Big Idea Notes

Did not
Did
W.A.V. = West African Village
Did _______ contribute or not contribute to an interconnected world?

Geography
Desert, page 73
-Sahara desert size of
U.S.A.
-Less than 10 inches or
rain a year
-Very harsh climate,
100F+ or -140F
Sahel, page 73
-Temperatures up to
110F
-10-20 inches of rain
-Fertile land
Savanna, page 73
-Wet and dry season
-Heavy seasonal rains
-Most heavily populated
Tropical Rainforest, page
73
-Temperatures 70-90F
-Tse-tse fly
-60 inches of rain

Culture
Farming, page 75
-Rainforest: yams
-Savanna: millet,
sorghum, rice, edible
roots
-Semiarid fished instead
of farming
Salt, page 87
-Preserve and flavor
food
-Used for trading
-Needed in diet
Gold, page 87
-Money and jewelry
-66% Mediterranean
gold from West Africa
Dance/Music, page 78
-Please spirits
-Masks for ancestors
and spirits
-Diviner puts on mask,
speaks to dead
Orature, page 79
-Spoken stories passed
down generations
-Social/moral norms
-Cultural knowledge
Islamic Arts, page 97
-Geometric patterns/
calligraphy/ textiles
- Quran sayings on art
-Thwab

Economy
Trading, page 87
-Trade center in Ghana
-North Africans: glass,
oil lamps, salt, wheat,
ceramics
-South Africans: nuts,
palm oil, sheep, cattle,
slaves, copper, gold,
honey
Ghana, page 87
-Along the Niger River
-Trade center
-Rulers controlled trade
Silent Barter, page 89
-Exchanged goods
without direct contact
-Peaceful exchange

Politics

Religion

Clan, page 79
-Related families
-Family relationship
-Basis of government
-Everyone owns land
-Provide for sick
-Responsibilities
Slavery, page 79
-Members loaned to pay
debt
-Debt paid, members
returned
-People, not property
-No political rights
King, page 89
-Taxed all good
-Appointed officials
-Settled disputes, made
treaties
Islam Government and
Law, page 97
-Matrilineal to
patrilineal
-Shariah
-Local chiefs=less
important

Technology

W.A.V. Religion, page 78

-Unpredictable climate=
higher powers
-Polytheistic,
indigenous religion
-Diviner communicated
with spirit world, healed,
pleased gods with
rituals/dancing
-Ancestor worship
Islam, page 97
-Five Pillars
-Religious holidays
-Develop and practice
beliefs

Irrigation, page 73
-Used rivers
-In Sahel
-Helped grow crops