| A | B |
|---|
| Sahara | a large desert located in northern Africa; the largest desert on earth |
| hump of Africa | western of Africa that gut as like a shoulder into the Atlantic Ocean |
| plateau | relatively high flat land areas |
| tsetse fly | disease-carrying insect witch infects animals and humans with sleeping sickness |
| savannas | broad grasslands dotted with small trees and shrubs |
| African rain forest | stretches along the equator and makes up a 3rd of the continent |
| Kush | major trading empire |
| Axum | founded by Arabs; independent state that combined Arab and African society |
| King Ezana | king of Axum; conquered Kush; converted to Christianity |
| Ghana | the first great trading state in west Africa |
| Berbers | nomadic people whose camel caravans became known as the “fleets of the desert” |
| camel caravans | crucial to trade across the Sahara |
| Sundiata Keita | established Mali a great trading state in West Africa |
| Timbuktu | famous trading city |
| Mansa Musa | one of the richest and most power kings who doubled the size of Mali. |
| Muhammed Ture | Muslim military commander who overthrew Sunni Ali and started the Askia dynasty |
| salt | traded by Mali and Songhai |
| myrrh | traded by Axum; fragrant resin from trees |
| Bantu | a family of languages spoken in central and southern Africa |
| subsistence farming | growing crops for personal use |
| Mogadishu, Mombasa, & Kilwa | a string of trade cities on east coast of Africa |
| Ibn Battuta | a 14th century Arab traveler whose writings provided accurate descriptions of Africa and Asia |
| Swahili | a mixed African and Arabic culture that developed along the east coast of Africa also a major language used in that area combining Bantu with Arabic phrases and words. |
| Zimbabwe | the wealthiest and most powerful city in the grassland region south of the Zambezi River |
| lineage groups | an extended family group that has combined into a larger community; believed they were part of a common descendant |
| African women | subordinate to men; worked in fields; some were merchants |
| matrilineal | societies in which descent is traced through the mother |
| patrilineal | societies in which descent is traced through the father |
| African religious beliefs | importance of ancestors was a key element |
| Ashanti | people of Ghana who believed in a supreme being called Nyame, whose sons were lesser gods |
| diviners | people who believe they have special powers to foretell events usually working with supernatural forces |
| Nok | was the oldest known culture in West Africa to make sculpture |
| griot | a special class of African story tellers who helped keep alive a people’s history. |
| stateless society | a group of independent villages organized by clans and led by a local ruler or clan head. |
