Deganawida. They stopped warring with each
other and formed an alliance. This alliance of
the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca
was the Iroquois League. The League brought a
long period of peace to the Iroquois.
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Ghana Grows Wealthy
Ghana became the first West African kingdom to
grow rich through trade. From the 700s to the
mid-1000s, Ghana prospered by controlling the
busy trade in gold and salt. Located on the
southern edge of the Sahara, Ghana became a
marketplace for traders going north and south in
search of salt and gold.
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• Ghanas king benefited from this trade. He
  imposed taxes on all gold and salt passing
  through his kingdom. The taxes had to be paid in
  gold.
• The king also claimed all gold nuggets found in
  his kingdom. Ghanas king used the resulting
  wealth to pay for an army and build an empire.

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Islam Enters Ghana

• Many of the traders who came to Ghana from North
  Africa were Muslims.
• Muslims are followers of the religion of Islam.
  Muslim traders crossing the Sahara brought Islam
  from North Africa to West Africa.
• Ghanas rulers allowed those Muslims to build
  mosques, or houses of worship, in Ghanas
  capital, Kumbi Saleh.

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Mali Replaces Ghana

• By the 1200s, another West African kingdom had
  taken over most of Ghanas territory. This
  kingdom, called Mali, became West Africas most
  powerful
• state. Its wealth also came from control of the
  gold-salt trade.

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• Malis first great ruler, Sundiata, reigned from
  about 1230 to 1255. He came to power by crushing
  a cruel, unpopular leader.
• Sundiatas armies conquered many important
  trading cities. This made Malis hold on trade
  stronger and made Mali more prosperous.
• Sundiata was a Muslim, but he did not force his
  people to accept Islam.

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• Malis other great leader was Mansa Musa, was a
  devout Muslim. Under his leadership, the empire
  became one of the largest in the world.
• The legend of Malis wealth spread all the way
  to Europe. This was one reason that Europeans
  began to trade with Africa.
• Muslim scholars, artists, and architects helped
  spread the Islamic culture and learning
  throughout the empire. The city of Timbuktu in
  eastern Mali became a leading center of trade and
  Islamic learning.