AP African American Studies Vocab 1

Matrilineal Succession

The practice of passing property and/or leadership from generation to generation, from mother to daughter

Patrilineal Succession

The practice of passing property and/or leadership from generation to generation, from father to son

kinship

political alliances with African communities (did include blood ties) mostly between closely related royal families

oba

A royal title in the ancient kingdom of Benin

manumission

a legal process that enslaver could initiate to grant freedom to an enslaved person

Sahel

A stretch of semi-arid land that cuts across the African continent, dividing the Sahara desert to its north from the savannah (grasslands) to it’s south

Trans-Saharan Trade

Trade that connected Berber-speaking merchants of North Africa with West African merchants of the Sahel

Griots

Prestigious historians, storytellers, and musicians who maintained and shared a community’s history, traditions, and cultural practices

Hominins

Members of the primate group that includes the species Homo sapiens

Diaspora

interdisciplinary