Exam 1

Question 1

Microliths

Answer 1

Small stone tools, usually in the shape of arrowheads, used for hunting and farming.

Question 2

Aksum

Answer 2

Kingdom of Aksum is located in East Africa. Known for elaborate monuments and written script. Introduced Christianity to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 3

Sahel

Answer 3

Semi-arid region separating the Sahara desert from tropical savannas. Faces challenges like climate, conflict, and overpopulation, but convenient for trade. Typically hot, sunny, dry, and somewhat windy.

Question 4

Nilo-Saharans

Answer 4

A people who lived on or near the Nile and relied on its resources for survival. Their grain cultivation and pottery skills spread to much of North and East Africa. The chances of these people having domesticated cattle are very high.

Question 5

Meroe

Answer 5

Rich in both iron ore and timber for smelting. Built on the production and use of iron. The Island of Meroe was useful for agriculture, while nearby areas cultivated livestock, giving them a mixed farming economy. Development in trade, using the Nile to sail in the southern town of Meroe.

Question 6

Slag Waste

Answer 6

Byproduct/waste which is leftover when smelting metal ores. Iron was the most prominent metal in Africa.

Question 7

Tsetse Fly

Answer 7

Bloodsucking insects that lived in lower humid regions. Their saliva could kill livestock and people. When pastoralism spread, non-immune pastoralists would avoid these regions for fear of sleeping sickness.

Question 8

Bantu Migrations

Answer 8

Movement from West-Southwest which brought new farming techniques and tools. Most importantly transitioning from stone to iron. Crops introduced include bananas and yams.

Question 9

Berbers

Answer 9

A group of North African nomadic pastoralists that helped facilitate trans-African trade. Lasted for a long time and were often in conflict with those occupying North Africa.

Question 10

Nubia

Answer 10

Area near 3rd cataract of the Nile. Nubia is an ancient region in northeastern Africa that extends from the Nile River valley to the shores of the Red Sea.

Question 11

Ghana

Answer 11

Ancient Ghana was located northwest of modern Ghana today. It became so large because of how largely they were involved in the trans-Saharan trade and the gold trade.

Question 12

Almoravids

Answer 12

Abdallah’s dedicated body of Islamic followers.

Question 13

Homo habilis

Answer 13

Homo habilis is one of the earliest members of the Homo genus. It was initially thought to be the first maker of stone tools.

Question 14

Hunter-gatherers

Answer 14

Hunter-gatherers are people who rely on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants for food. Hunter-gatherer societies are typically nomadic or semi-nomadic, moving from place to place in search of food and water. This was the only way of life for humans until about 12,000 years ago when agriculture emerged.

Question 15

Khoesan

Answer 15

The Khoesan are indigenous peoples of Southern Africa who speak non-Bantu languages. The term is a combination of the Khoekhoen and the Sān peoples.

Question 16

Old Kingdom

Answer 16

The Old Kingdom is known as the “Age of the Pyramids” because it saw the construction of some of Egypt’s most iconic pyramids, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza. The period is also characterized by political stability and economic prosperity.

Question 17

New Kingdom

Answer 17

The New Kingdom of Egypt was a period of prosperity and power that lasted from 1570–1544 BC to 1069 BC. It was a time when Egypt became an international power, expanding its empire to Nubia and managing complex trade networks.

Question 18

Kush

Answer 18

Kush was a region in Africa that ruled over Egypt and much of the Nile River valley. The region was originally called Nubia and is now part of Sudan.

Question 19

Alexandria

Answer 19

Alexandria is a port city in northern Egypt that was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great. The city grew rapidly and became a major center of Hellenic civilization. It was the capital of Egypt from 332 BC until 642 CE, when it surrendered to Arab forces.

Question 20

Niger-Congo

Answer 20

The Niger-Congo language family is a hypothetical language spoken in most of sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of the world’s largest language families and Africa’s largest in terms of geographical area.

Question 21

Early Iron Age farming

Question 22

Coptic church

Answer 22

It was founded by St. Mark, an apostle and evangelist. Coptic Christians live in northern Sudanese towns such as Al Obeid, Atbara, Dongola, Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, and Wad Medani. Coptic presence in Sudan dates back more than 1,300 years, although many are descended from more recent Egyptian immigrants.

Question 23

Maghrib

Answer 23

The Maghreb is a region in North Africa that borders the Mediterranean Sea. The Maghreb is also known as Africa Minor and includes the Atlas Mountains and the coastal plain of the aforementioned countries.

Question 24

Shi’ites

Answer 24

Shi’a Muslims that lived in East Africa since the 16th century.

Question 25

Abbasid Caliphate

Answer 25

The Abbasid Caliphate was a Muslim empire that ruled from 750–1258. It is considered the Golden Age of Islam, a period of stability that saw trade centers become centers of learning and innovation.
The Abbasid Caliphate was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad’s uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The dynasty is considered Arab, but its empire included parts of Persia, the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa.

Question 26

Mali

Answer 26

The Mali Empire was a powerful West African empire that existed from 1230 to 1600. It was one of the largest empires in West African history, stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Sahara desert. The empire was also known as the Manden Kurufaba.

Question 27

Almohad Empire

Answer 27

The Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire that existed from 1130–1269.
The empire was founded on the religious teachings of Ibn Tūmart, who died in 1130.
The Almohads believed that the Almoravids, who were in power at the time, were not following the path of the Prophet Muhammad. The Almohads sought to replace the Almoravids and establish their own regime based on strict adherence to Islamic law and practice.

Question 28

Sunjata

Answer 28

Sunjata is an oral epic poem that tells the story of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire in the 13th century. The epic is part of the Malinke people’s oral tradition, and has been passed down through generations of griot poets. The story is told through song and traditional West African instruments and includes a prophecy that the king must marry an ugly woman, who will bear him Mali’s greatest king.

Question 29

Songhay

Answer 29

The Songhai are an ethnolinguistic group of people who live in West Africa. The Songhai Empire was one of the largest states in African history, replacing the Mali Empire as the most important state in West Africa. The empire’s government was an absolute monarchy, with the sovereign serving as head of state, commander of the armed forces, and head of government.