Unit 4: Africa to 1500 Vocabulary Flashcards
Savanna Definition
semiarid grassland
Migrating Definition
moving from one place to another
Subsistence Definition
producing just enough for survival
Animal Husbandry Definition
a branch of agriculture in which animals such as horses and cattle are domesticated
Cereal Grains Definition
seeds that come from crops such as wheat, rice, corn, rye, oats, barley, sorghum, and some millets
Protolanguage Definition
the ancestor language of a culture that no longer exists
Axum Definition
an empire in northeastern Africa near the junction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, also called Aksum
Bab el-Mandeb Strait Definition
strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa Definition
the easternmost peninsula on the African continent
Mediterranean Definition
the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
Sahara Definition
a large desert that runs from the western coast of Africa to the east coast, separating the northern region on the Mediterranean from regions to the south
Sub-Saharan Definition
regions below the Sahara in Africa
Swahili Definition
a word meaning “people of the coast” that derives from the Arabic “sahil”; also the name of the language in the Swahili Coast that derives from Arabic and Bantu
Swahili City-states Definition
a loosely connected collection of more than 35 independent cities that worked together to control trade off the Swahili Coast
Swahili Coast Definition
the region on the eastern coast of Africa where Arabs and Africans created the Swahili culture and language starting in the eighth century and city-states emerged as an economic power
Tributary Definition
typically refers to a stream that feeds water into a larger river; in governance and economics it is a smaller state that pays tribute (usually money or goods) to a larger state in exchange for protection or trade preference
Cape of Good Hope Definition
one of the southernmost parts of the African continent; ships traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean pass by this point of land
Trade Network Definition
a system of routes between countries or continents for buying and selling goods
Bureaucracy Definition
government administrative departments, may make policy
Clan Definition
a family group
Cleric Definition
a priest or religious leader
Convert Definition
a person who adopts a specific belief or faith
Djeli Definition
a member of a hereditary caste among the peoples of West Africa whose main function is to keep an oral history of the tribe or village