Vocabulary To Know:

Ø    Contribution – act of giving or doing something

Ø    Africa – continent that Mali is located on   (Mali is in West

Africa.)

Ø    SaharaDesert – desert that covers a good part of Mali

Ø    Mediterranean Sea     

Ø    Timbuktu – important city in Mali, had a famous university with

a large library containing Greek and Roman books

Ø    Griot – a storyteller

Ø    gold – mined in the desert of West Africa               

Ø    Natural Resource – resource that comes from earth (Salt is an

example.) 

Ø    Human Characteristics (Jobs) – farmers, traders, miners

Ø    Kings – rich, powerful men who controlled trade in West Africa

Ø    Empire – ruled by a king

Ø    Tradition – a custom or belief that happens over a long period of

time

Ø    Generation – the time of an individual’s

Ø    Wealthy – having lots of money or power

Important Facts:

Ø    Africa was the home to several great empires.  One of the most prosperous was the empire of Mali.

Ø    Many storytellers in Mali passed on traditions and stories from one generation to the next.

Ø    The kings of Mali were rich and powerful men who controlled trade in West Africa.  Mali became one of the largest and wealthiest empires in the region and was an important trade center.

Ø    Mali lay across the trade routes between the sources of salt in the SaharaDesert and the gold region/mines of West Africa.  For the people of the desert, salt was a natural resource.  People used salt for their health and for preserving foods.  Miners found gold in Western Africa.  Therefore, salt was traded for gold.

Ø    Timbuktu was an important city in Mali.  It had a famous university with a large library containing Greek and Roman books.

Ø    Early Mali was a wealthy trading empire before Christopher Columbus sailed to America.

http://www.fcps.edu/KingsParkES/technology/mali/index.htm

Be able to answer the following questions:

Ø    Why were storytellers so important in the empire of Mali?  (Storytellers in Mali passed on traditions and stories from one generation to another.  We know about Mali’s history because of storytellers.)

Ø    What do we know about the leaders of the empire of Mali?  (King’s of Mali were rich, powerful men who controlled trade in West Africa.) 

Ø    Why was the empire of Mali so wealthy?   (Mali became one of the largest and wealthiest empires and an important trade center.)

Ø    Where was the empire of Mali located?  (Mali lay between salt in the SaharaDesert and gold mines in West Africa.  It was located in West Africa near the Niger River. )

Ø    Why was salt so important?  (For the people of the desert, salt was a natural resource.  People used the salt for health and for preserving their foods.  Miners found gold in West Africa and the gold was traded for salt.)