Sub-Saharan Africa Flashcards

Flashcards reviewing key concepts from the Sub-Saharan Africa lecture notes.

Where did humans originate, according to the lecture notes?

East Africa

Where did the earliest human civilizations in the Ancient period form, and what was the primary reason for this?

Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia

What are the five AP World History Regions in the continent of Africa?

North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa

What geographical feature caused developments in North Africa to resemble the Middle East, while the southerly regions followed similar patterns to each other?

The Sahara Desert

Which regions share characteristics such as higher elevation in the interior and a lack of navigable rivers between the sea and central lands?

West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa

What is the major river in West Africa?

Niger River

What is the major river in Central Africa?

Kongo River

Name 3-5 raw materials abundant in West, Central, and East Africa.

Diamonds, gold, ivory, palm oil and rubber

What river bounds Southern Africa in the North?

River Zambezi

What resources are abundant in Southern Africa?

Diamonds and pasture lands

Where did the most important human settlements in the interior of Africa tend to emerge?

Along the northern Saharan desert border of West Africa and East Africa

What is the name given to the dry savannahs along the northern Saharan desert border of West Africa and East Africa?

The Sahel

What new crop led to a series of migrations by the Bantu peoples?

Bananas

From which region did the Bantu peoples migrate?

Central Africa

What practices/technologies did the Bantu people bring with them during migrations?

Slash-and-burn agriculture and ironworking

What is a stateless society?

A complex society, with social classes and permanent traditions, which has not developed a government to rule over a territory

What was one of the earliest major states to emerge in East Africa?

Kingdom of Aksum

What new script did Aksum develop for keeping records?

Ge'ez

What religious organization did the Aksum kings establish after converting to Christianity?

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

What did the Christian kingdom of East Africa become known as after abandoning their capital city of Aksum?

Ethiopia

What new culture emerged on the coasts of East Africa due to the mixing of Arab seafarers and Bantu-speaking peoples?

Swahili

What term did Arabs in the Post-Classical period to refer to the Swahili coast, meaning 'country of the black people'?

Zenj

What were the most important city-states in the Zenj (Swahili Coast), known for growing wealthy off of trade?

Kilwa and Mogadishu

What were the professional storytellers and keepers of memory in West African communities called?

Griots

What Classical period people group in West Africa used ironworking and created terracotta sculptures?

The Nok

Which kingdom emerged in the Sahel on the upper Niger River and supported itself economically through dominating the trans-Saharan trade route?

Ghana

How did Ghana support itself economically?

He levied a trade duty on imports and exports of salt collected in gold coins

Under Ghana, what religion did the majority of people likely remain, even after the state's conversion to Islam. What is animism?

Animists

Which kingdom eventually succeeded Ghana to rule over the Sahel along the Niger River?

Mali

Which King of Mali's hajj to Mecca made the wider Dar al Islam aware of West Africa's prosperity?

Mansa Musa

What city did Mali foster, which provided both economic benefits as a center of trade and assistance with state-building through literate scholars?

Timbuktu

What two new power centers emerged at the end of the Post-Classical Period after the collapse of the Mali Kingdom?

Songhay Empire and the Hausa Kingdoms

Between what geographical features did the Hausa Kingdoms emerge?

Lake Chad and the Niger River

What state did the Shona people found near the Zambezi River, known for its large stone walls?

Great Zimbabwe

What was Central Africa’s first significant state, located in the Kongo River Basin?

Kingdom of Kongo