Unit VI: The Mongols, Japan, Africa, and America

Standard SSWH6 The student will describe

the diverse characteristics of early African societies before 1800 CE.

SSWH8 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the development of societies in Central and South America.

Learning Objectives a. Identify the Bantu migration patterns

and contribution to settled agriculture. b. Describe the development and

decline of the Sudanic kingdoms c. Describe the trading networks in

Africa d. Analyze the religious process of

blending of traditional African beliefs with new ideas from Islam and Christianity.

Learning Objectives e. Explain the rise and fall of the

Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, and Inca empires.

f. Compare the culture of the Americas; include government, economy, religion, and the arts of the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas.

Geography

Geography

Geography

Geography

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan was given the title

“Universal Ruler” in 1206 and went on to create an immense empire.

The Mongols inhabited the area to the north of China, a region now called Mongolia.

With superior military technology and battle tactics, they were able to conquer vast territories.

Genghis Khan The Mongols used siege warfare and

warriors on horseback. The use of such machines as catapults,

giant crossbows mounted on stands, and bamboo-tube rockets packed with gunpowder and fired from a longbow helped the Mongols improve siege tactics.

Battle provided a test of the soldiers’ abilities and was for them to acquire riches, honor, and personal power.

Feudal Japan There were two sources of power. One was the central government, in

which an important family held power in the name of the emperor.

The other source of power consisted of powerful local landholders who established and led a class of warriors.

Feudal Society of Japan Emperor (Spearhead) Shogun (chosen by the most

powerful Daimyos) Daimyos (local lords) Samurai (protectors of the Daimyo

lords) Merchants, peasants, farmers, craft

workers Eta (social outcasts)

Feudal Japan and Korea Zen Buddhist was introduced from China

and became very popular in Japan. The Tea ceremonies and Noh plays were

new forms of art that developed during Feudal Japan.

Korea was conquered by China and ruled by China for most of its history until it was annexed by Japan in 1910.

The African Continent

Africa It is the world’s second largest and

second most-populous continent. There are four natural regions of

Africa: Desert, Grasslands, Rain Forest, and Mountains.

About half of the world’s diamonds come from southern and central Africa.

There are 54 countries in Africa.

The Bantu Language An original “cradle land” of the

Bantu language lay in the region that is today the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

From there people began to migrate.

With the development of agriculture, over time Bantu languages began to spread.

The Sudanic Kingdoms Ghana was the first great Sudanic

trading empire. Ghana reached its peak as a wealthy

kingdom in the mid-1000s. The empire began to decline as a

Muslim group from North Africa, gained control of the Saharan trade routes and parts of the Sudan.

Ghana survived until the 1200s, but it never regained its former power.

The Sudanic Kingdoms Sundjata took over the remnants of Ghana

and founded the empire of Mali. The most famous of Mali's rulers, MANSA

MUSA, shaped the Islamic character of Mali and expanded the empire to its greatest size. In 1325, during a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Arabia, the people of CAIRO marveled at his wealth and generosity.

By the late 1300s, Mali had lost its political influence over the Sahara.

The trading city of TIMBUKTU was captured.

Mansa Musa

The Sudanic Kingdoms In the 1400s Songhai, the last of the great

Sudanic empires, rose in power. SUNNI ALI, a Songhai ruler, gained control

of a large area around the middle NIGER RIVER.

Songhai enjoyed its greatest power in the 1500s. He established a government and built a fleet of warships to enforce peace along the Niger River.

In 1591, the Moroccans conquered Songhai, bringing the 800-year history of the Sudanic empires to an end.

Sunni Ali

The Olmec They were the first major

civilization in Mexico. They left eight giant stone heads

and many objects made of jade. Olmec was made up of a large class

of farmers and a class of small elites.

Their art suggest that they worshipped a god that was part jaguar and part human.

Olmec Art

The Mayans The Mayans were the most

advanced culture of the Americas. They were skilled architects and

engineers; the Mayans built pyramid-shaped temples and developed a writing system that used hieroglyphs.

Their decline is unknown and mysterious.

Mayan Temple

The Aztecs The Aztec had been wandering

warriors. According to legend, the Aztec priest

had instructed them to settle where they saw a sign – an eagle sitting on a cactus and devouring a serpent.

They saw this sign on an island in Lake Texcoco in Mexico.

It was there that they built their city of Tenochtitlan.

Mexico’s Coat of Arms

The Aztecs In the mid-1300’s, the Aztecs

increased their power by conquering nearby tribes.

Conquered tribes had to pay taxes to the Aztec rulers.

The Aztec incorporated into their culture the inventions of peoples they conquered or with whom they traded.

The decline of the Aztecs resulted from revolts and the Spanish Explorers.

The Incas The Inca Empire located in the

Andes Mountain of South American expanded into present-day countries of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile.

The Inca built fortresses and irrigation systems and laid roads many of them paved.

The Incas They used Llamas to carry trade

goods. The rulers of the empire prevented

local famines by maintaining storehouses and distributing food supplies when crops failed.

Just as with the Aztecs, the Spaniards conquered the Incas in the 1500s.