Civilizations Of Africa Flashcards
What were the large group of Africans and the related language they spoke?
the Bantu
Is most of Africa in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere?
Northern Hemisphere
What is a big grassland called?
Savanna
What is north and south of savannas?
Deserts
What is the Arabic word for desert?
Sahara
What is the world’s largest desert?
Sahara
What is a border or shore?
A Sahel
What is the border between the savanna and the desert?
Sahel
What type of landform is in the Sahara?
rocky mountains
What did the Mbuti live off of?
Hunting animals and gathering plants
What does sub mean?
Below
What is the area below the Saharan desert called?
Sub-Saharan Africa
What people keep African traditions alive?
Griots
What was a very important thing that the Bantu knew how to do?
The knowledge of metal working
Who was the Muslim ruler from Mali?
Mansa Musa
What did Mansa Musa do that all Muslims do at least once in their life?
Go to the Kabba
What area did Mansa Musa rule?
Mali
What two items were the basis of African trade?
Salt and gold
What was salt’s uses?
- very valuable for trade
- needed it to flavor
- needed to preserve foods
- needed to it maintain good health
What area in Africa was the salt supply scare?
Rainforest
What was Ghana’s wealth based on?
Salt and gold trade
What was the main trading Kingdom in Africa?
Ghana
What was Ghana’s capital?
Kumbi Saleh
Was Kumbi Saleh divided into two?
Yes
What region was centered in the Upper Nile Valley?
Mali
Who was the crippled and fierce warrior?
Sundiata
What religion came into Mali when Mansa Musa was in power?
Islam
What was Tombouctou’s nickname?
The desert port
Why was Tombuctou’s nickname given to it.
Tombouctou
- called desert port
- camels were ships of the desert
- every ship needs a port
What were Benin leaders called?
Obas
How long did the Bantu migration last?
1,000 years
What was the Ile-Ife leaders called?
Onis
What did Kilwa do to all of the goods that entered its ports?
He taxed them
What nonphysical thing did African kingdoms trade?
Ideas and Beliefs
What was Aksum’s official religion?
Christianity
What did Muslims and Aksum rulers fight for control of?
Red Sea Trading ports
What was the main center of trade in Africa?
Mali
Where did Christian kings live in their kingdoms?
They moved all around their kingdoms
How did people build churches?
They carved them into the ground
Who did they do this under?
King Lalibela
What did the port cities of Africa trade with?
China,India,Southwest Asia
What item did the people of West Africa usually trade to get salt?
Gold
What did Mansa Musa want Mali to be a leading center of?
Muslim Learning
What did the Bantu people spread across Africa as they migrated?
Their language and culture
Why did the Bantu people migrate?
They were looking for better farming land and better grazing
What did Muslim scholars in the empire of Mali teach Muslims?
- religion
- mathematics
- medicine
- law
What did Sundiata accomplish?
He made Mali the most powerful Kingdom in west Africa
Why did Kilwa, a Muslim city, thrive?
They traded with foreign lands
How did historians study the Bantu migrations?
They examined stories told by traditional griots
What did Ethiopians develop because they were cut off from the rest of the world?
Their own form of Christianity
Who finally drove the rulers of Aksum from the coast of Africa?
Muslim traders
What was one of the most important kingdoms of the West African forests?
Benin
Where were the African forests located on either side of?
The Equator
During the 300s, what became the official religion of Aksum?
Christianity
What were four physical features of Africa?
- savanna
- Sahara
- desert scrub
- Niger River
What is the area south of the Sahara called?
Savanna
What are African storytellers called?
Griots
Who ruled Mali before Mansa Musa?
Sundiata
What were the two rain forest kingdoms?
Benin; Ile-Ife
What was the major trade product from Aksum?
Ivory
What was the religion of the forest kingdoms?
Polytheistic
What was the religion of the savanna kingdoms?
Muslim
