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Natural resources: Water near the Niger River. Gold was also a resource.
Industries: Farming, mining, trading, defense (army)
Agricultural crops: Beans, rice, onions, sorghum, millet, papaya, gourds, cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, cotton, and peanuts.
Exports: Gold
Silent barter: trading without talking. Traders did not speak each other's language. To preform silent barter, one tribe would go to a certain location and leave their goods and depart. Then the other tribe would come and inspect the goods, and if they liked them, they would take them and leave their goods. Some of the most common goods were salt and gold.
Interdependence: Mali traded gold for salt. Mali had gold and its citizens needed salt to preserve their food and for their bodies. In those days, there were no refrigerators and by salting the food, it lasted longer. Salt is also an important mineral for our health. When we sweat in warm climates, we lose salt. In order to get more into our bodies we must eat salt.
Economic specialization: Traders, miners, farmers, blacksmiths, soldiers (army)
Caravans: Camels were ships of the desert. Traders traveled together in large groups on the trade route. The caravans were protected by the army.
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Page created by: Roxanne Edwards and Nancy Spaulding
Curator: Brooks Widmaier
January 2003