africas geography and people

Question 1

What is the Sahara?

Answer 1

A large desert in northern Africa

Question 2

Define savannas

Answer 2

Flat grasslands in the tropics or subtropics with few, scattered trees

Question 3

What is a vegetation zone?

Answer 3

A region that, because of its soil and climate, has distinctive types of plants

Question 4

Who are the Bantu-speaking peoples?

Answer 4

West African peoples who shared a language family and gradually migrated eastward and southward

Question 5

What are griots?

Answer 5

Storytellers in African civilizations

Question 6

Define kinship

Answer 6

Connection among people by blood, marriage, or adoption

Question 7

What is animism?

Answer 7

Belief that souls or spirits exist in natural objects

Question 8

What significant environmental change occurred around 4000 B.C. in the Sahara?

Answer 8

Desertification and drying up

Question 9

What vegetation zones make up West Africa?

Answer 9

Desert, grasslands, and forests

Question 10

What percentage of the African continent is covered by savannas?

Answer 10

More than 40 percent

Question 11

What is the source of the Nile River?

Answer 11

East Africa

Question 12

What is the highest peak in Africa?

Answer 12

Mount Kilimanjaro at 19,341 feet

Question 13

What geographic feature juts into the Indian Ocean?

Answer 13

The Horn of Africa

Question 14

What covers much of central Africa?

Answer 14

Huge tropical rain forests

Question 15

What type of animals commonly live in southern Africa’s grasslands?

Answer 15

Elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras, and many others

Question 16

What is the human geography of central and southern Africa characterized by?

Answer 16

Diversity of hundreds of ethnic groups

Question 17

Fill in the blank: The Bantu speakers are known for their _______.

Answer 17

[shared language and migration patterns]

Question 19

What time period did the Bantu migrations begin?

Answer 19

Starting around 1000 B.C.

Question 20

What rivers are associated with the original lands of the Bantu tribes?

Answer 20

Benue and Niger rivers

Question 21

What type of movement is referred to as the Bantu migrations?

Answer 21

A gradual movement over thousands of years

Question 22

Where did some Bantu-speaking peoples eventually settle?

Answer 22

In the rain forest along the Congo River

Question 23

What agricultural activities did Bantu-speaking groups engage in after migrating south?

Answer 23

Raising cattle and growing crops

Question 24

What key technology did the Bantu peoples retain that set them apart?

Answer 24

Their ability to work with iron

Question 25

What were the effects of the Bantu migrations on their adaptation?

Answer 25

They adapted to new habitats and exchanged ideas and customs

Question 26

What term describes the connection among people by blood, marriage, or adoption?

Answer 26

Kinship

Question 27

How were decisions made within kinship groups in many African societies?

Answer 27

By a council of the eldest members

Question 28

What larger groups were formed from kinship groups with a common ancestor?

Answer 28

Clans

Question 29

What was the primary focus of life in many African villages?

Answer 29

Farming

Question 30

What role did women typically play in African villages?

Answer 30

Prepared food, cared for children, made pottery, worked in the fields, and carried water

Question 31

What is the process of focusing on specific types of work called?

Answer 31

Specialization

Question 32

What were griots in West Africa?

Answer 32

Storytellers who passed on history and cultural values

Question 33

How did early Africans transmit their history due to the lack of written language?

Answer 33

Through oral traditions

Question 34

What belief system involved the idea that souls existed in natural objects?

Answer 34

Animism

Question 35

Fill in the blank: Kinship groups often felt loyalty to each other, forming larger groups called _______.

Answer 35

Clans

Question 36

True or False: Griots were only important for performing for kings and not for common villagers.

Answer 36

False

Question 37

What activities did men typically perform in African villages?

Answer 37

Looked after large animals, cleared land for farming, built houses and fences

Question 38

What was the role of children in African villages?

Answer 38

Gathered firewood, helped tend flocks, helped clean homes