9781422285626

Chapter One HISTORY

A t the ancient salt mines of with wooden clubs, much as they have for at least 400 years. When the men finish, they load the crystallized mineral onto the backs of camels, and then the real journey begins. Nomads guide the 100 or so animals over 500 miles (800 kilometers) of hostile desert to the city of Timbuktu. The humans and the animals will cross this foreboding landscape in two weeks or more, transporting the salt blocks over a centuries-old path. Taoudenni, in the African nation of Mali, workers cut slabs of salt

brine: water that contains a significant amount of salt. commodity: an item that is Words to Understand something from a source, usually by separating it out of other material. factions: dissenting groups. nomads: people who move from place to place in search of food, water, or pastureland. pan: a shallow basin on Earth’s surface. bought and sold. extract: to obtain

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