| A | B |
|---|
| What % of Africa is made up by deserts? | 40% |
| What % of Africa is made up by rainforests? | 5% |
| What % of Africa is made up by savannas? | 40% or 2/5 |
| What areas of Africa support the fewest people? | Deserts and Rainforests |
| What areas of Africa support the most people? | Savannas and coastlines |
| What types of people live on the fertile coastlines? | Herders and farmers |
| What kind of lifestyle did early Africans have? | Nomadic |
| Nomads moved from place to place in search of what? | food and water |
| Why did Africans begin to establish permanent communities? | they learned how to farm |
| What common element (belief) do most Africans share? | the importance of family |
| What does Sahel mean in Arabic? | Coastline |
| Explain the process of desertification | the steady process of the drying of soil; usually due to a lack of vegetation |
| What is Djenne-Djeno? | West Africa's oldest known city |
| Why was Djenne-Djeno thriving in trade? | because of it's location; it was on the Niger river and near camel routes |
| What culture develops iron technology? | Nok |
| How does the Aksum kingdom emerge? | Through the mingling od Kushite farmers and herders with Arab people |
| Through what two ways does Aksum expand? | trade and conquest |
| Under what ruler does Aksum reach its peak? | Ezana |
| What was the trade capital of Aksum? | Adulis |
| What religion was adopted by the people of Aksum? | Christianity |
| Whose conversion to Christianity greatly influenced the Aksum people? | King Ezana |
| What is the name of the Aksum god? | Mahrem |
| What did the Aksumites believe about their god and their king? | the king was a direct descendent of the god |
| Aksumite culture includes what advancements? | unique architecture, written language, coining of money, and new farming methods |
| What difference exists between Aksum architecture and other cultures? | Aksumites used stone instead of mud bricks; they carved stones to fit them together; stelae |
| What are stelae? | huge stone pillars meant to celebrate the kings' conquests and to demonstrate Aksum's greatness |
| What new method of agriculture did the Aksumites develop? | Terrace farming |
| What are terraces? | Steplike ridges constructed on mountain slopes |
| What contributed to the fall of Aksum? | Islamic invaders seized Aksum's territory on the Arabian coast; Aksums were cut off from the sea and they were driven inland; Aksum is left geographically isolated and loses control as a trading power |
| What are reasons for migration? | environmental change, economic pressure, political and religious persecution, and technological development |
| What are examples of environmental changes? | climate change, depletion of natural resources, drought, earthquakes, etc. |
| What are examples of economic pressures? | increasing population, famine, unemployment, etc. |
| What are examples of political and religious persecutions? | slave trade, war, ethnic cleansing, repression, etc. |
| What are examples of technological development? | tools, agriculture, iron smelting, communication and transportation |
| Bantu-speaking people all share languages related to what parent languae? | Proto-Bantu |
| Where did Bantu-speaking people migrate? | southward, south of the Sahara |
| How did agriculture develop in Africa? | Increased rainfall turned the Sahara into a savanna suitable for farming |
| What circumstances enabled Djenne-Djeno to become a bustling trade center? | It was linked to other towns by the Niger River and overland camel routes, providing easy access for traders |
| Why was Aksum able to control international trade? | Aksum was loacked along key trade routes between Asia, Africa, and Europe |
| In what ways did Ezana contribute to the rise of his kingdom? | Ezana united his people under Christianity and expanded his kingdom through conquest and trade |
| Why did Aksum fall? | Aksum was isolated religiously and geographically by the invasion of Muslim peoples |
| Why is language important int he study of migrations? | Languages grow and change and show evidence of contact between peoples and cultures |
| What caused the Bantu-speaking people to migrate? | The development of agriculture led to an increase in population and a need for more food. The land could not supply that food, partly becasue of desertification as the Sahara expanded southward. So Bantu speakers moved south, away from the Sahara and desertification |
