Vocabulary Flashcards
Savannah
a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees.
Plateau
an area of relatively level high ground.
Sahara desert
A desert in Africa, extending from the Atlantic to the Nile valley. About 3,500,000 sq. mi. (9,065,000 sq. km).
Bantu
a member of any of several peoples forming a linguistically and in some respects culturally interrelated family in central and southern Africa.
Swahili
a member of a Bantu people of Zanzibar and the neighboring coast of Africa
Subsistence farming
farming whose products are intended to provide for the basic needs of the farmer, with little surplus for marketing.
Mansa musa
was an emperor of the Mali Empire during the 14th century. He became emperor in 1307. He was the first African ruler to be widely known throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Ghana
A country of West Africa, with its southern coastline bordering on the Atlantic Ocean
Mali
a republic in westAfrica: formerly a territory of France; gained independence 1960.
Zimbabwe
a republic in south Africa: a former British colony and part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland; gained independence 1980.
Timbuktu
a town in central Mali, west Africa, near the Niger River.
Mohammed
The Arab founder of Islam, Muhammad is held by Muslims to be the chief prophet of God.
Askia
born Muhammad Ture or Mohamed Toure in Futa Tooro, later called Askia, also known as Askia the Great, was an emperor
Sonni Ali
Sunni Ali Ber, was born Ali Kolon. He reigned from about 1464 to 1492. Sunni Ali was the first king of the Songhai Empire, located in Africa and the 15th ruler of the Sonni dynasty.
Matrilineal
of or based on kinship with the mother or the female line.
Oral traditions
information passed down through the generations by word of mouth that is not written down.
Gold and salt trade
Camel caravans from North Africa carried bars of salt as well as cloth, tobacco, and metal tools across the Sahara to trading centers like Djenne and Timbuktu on the Niger River. Some items for which the salt was traded include gold, ivory, slaves, skins, kola nuts, pepper, and sugar.
Trans-Saharan
Trade requires travel across the Sahara (north and south) to reach sub-Saharan Africa from the North African coast, Europe, to the Levant. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century.
Sub-Saharan
from or forming part of the African regions south of the Sahara desert.
Songhai
a member of a people living mainly in Niger and Mali.
Griot
a member of a class of traveling poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa.
Diviner
of, from, or like God or a god.
Lineage
lineal descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree.
Ibn Batuta
a Moroccan Muslim scholar and traveler. He is known for his traveling and going on excursions called the Rihla. His journeys lasted for a period of almost thirty years.
