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p. 6 Define: (a) passing history down from one generation to the next by spoken language (b) a professional historian in some African societies who is trained in the oral tradition (c) the study of ancient societies (d) the study of plants (e) the study of languages (f) tropical woodland and grassland (g) a process in which green land gives way to desert over a period of time (h) a place where underground water comes to the surface in a spring or well (i) a language, used by a large number of people who speak different languages, that is a combination of languages or a simplification of one language Identify: “smoke that thunders," the African name for the waterfall that David Livingstone named Victoria Falls Answer: I . Griots remind kings and others of facts and traditions from the past so that these can be preserved and used as examples to guide behavior. 2. Africa is geographically diverse in that it is large and contains regions with different altitudes, climates, and resources (tropical rain forests, savannas, deserts, and highlands). 3. The four major language groups in Africa are Afro-Asiatic, Congo-Kordofawian, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan. 4. Trade languages are useful because they allow communication between people who do not understand each other's native languages. Critical Thinking 5. Western cultures have had written languages for more than 2,000 years. In the past several hundred years, because of the spread of literacy and printed materials, communication of history in writing has replaced oral tradition in most Western groups. Therefore, because of ethnocentrism (believing the ways of one's own culture are best), Western historians would be likely to regard oral tradition as unimportant, primitive, or inaccurate. p. 11 Define: (a) rulers of ancient Egypt (b) picture-writing of ancient Egypt. Hieroglyph means sacred text because before people knew what they were, they noticed that they were only found in tombs and mortuary (death) temples. Identify: (a) a place in Northern Tanzania where Louis and Mary Leakey studied the evolution of humans (b)
the scientific name for modern humans (humans thinking) (c)
a people (also known as the Bushman) who live in the
Kalahari Desert of Botswana and practice a hunting and gathering existence (d)
one of the large-scale migrations that occurred as a result of the
population growth that followed introduction of iron tools (e)
a kingdom in the southern ('upper') Nile Valley that prospered
through trade and for a time dominated Egypt (f)
a city of Kush that flourished because it was located near natural
resources that could be used in trade (g)
a kingdom, located between Meroe and the Red Sea, that dominated
trade in the area after Kush lost power around 300 B.C. Answer: 1. Africa is called the cradle of humanity because archaeological evidence shows that human beings originated in Africa. 2. Agriculture brought changes to hunting and gathering communities because it required communities to become sedentary, or live in one place, rather than being nomadic (moving from place to place) as most hunters and gatherers were. 3. The use of iron helped the population of Bantuspeaking peoples increase; they therefore migrated and spread their culture into new areas. 4. Agricultural growth, urbanization, and the creation of large-scale political units led to the creation of kingdoms in the Nile Valley. 5. Meroe was successful because it was located near sources of iron and other natural resources that were useful in trade. 6. The decline of Axum was largely due to the rise and expansion of the religion called Islam. Critical Thinking 7. Exploitation of the environment is detrimental because it uses up natural resources that cannot be replaced (or that are not replaced as fast as they are used). The loss of certain resources may then lead to the loss of others. For example, when a society's wood supply is depleted, it may run short of materials needed for burning, construction, and other purposes. In addition, loss of trees leaves soil open to erosion or wearing away by wind and water, which can lead to loss of fertile farmland and destruction of building sites. p. 13 Define: a process in which two religions or belief systems are mixed to create a new blend of ideas identify: (a) a religion originating in western Asia in A.D. 622 and centering on the Prophet Muhammad (b) A.D. =Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord) (c) B.C. = Before Christ (d) BCE = Before the Common Era (e) CE = Common Era b) a trade language and culture that developed from a mixture of an African based (Eastern Bantu) and Arabic and came to dominate East Africa c) an island town that became the most important Swahili trading center d) a kingdom in southeastern Africa that produced great stone buildings and a vigorous (full of life) trade in the fourteenth century Answer: 1. The introduction of Islam by Arabic traders gave some Africans a new religion. In other cases Islam was combined with existing African beliefs in the process of syncretism. It reduced the importance of women in some African societies but brought little change to others. 2. The Eastern Bantu and Arabic traders combined to form the Swahili culture. 3. Rich natural resources and trade allowed Great Zimbabwe to develop. Critical Thinking 4.
Positive effects of trade included introduction of wealth and of new
ideas and technologies as well as goods. Negative
effects included uneven accumulation of wealth, which led to the domination of
some individuals and groups over others; and depletion of natural resources such
as minerals, which often led to the decline of the kingdoms. p. 17 Define: kingship in which the ruler represents the physical and spiritual life of the kingdom and its peoples Identify: (a) a trading center in the Mali and Songhai empires (b) a Berber (North African) traveler who traveled to Mali and other nations as far away as China (c) a young
Moroccan who wrote about a visit to Timbuktu in 1510-1513 Answers: 1. Arab merchants' involvement in the trans-Saharan trade resulted in the appearance of written records in Arabic that described sub-Saharan kingdoms. 2. (a) Ghana declined because the kingdom's gold sources dried up, its trade abruptly ended, and its settlements withered away; it was ultimately conquered by Almoravids from North Africa. (b) We know what happened to Ghana because of oral histories. 3. Sundjata of the Keita clan of the Malinke unified the Mali empire. 4. Mansa Musa brought Mali to the attention of the Muslim world by making a famous pilgrimage to Mecca, during which he gave away a great deal of gold. 5. Factors leading to Mali's decline included weak kings, the deterioration of climate, the arrival of epidemics, civil wars, and religious conflicts. 6. The manikongo of Kongo and the oba of Ife were similar in that they were both political and spiritual heads of state. Critical Thinking 7.
The writings of lbn Battuta and Leo Africanus are valuable historical
sources because they are eyewitness accounts.
They record details of what the writers saw soon after they saw it. Concluding
the Chapter Answers to
Chapter Review 1 Reviewing the
Facts 1. (a) a system of
passing history down from one generation to the next by means of spoken language
(b) a professional historian, who in some African societies, is trained in the
oral tradition and reminds the king of traditions to be followed (c) the study
of ancient societies (d) the study of plants (e) the study of languages (O
tropical woodland and grassland (g) a process by which green land gives way to
desert over a period of time (h) a place where underground water comes to the
surface in a spring or well (i) a combination of languages, or
a simplification of one language, that allows speakers of different languages
to communicate (i) living in one place (k) a ruler of ancient Egypt (1) ancient
Egyptian picture-writing (m) kingship in which the ruler is both a political and
spiritual 2.
(a) the world's largest wasteland, located in North Africa (b) scientists
who studied the evolution of humans (c) place in Northern Tanzania where Louis
and Mary Leakey found evidence of the earliest humans (d) a people who live in
the Kalahari Desert (southern Africa) and practice a hunting and gathering
existence (e) time period, in Africa beginning about
1000 B.C., when civilization was
greatly changed by introduction of tools made of iron (f) king of Upper
Egypt who united his kingdom with Lower Egypt and established the First Dynasty
of ancient Egypt. g) kingdom that took over trade in the Nile Valley after Kush
declined around 300 A.D. (h)
the flight of the Prophet Muhammad (i) most important Swahili trade center (j)
capital of the kingdom of Ghana in the eleventh century (k) founder of the
Songhai empire (1) Berber (North African) traveler who visited the kingdom of
Mali and other lands as far away as China 3.
Africa has an area of 11,700,000 square miles and is about 3 times the
size of the United States. 4.
(a) areas of high temperature and high rainfall in the western part of
equatorial Africa (b) tropical woodland and grassland with moderate rainfall;
the grasslands are excellent for livestock herding (c) cool temperate lands with relatively high elevation in East,
Central, and southern Africa 5.
Rivers have been important in African history as cultural and political
boundaries, transportation links between regions, and water highways for
European exploration of the continent. 6.
The four major groups of African languages are Afro-Asiatic, Congo-Kordofawian,
Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan. 7.
Fire was important to early humans in Africa because it could be used in
hunting and in the processing of foods and it could make new, colder
environments livable. B. The Iron Age allowed
Africans to produce more food and to live in villages and towns.
This, along with population growth, led to urbanization. 9.
In 3100 B.C., King Menes of Upper Egypt united his kingdom with Lower
Egypt and founded the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt. 10. Population growth and
successful industries damaged the local environment and contributed to the
decline of Meroe. 11. Islamic influence
usually decreased the status of African women and eliminated them from most
political avenues. 12.
The Swahili empire's coastal location was important because it allowed
easy trade with the Indian Ocean world. 13.
The camel was important to early civilizations in western Sudan because
it increased the scope and scale of trade across the Sahara, thus expanding
trade between North Africa and the West African kingdoms. 14.
Factors that contributed to the decline of Mali include weak kings,
deterioration of climate, arrival of epidemics, civil wars, religious conflicts,
and invasion by the Almoravids. 15. Timbuktu was a trading center in the Mali and Songhai empires; it was also a center of Islamic learning. 16. The eyewitness accounts of lbn Battuta and Leo Africanus are particularly valuable in understanding the Sudan empires. 17. The Kingdom of Kongo developed when farmers on the lower Zaire River developed specialized skills in iron production and began a long-distance trade that included salt and copper. Basic Skills 1. Possible answers: "between 1000 B.C. and 55 B.C." Possible items under Types of Progress Made Possible include better food production, population growth, urbanization, increased trade and interaction between peoples, and the creation of empires. Possible items under Problems Created by Progress include overcrowding and need for migration, inequalities between different groups in society and, more inferentially, wars and environmental degradation. 2. Addis Ababa is located near the site of Hadar; Kampala is near ancient Koobi Fora; Nairobi is located near Olorgesaile and its ancient neighbor Olduvai; Bloemfontein is on the site of Swartkrans. 3. Possible answers include: most early African civilizations had no written language; most information about the empire of Ghana comes from oral histories. Critical Thinking 1. The ancient Africans who settled in the Nile Valley needed to know as much as possible about the exact timing of the Nile flood because this information told them when to plant and harvest their crops, which were dependent on the flooding. 2. Possible answers include gaining pride in one's heritage, understanding the achievements of a unique civilization, and learning lessons from historical events that could be used to guide future behavior. 3.
The two empires were alike in that they depended on trade, developed
complex cultures, and were strongly influenced by Islam.
They were different in that trade in the Swahili empire was primarily by
sea whereas that in Mali was overland; the products traded also would have been
different. Investigating History 1. Major milestones in the European discovery of the sources of the Nile were the expedition of British explorers Richard Burton and John Speke, during which Speke reached the southern end of Lake Victoria in 1858; a return expedition by Speke with another Englishman, James Grant, who reached the western end of Lake Victoria and the Kagera and Ripon Falls in 1862; and the expedition of Samuel Baker and his wife, also British, who reached Lake Albert in 1864. 2. The T'ang dynasty in China lasted from A.D. 618 to 906. Students can learn about it from encyclopedias or books on ancient China. Unlike some other dynasties, this one encouraged international trade and tolerance of different cultures and religions. Chinese art and poetry flourished and were supported by the court. The economy was secure and the administration stable. Cities became not only administrative centers, but headquarters of a growing middle class, including traders and craftspeople. Trade goods that might have interested East Africans include paintings, pottery, and silk and other fine fabrics. |