Purpose of this Web Page:
The purpose of this
web page is to assist teachers and media specialists in preparation for
7.2. It is recommended that the web resources are investigated before
using them with students so that instruction using these resources can be
customized for specific classes and students. The student version of this web
page has less information and doesn't include the resources that are considered
background knowledge for only teachers and media specialists.
Directions for Use:
Following are three
tables. It is recommended that students use the resources in Table One
and the resources currently purchased by individual schools in Table 2 before
proceeding to the General Internet Sites in Table Three. It is especially
recommended that students begin with online encyclopedias and then move to more
specific information after obtaining general knowledge about a subject.
- Table
One: Online Reference Services (Purchased by County or State)
The first table is a list of the county and state purchased online
reference services that have useful information for students, teachers and
media specialists for 7.2. A brief synopses of the information that might be
useful to students, teachers and media specialists is included.
- Table
Two: Online Reference Services (Not Yet Purchased)
The second table is a list of online reference services that could be
purchased by an individual school. Examples of information that could be
retrieved from these services is listed. More information about
purchasing these services for your school/department can be obtained from your
media specialist.
- Table
Three: General Internet Sites
The third table is a listing of general Internet sites for each of the
cultures.
Color Key:
Several of the
recommended resources have more than one color because different parts of the
resource are recommended for different audiences.
Blue - Information useful for all students,
teachers and media specialists
Red - Information useful for advanced students,
teachers and media specialists
Green - Information useful for teacher and media
specialist background knowledge. Could be summarized by teacher/media
specialists for students.
Student Resources:
Student resources
can be found at: http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/resources/student72.html
Table One: Purchased Online Reference Services
Ask your
school's media specialist for login and password information for the following
online reference services.
|
Online Reference Services
|
Almoravids
|
Kongo
|
Mali
|
Songhai (a.k.a. Songhay)
|
Swahili States (Coastal City States)
|
Great
Zimbabwe
|
| Britannica Online
|
Several articles including general article with information on
social, political, geographic and their cultural legacy. Links to information about the leaders.
Almoravids’ influence in articles on Spain, Morocco, Ghana, Mauritania
|
Very short article with overview including information on trade
and introduction of Christianity.
|
Articles on Timbuktu, history of Mali, Djenne. Links to Mansa
Musa.
|
General article with good information on Sonni Ali and Muhammed
Aski (Ture). Information on battles that won and then lost the empire.
|
No
useful information.
| Fairly detailed article with the meaning of the stone structures,
techniques used to build them, geographical location including a map.
|
High Beam Research
* formerly "eLibrary"
|
Best article found is Algeria:
Chapter 1B. Berber Dynasties is useful for background
information including facts about trade routes.
Teachers might
find other articles on the "hit list" useful for their own
background knowledge.
|
"Angola: Chapter 1B. Precolonial
Angola and the Coming of the Portuguese" provides
information on time and ethnicity of people of region. Other articles will be appropriate for specific
students/classes and "hit list" should be reviewed. Complicated for
student use due to the modern overlap of nations - Congo, Zaire, Angola, etc.
For students:
One Browse the
hit list to find "Kingdom of Kongo" with good overview.
|
Search terms to use: Mali Empire to find several very
short, introductory articles are on the empire and Mansa Musa.
|
First article on list "Songhai Empire" from Britannica
Elementary Encyclopedia includes a good description of the rise of urban
centers. "Songhai Empire" from the Young Students' Learning Library
about goods traded and reasons why empire probably dissolved.
|
Search terms to use: Swahili Coastal
States to find information about the influence of the Portugese. Mozambique:
Chapter 1B. Portuguese Hegemony, Port Cities and Intruders: The Swahili
Coast, India, and Portugal in the Early Modern Era, Tanzania: Chapter 1B. The
Coast and the Islands: the Early Period.
|
Article retrieved, " Zimbabwe: Chapter
1A. Historical Setting" --scroll down to find the portion on Great
Zimbabwe More information about the people than in many other sources.
Unfortunately, it is not easy reading but due to the dearth of explicit information
it is worth a teacher or media specialist's time to "translate" it. Other articles on the "hit list",on art and detailed
archaelogical information, all also scholarly, may be enlightening to
individual teachers with a special interest in this subject.
|
| Grolier Online
|
Very brief history found. Most useful is the map and a photograph
of a section of the walls in Marakech, Morocco which dates to 1062, the time
of the Almoravids.
|
Article on Kongo Kingdom with general information and maps.
|
"Mali, empire of" is good introductory article
with links to Mansa Musa and Timbuktu.
|
Brief articles on the Songhai empire and Timbuktu that describes
the role of that city and a short biography of Mohommed Toure (Askia).
|
No
useful information.
|
Article "Zimbabwe ruins" with good description along
with brief history.
|
SIRS
* When performing a search in SIRS change to Keyword/Natural Language
search before typing in search request.
|
Article found places the Almoravids in historical context
as Spain and North Africa.were affected by this culture.
Carey, Brian Todd. "The Requonquista and its legacy." History
Magazine. Dec. 2003/Jan. 2004. pp. 43-47. SIRS Researcher
http://www.sirs.com
|
No useful information.
|
Article "Islamic Legacy of Timbuktu" has some really
good background information on the creation of this city state, its growth
and its influences along with quotes from primary sources -- travelers to
Timbuktu in its heydey.
|
No
useful information.
|
Use search term Swahili to find "Swahili Coast:
Ancient African Crossroads." Article mostly about a modern day visit to
the geographical area of the coastal states but the interview with a current
resident gives much information about life in the days of its glory and the
influences of other cultures on the region.
Also,
article, "Zanzibar: Stone Town." Description and history of the
stone ruins with general information
on Swahili harbor and the influences of "Moors" and the
Europeans.
|
No
useful information.
|
Table Two: Other Online Reference Services
The following services can be purchased
for your school/department. See your media specialist for ordering or
trial subscription information.
|
Online Reference Services
|
Almoravids
|
Kongo
|
Mali
|
Songhai (a.k.a. Songhay)
|
Swahili States (Coastal City States)
|
Great
Zimbabwe
|
| ABC-CLIO
World History
|
No useful information.
|
Detailed overview including influence of Portuguese in terms of trade and
Christianity.
|
No
useful information.
|
Type Songhai in the "site search" box. Choose
"Countries." First entry is Songhai Empire. Overview article with
information on leaders and rise and fall of empire. Links useful such
as "Battle of Tondibi," the battle
that ended Songhai empire.
|
No
useful information.
|
Type in Zimbabwe. Choose "Countries" and first entry Zimbabwe. The first
third of the article is a history of the area known as "Great
Zimbabwe" as interpreted by archaeologists.
|
| History
Reference Center (EBSCO)
|
Brief passage "Sudanic
West and Central Africa, 1000-1500: 1076" from the Encyclopedia of World
History. A description of the diffusion of Islam through this region is
explained along with the rise of cities due to trade including the goods
traded.
|
Article
found:
"Chapter 4: THE KINGDOM OF THE KONGO"
Detailed account
including native religion, government, leaders, trade, impact of the
Portuguese.
|
No
useful information.
|
Use search request Songhai or Songhay. "Trade and
Empire" by looks at the economic factors in detail. Second
article "At Tondibi in 1591, firearms and
stampeding cattle heralded the fall of a once-great empire" is
detailed description on battle that caused the fall of the empire.
|
No
useful information.
|
Use search term swahili to find: "Swahili Ghost Town" -
author investigates the African and Arabic heritage of today looking at
ruins."A Swahili Port of Call" -look at today's Swahili coast and
the still evident influences of the African and Arabic influences.
History of the region as it applies to the idea of cultural fusion is
included.
|
| History
Resource Center: World History (Gale/Thomson)
|
No
useful information.
|
Article, "Kongo-Angolan Region History"- for teacher
who might want more detailed information about this region as affected by the
Portugese.
|
Using spelling Songhay articles found give detailed information
about the peoples who made up the Songhay empire and other information on
ethnicity.
Using
the spelling Songhai a short article found that includes information on the
family, type of government and traditional religion as it melds with
Islam.
|
No
useful information.
|
"Swahili. Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara. 4
vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1997" - this article dscribes where the
word swahili comes from and to whom it was applied.
|
Use search terms Zimbabwe, ancient. The article is a
detailed account of the walled city, artifacts found, information on trade
and more.
|
Student
Resource Center, Jr. (Gale/Thomson)
* When performing a search in SRC, Jr.,
change to "Search by Keyword" for more extensive results.
|
No useful information.
|
Search on Kongo results in several articles including
Afonso I (a.k.a. Nzinga Nkuwu), Bakongo, Bakongo/Kongo and African Kingdoms
and Empires. The reading and difficulty levels of these articles vary but
together they provide a wealth of information of aspects of life in the Kongo
empire.
|
A search on Mali reveals several pages of hits which all have
bits and pieces of useful information that answer the focus questions. The
articles are of varying degree of difficulty and it would be useful for the
teacher and media specialist to check the articles in advance of student use
to determine articles most useful for specific students/classes.
|
Good biography of Mohammhed Askia (aka Ture) and in "African
Kingdoms and Empires 500-1600" there is a brief description of the
Songhai empire.
Also
two other detailed articles (both called Songhay) with facets of the
life of the Songhay people today that could be used as a hook to current
events.
|
“African Kingdoms and Empires 500-1600”-scroll to subheading
"Swahili City States." Description of the geographic location
and trade.
|
No
useful information.
|
| World
Book
|
No useful information.
|
Short article includes information on government and
introduction to Christianity. Also article on Nzinga Nkuwu (a.ka.
Afonso I).
|
Search on "Mali Empire" yields an article of the same
name. Short history and links to Sundiata, Munsa Musa, Timbuktu
and Djenne.
|
Short but informative article on the Songhai empire along with a
map. Links to further information on the two trading cities Djenne
(a.k.a. Jenne) and Timbuktu with information on trade.
|
Article found when using search term Swahili describes the make
up of the people known as Swahili along with their geographic location and
the items traded with Arabs and Chinese.
|
No useful information.
|
Table Three - General Internet Sites
| Almoravids
|
Kongo
|
Mali
|
Songhai (a.k.a. Songhay)
|
Swahili States (Coastal City States)
|
Great
Zimbabwe
|
Civilizations in Africa: The Almoravids
Brief description of the place of the Almoravids in history of Ghana.
|
The
Story of Africa: Central African Kingdoms Kongo
Maps, primary sources, craftmanship, trade expansion and the arrival of the Portugese.
|
Mali & Songhai
Good job summarizing both kingdoms and distinguishing between the two.
|
Mali & Songhai
Good job summarizing both kingdoms and distinguishing between the two.
|
Civilizations in
Africa: The Swahili Kingdoms
Description of location of the Swahili States, the inhabitamts and the
affects of Islam on traditional society.
|
Mystery
of Great Zimbabwe
Detailed information about the archeological
finds, beginning in the 19th century, that may or may not be evidence of
Great Zimbabwe.
|
Bartleby.com: Almoravids
Specific description of Almoravids.
|
Encarta Africana:
Kongo
History, geography, relationship with
Portuguese, introduction to Christianity and the slave trade. Briefly
brings the region up to modern times.
|
Empires
of Western Sudan: the Mali Empire
History of of the Mali empire from Sundiata through Mansa Musa including information about Mansa Musa's hajj and his reception by the Arab and European world.
|
Civilizations
in Africa: Songhay
Brief description of Songhay empire and its scope including references to its most influential leaders.
|
Brief
History of the Swahili Language
Thrust of article is affects of Islam and Europeans
on the Swahili language.
|
Riddle of Great
Zimbabwe
Information about remaining stone structures of
Great Zimbabwe and possible origins and significance.
|
Encyclopaedia of the Orient
Brief description of the
history along with a helpful timeline. Information on religion, art and
architecture along with photographs of mosques in the style of the
Almoravids.
* Warning: many pop-up ads.
|
Art & Life in
Africa
Brief but useful information on art, history,
economy, political systems and religion in tabular form.
|
Ancient
Mali
Good history of Mali highlighting the
accomplishments of Mansa Musa and the spread of Islam, the rise of Timbuktu,
Gao and Djenne as trading and learning centers through the fall and
disbursement of the once mighty empire.
|
Songhay-
Introduction
Introduction to empire and details about Sunni
Ali (or Sonni Ali or Sonni Ali Ber) and Muhammed Ture. Also information about
the complexity of the government.
|
The
Story of Africa: The Swahili People
Brief description of geographic location including a
map, the influence of contact with the world outside of the continent of
Africa, and a little bit about traditional culture.
|
Literature
and Culture of Zimbabwe
Description of the stone structures along with
excellent photographs. Also, a discussion of the continuing mystery of who
might really have built the structures.
|
Library of Congress Country
Studies: Mauritania
Description of Almoravids and their leaders through the lens of the
history of Mauritania. Gives a good idea of the scope of the empire and
the spread of Islam. Also, interesting to note is how the influence of
the Almoravids on Morocco and Mauritania today.
|
No Useful Information
|
The
Ancient Art of Mali
This website begins with information about the geography
of modern Mali but if one scrolls down there is a very complete history of
Mali and the ancient empire including information on art, religion and
trade.
|
Story
of Africa -Songhay
Information about the rise and fall of Songhay
including a discussion of cultural traditions and trade. Also, included is a
song that dates back to the days of the empire.
|
The Swahili
Coast
Information about native culture, the melding of
cultures in times past and some history. Some good photographs
showing ancient artifacts; however there is a whole section on visitors to
the area today and some students had trouble realizing that the discussion
had turned to modern times. A little teacher/media specialist
intervention might be necessary for some students.
|
Great
Zimbabwe 500-1600
Description of the stone structures and
information about why mystery remains.
|
All
Reference/Country Study and Guide/ Algeria/Almoravids
Brief description of the history of the people, its leaders, its religion
with reference to the legacy of art and architecture with examples.
|
No Useful Information
|
Mali Timeline
Goes back to the beginnings of "homo erectus". This could
be a useful chronology for teachers and media specialists and for students
interested in timelines.
|
The
Songhay Empire: The
Golden Age of Timbuktu
Specifically information about Timbuktu, how it flourished and then
declined. Information about government and religion. Some good
photographs.
|
Swahili Culture
Very short but interesting article on the
interaction between Swahili culture and non-African cultures who they traded
with.
|
Great
Zimbabwe
Photographs and a little more information about
what archaeologists and historians think the culture might have been like.
|
Spain
and the Maghrib
Scroll down to reach the brief description of the
Almoravids. Map of their zone of influence is included.
It would be useful for teachers and media
specialists to look at the whole page in order to put the Almoravids in
context with the peoples before and after them.
|
No Useful Information
|
Mali
Glossary
Useful terms associated with the Mali empire.
|
Kingdoms
of Classical Africa: Songhai the Land of Royalty
Brief overview including geographic/location
information. Short bios of Ali and Ture. Information about the
government of the askiyas and reasons for its fall.
|
No Useful Information
|
Story
of Africa: Great Zimbabwe
Description of stone structures and information
about the peoples and civilization that might have existed including trade
and land use.
|
| No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
Timbuktu,
Mali: Intellectual and Spiritual Capital
History of Timbuktu with details about trade, religion and Timbuktu as an
Islamic learning center.
|
No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
Wonders:
City of Great Zimbabwe
History of the discovery of Great Zimbabwe and
what was found there.
|
| No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
Mansa
Musa: Pilgramage of Gold
Detailed biography of Mansa Musa.
|
No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
| No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
Mali: Ancient
Crossroads of Africa, History
History of Mali's empire from Sundiata. Good information on trade,
use of gold as currency, Mansa Musa, and the collapse.
|
No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
No Useful Information
|
