Midterm Examination Review Flashcards
Name the four indigenous language families of Africa.
Afro-asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, Khoisan
What are the principal sources of evidence used to reconstruct the history of Africa?
- ancient writings (e.g. hieroglyphics on walls or papyrus scrolls)
- oral traditions/stories
What was the “agricultural revolution” in early African history?
- the CULTIVATION of certain cereal grains, domesticating animals in PASTORALISM, developing new FARMING TECHNIQUES to cultivate crops
- allowed people to stay in one place as opposed to having to move around to search for food
Discuss the significance of iron and metal working technology in African history (3 examples).
- allowed societies to shape tools, weapons, currency, and crafts
1. Ancient Egyptians: mined gold in the Nile to trade with Mesopotamia
2. Sub-Saharan Africans: hunting tools (e.g. arrows, spears)
3. Assyrians used iron weapons against the Egyptians
Trace the political history of the Egyptians. What were the major events and contributions of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms? (E.g. the largest pyramids were built when?)
- Old Kingdom: pyramids, in addition to the Great Sphinx
- Middle Kingdom: crafts and literature
- New Kingdom: Pharaohs of Egypt established themselves as world powers (e.g. Pharaoh Tutankhamun); created standing armies
What were some of the factors that enabled the tremendous development of civilizations in the Nile Valley?
- fertile for agriculture
- great source for water and fish
- river travel helped to increase trade across the river
What is the origin of the name “Africa”?
- Romans called their new province ‘Africa’ (gradually extended to refer to the continent in general)
- origin uncertain—may have been a Romanized version of a local Tunisian place/people
- Used today: the name ‘Africa’ was adopted by Africans themselves
How/why did the parts of the African continent become early centers of Christianity? Where?
- When: 1st Century CE
- How: introduced by early Jewish missionaries
- Where: Alexandria, home to many of the early scholars who first defined the theology of the new religion
- Why: Christianity was seen as hope for the oppressed
Discuss the influence of the Bantu migrations on African history. What did these early movements mean for the history Bantu pass of Sub-Saharan Africa?
The Bantu speaking peoples…
- spread across much of eastern, central, and southern Africa over a long period of time.
- spread their farm knowledge all across Africa (contributed to the agricultural revolution)
- brought iron working, other metal knowledge to Sub-Saharan Africa
What were the factors that stimulated the trans-Saharan trade in the Western Sudan?
- camels (helped to carry large amounts of goods across a large area in a slower yet more effective time frame)
- the spread of Christianity in the early CE
- Muslims began to cross into Africa, established gold centers for trade
What was the most powerful state in the Western Sudan at the time of the arrival of Islam and why?
The Ghana Empire: sat on a gold mine, becoming the heart of regional trade
Give three reasons why we see the rise of large, centralized states in the savannah regions of the Western Sudan as well as Central Africa.
- the arrival of Islam
- large concentrated centers of trade
- large amounts of gold throughout the region (helped establish regional power)
Explain some of the factors behind the rise of the Indian Ocean trade. What were some of the primary goods exchanged?
The Somali Coast was introduced to the trade networks from Asia when Baghdad emerged as the capital of the Asiatic Muslim world.
- Africans sold slaves, gold
- from China: gunpowder, silk
- from India: spices, jewels
Historically, in many parts of Africa, chieftaincy or kingship was closely linked with religious power. Why? Give examples.
kings and emperors are “chosen by god” so rulers acted based on the will of their gods
(e.g. Egyptian Pharaohs linked to Egyptian gods; Mansa Musa acted in the will of the Prophet Muhammad)
Explain the “Hamitic Hypothesis”.
- states that everything of value ever found in Africa was brought there by the Hamites (allegedly a branch of the Caucasian race)
- hypothesis preceded by a 16th century theory that the Hamites were black savages, ‘natural slaves.’
- theory created because they felt no black man could ever make technological advancements of ancient scriptures as a white man
Narmer
- the supposed first King of the First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
- united Upper and Lower Egypt
Lalibela
responsible for the construction of great churches in Ethiopia
the Battle of Kirina
- a great battle of the somewhat mythical Sunjata against Sosso of Sumanguru
- led to the conquering of many Soninke peoples and much of Ghana
Great Zimbabwe
- the capital of the large and thriving Shona state, dominated by cattle and great trade
- famous for many stone enclosures
Meroe
- a state that rose to prominence during the Iron Age
- rich in IRON ore
- great land for AGRICULTURE
- in a strategic position of TRADE
Soninke
peoples of Ancient Ghana who spoke the Soninke language
Zagwe Dynasty
- a dynasty in the time of the Ethiopian revival
- later reinforced the idea of Christianity throughout Ethiopia
Timbuktu
- main center for trade/Islam in Western Africa
- was present in many empires (e.g. Mali, Songhai, Ghana)
Umayyad
believed in the hereditary right of Muhammad’s descendants to the leadership of the Islamic world
