Key Content Terms for Chapter 13
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms in your answers.
Ghana
matrilineal
trans-Saharan trade
SECTION 13.2: Ghana’s Government and Military
1. Write three statements to describe Ghana’s king.
a. ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
2. What two groups helped the king govern? How? _______________________ _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Who would inherit the throne after a king died? Why? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 13.3: Trade: The Source of Ghana’s Wealth
1. Around the camel, draw or list three products a North African trader might bring to trade in West Africa. Around
the Wangaran’s basket, draw or list three products the people of the southern forest areas might bring to trade with
the North African traders.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Ghana: A West African Trading Empire
SECTION 13.3: Trade: The Source of Ghana’s Wealth continued
2. Why was travel across the Sahara challenging? _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What two factors led to the growth of trans-Saharan trade? ___________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 13.4: The Gold-Salt Trade
1. Fill in the chart below with details about the gold-salt trade in West Africa.
Gold
Salt
______________________________ _____________________________
______________________________ _____________________________
Why it was
valuable to West
Africans
______________________________ _____________________________
______________________________ _____________________________
______________________________ _____________________________
Where it
came from
______________________________ _____________________________
2. How did the gold-salt trade benefit Ghana? ________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Ghana: A West African Trading Empire
SECTION 13.5: The Exchange of Goods
1. Fill in the thought bubbles for the Wangaran gold miner and the North African trader. Have each explain what he
does during silent bartering.
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
2. What were two advantages of the silent-barter system? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 13.6: The Decline of Ghana and the Rise of Mali
1. List and describe two reasons why the kingdom of Ghana declined. _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Ghana: A West African Trading Empire