History - Africa Test

Vocab stuff

Desertification

expansion of the Sahara desert

Tse-Tse

flies that cause disease in Africa

San / Khoisan

nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari

Mbuti

nomadic hunter-gathers in the Congo

Masai

nomadic cattle herders in Kenya

Griots

people who told stories to keep traditions

Nok

first people to do iron working in Africa

Djenne-Daro

oldest city in Africa

Kush

kingdom south of Egypt with the most pyramids

Meroe

capital of Kush

Bantu

group of people that migrated south and spread iron-working and language

Aksum

kingdom in Ethiopia

Ge’ez

writing system of Aksum/Ethiopia

Zoscales

first king of Aksum

Adulus

port on Red Sea for Aksum

Ezana

king of Aksum that became Christian

Lalibela

king of Aksum that built churches out of rock

Tabots

copies of the Arc of the Covenant that Ethiopian priest carry

Timkat

Ethiopian holiday celebration

Felasha

Jewish villages in Ethiopia

Swahili

language that is a mix of Bantu and Arabic

Efe

group that lives in villages in the Congo and does consensus

Consensus

village meeting to resolve issues

Stateless societies

groups that traced a common lineage and live in small villages

Igbo and Tiv

examples of stateless societies

Age Set System

kids of the same age did ceremonies together

Berbers

people that lived in North Africa

Maghreb

region of North Africa that includes Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Almoravids

first empire in the Maghreb and conquered Ghana empire

Ibn-Yasin

scholar and founder of the Almoravids

Animism

belief in spirits

Almohads

empire that took control from the Almoravids

Ibn-Tumat

scholar who wanted more strict Sharia Law

Abd al-Mumin

commander of the Almohads in battle

Gold-Salt trade

trade across the Sahara desert

Soninke

group of people that founded the Ghana empire

Mansa

title of the king of Mali

Sundiata

king of Mali that conquered Ghana, Kumbi, Walati and made capital in Niani

Mansa Musa

king of Mali, richest person ever, built mosques in Timbuktu and Gao

Ibn Battuta

explorer from Morocco that visited Timbuktu and Kilwa

Gao

capital of Songhai empire

Taghaza

city in the Sahara with houses made of salt

Timbuktu

city in Mali that was a center learning

Sunni Ali

founder of the Songhai empire

Askia Muhammad

king of Songhai that made it Muslim

Amina

queen of Hausa that took husbands after battle

Oba

title for ruler of Benin

Lost Wax Process

making artifacts by melting wax in clay

Ghana

“land of gold”

Mali

“place where the king lives”

Niani

capital of Mali empire

Kora

African string instrument

Matrilineal

passing through the mother

Patrilineal

passing through the father

Moors

name for the Almoravids in Spain

Marrakesh

founded as capital of Almoravids, kept as capital by Almohads

Kilwa

city on the Swahili coast that was the farthest the ships could reach in one season from Asia

Sofala

city on the Swahili coast that sold gold from Zimbabwe

Mombasa

city on the Swahili coast that sold iron, and Portugal built fort Jesus there

Great Zimbabwe

empire in southern Africa that mined gold

Shona

people that made up Great Zimbabwe and Mutapa empire

Mutota

founder of the Mutapa empire and conquered Zimbabwe

Matope

son of Mutota that expanded the Mutapa empire

Between Niger and Senegal rivers

area in west Africa that has a lot of gold

Between Zambezi and Limpopo rivers

area in southern Africa that was fertile

Artisanal mines

holes dug into the ground to find gold

Portugal

first European country to trade with Sub-Saharan Africa

Slaves

people from the interior of Africa taken and sold on the coast

Sahel

region between the Sahara desert and savanna

Poaching

hunting animals for ivory, horns, and skins

Baka

forest people in Cameroon

Kumbi Salah

capital of Ghana empire

Cataracts

waterfalls in rivers that make it hard to sail down

Slash and burn

method of farming where the plants are cut and the land is burned

Benin

kingdom on the western coast of Africa

Ife and Oyo

Yoruba cities in west Africa

Kano and Zazzau

Hausa kingdoms that constantly fought each other

Zheng He

Chinese sailor who was given a giraffe

Cowry shells

currency used in the Swahili coast cities