Unit 3: Long Ago and Far Away…
Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and the Empire of Mali
To prepare for this test we will have a series of quizzes and one final exam.
This is a large unit so please study as often as possible!
Essential Questions
What contributions came from ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and Mali, and how have they contributed to the present world?
How did people of long ago interact with one another, and what influence did this have on our world today?
How did people live long ago that is different from the way we live today?
How did the environment influence the life style of the people of ancient Greece, Rome, and Mali?
Enduring Understandings
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People make contributions that affect the world.
The ideas of American democracy are linked to the past.
The interdependence of cultures has lasting influence on civilization.
Human interaction with the environment influences the development of distinctive cultures and regions.
Students will need to know
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Definitions of contribution, direct democracy, and representative democracy
Architecture of ancient Greece and Rome
Art of ancient Greece and Rome
Government of ancient Greece and Rome
Olympic games of today are modeled after the games of ancient Greece
Empire of Mali is in Africa
Storytellers in Mali passed on traditions and stories from one generation to the next
Mali became one of the largest and wealthiest empires in West Africa and was an important trade center
Mali lay across the trade routes between the sources of salt in the Sahara Desert and gold regions of West Africa
Salt was a natural resource used for health and for preserving food
Miners found gold in Western Africa
Salt was traded for gold
Timbuktu was an important city in Mali with a famous university that contained Greek and Roman books
Ancient Greece and Rome (SOL 3.1 and 3.4)
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE
Understand the meaning of:
* Civilization
a group of people who came together to share their culture, to
develop and use written language, to make advances in the arts and
sciences, and to form a government
* Ancient
things that have happened in the long ago past
* Contribution
the act of giving or doing something
* Direct Democracy
a government in which people vote to make their own rules and
laws.
* Representative democracy
a government in which people vote for (elect) a smaller group of
citizens to make their rules and laws for everyone
* Characteristics:
different traits
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
* Lands next to the Mediterranean Sea
*Located on the European continent
Geographic Features of Greece and Rome:
*Peninsulas- Land which is surrounded by water on three sides
ANCIENT GREECE: located among mountains and hills; surrounded
by Mediterranean Sea and limited rich soil
ANCIENT ROME: located next to a river; city built on many hills;
limited rich soil
THE ARTS: Music and Art in Greece and Rome
Mosaics, sculpture, and paintings are displayed on buildings.
* Greece: Birthplace of democracy (government by the people); a
Governments of Greece and Rome
(The government of the direct democracy
U.S. is based on the ideas developed in ancient Greece and
*Rome: Republican (representative form of government); a
Rome.)
representative democracy
The architects of ancient Greece and Rome used columns and arches
in the construction of their buildings.
* Greece- Parthenon (columns)
Architecture of Greece and Rome
* Rome - Coliseum/Coliseum, aqueducts (arches)
Sports in Greece and Rome
* Olympic Games of today are modeled after the games of ancient
Greece.
HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
* ANCIENT GREECE
farmers, shipbuilders, and traders
*ANCIENT ROME
farmers, road builders, and traders
WAYS THEY ADAPTED TO THEIR ENVIRONMENTS
ANCIENT GREECE: They farmed on hillsides; trading took place on the Mediterranean Sea: small independent communities
developed because of the many mountains.
ANCIENT ROME: They farmed on hillsides; trading took place on the Mediterranean Sea.
Mali -West African Empire (SOL 3.2 & 3.4)
VOCABULARY WORDS AND DEFINITIONS
Mali
country located in the western region of the continent of Africa
caravan
group of people traveling together
desert
a dry, often sandy area where hardly any plants grow because
there is so little rain
griot
a storyteller in the oral tradition
king
a man from a royal family who is the ruler of his country or
empire
Mansa Musa
the king of Mali from 1307 until 1337 A.D. During his reign the
wealth, size and power of Mali grew to make Mali the most
wealthy and powerful in Africa
oral history
the history of a people that is spoken rather than written
storyteller
a person who retells orally the history of people , a person who
makes up tales to entertain or to teach people
Sundiata
the first king to unite the country of Mali. He was called the
"Lion King." He began his rule in 1235 A.D.
Timbuktu
the most important city in Mali. It was a center of learning for
Muslims with three universities. It was the largest trading
center in Mali.
trade route
in Mali, the route (or path) that camel caravans took from the
deserts in the north with salt, copper, cloth, books and cowrie
shells and traders took from the forests in the south gold, kola
nuts, ivory and slaves
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
*located in West Africa
*near rivers (Niger River)
EMPIRE OF MALI
*desert-like conditions
*gold mines
HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
EMPIRE OF MALI
*farmers, miners, and traders
WAYS THEY ADAPTED TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT
*salt was an important natural resource for people in the desert
EMPIRE OF MALI
*salt was traded for gold
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE
Africa was the home to several great empires. One of the most prosperous was the empire of Mali.
Many storytellers in Mali passed on traditions and stories from one generation to the next.
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.
Mali lay across the trade routes between the sources of salt in the Sahara Desert and the gold region/miners 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.
Timbuktu was an important city in Mali. It had a famous university with a large library containing Greek and Roman books.