AP African American studies

What connected Northern regions of Africa to the Mediterranean world and the Middle East?

Many extensive trade networks.

What did the Trans-Saharan Trade routes exchange?

Gold, ivory, salt, textiles, and slaves.

What regions did the East African coast trade with?

India, the Middle East, and China.

What did the Indian Ocean Trade exchange?

Spices, textiles, ceramics, and precious metals.

What were there many opportunities for in Africa?

Trade.

In the semiarid and desert area, what did herders do?

Moved in search of food, water, and traded salt.

In the Sahel, what did people trade?

Livestock.

In tropical rainforests, what did citizens grow and trade?

Kola trees (grow nuts), yams, and traded for gold.

What are the 4 earliest and complex large-scale societies that were established in Africa?

Egypt, Nubia, Aksum, and Nok.

What is the earliest civilization in Africa?

Egypt.

What is the other earliest civilization?

Mesopotamia.

What were early Egyptians a mix of?

Races (Mesopotamia, Europe, Middle East).

What was abandoned in favor of farming?

Hunting.

Who did Egypt follow in the Old Kingdom?

The first pharaoh.

What did the Great Pyramids at Giza protect?

The three bodies of the three kings who were in the Old Kingdom.

In West Africa, what were art and music related to?

Religious practice.

What did West Africans often participate in to preserve the image of their ancestors?

Woodcarving, sculpture, bronze, and brass.

What did the masks represent?

Spirits.

Regarding literature, what traditions were passed from generation to generation?

Tales, poetry, and oral histories.

What was the first African University called?

The Sankore Mosque.

What did Mansa Musa bring back from his pilgrimage?

Muslim architects, scholars, and books.

What was built after Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage?

More mosques.

What was established with great fame after Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage?

Universities.

What did the studies extend over?

Religion.

Who were griots?

Storytellers that passed stories from generation to generation and were often accompanied by music.

What were certain songs reserved for?

Certain storytellers.

What role did music play in religious festivals?

Music played an important role with masked dancers.

What were griots considered?

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

What role did gender play in the griot tradition?

Griots included African women and men who preserved knowledge of a community's births, deaths, and marriages in their stories.

What have Mande Griots passed down for centuries?

Oral traditions such as the epic of Sundiata (The Lion Prince).

Where is the epic of Sundiata still celebrated today?

In the nation of Mali.

What does the epic of Sundiata recount?

The early life of Sundiata Keitca (an ancestor of Mansa Musa), founder of the Mali empire.

What does the epic of Sundiata preserve?

The early history of the Mande people.

What subjects were studied at universities and mosques?

Math, philosophy, religion, astronomy, and even more.

Who became the first iyoba in the Kingdom of Benin (Nigeria)?

Queen Idia. 

What role did Queen Idia have?

Political advisor to her son, the king.

Who enacted guerilla warfare against the Portuguese to maintain control of her kingdom?

Queen Njinga.

What did Queen Njinga participate in to gain wealth and political influence?

The slave trade.

How did Queen Njinga expand Matamba’s military?

By offering sanctuary for those who escaped.

What was the ivory mask used for?

To inspire Benin’s warriors and express the significance of her leadership.

What did Queen Njinga’s reign serve as?

Her legacy of skilled political and military actions.

How long did Queen Njinga fight guerilla warfare against the Portuguese?

Over 30 years.

What example did Queen Njinga’s strength provide?

Almost 100 more years of women rulers.