ACS11 Reid Unit 1 Test IPP: Geography & Ancient Kingdoms

ACS11 Reid Unit 1 Test IPP: Geography & Ancient Kingdoms

***Do not write on this test paper. All answers are to be written on the foolscap provided. Value = 30%

Section I: True or False (Value = 10pts)

1.  Africa has a large amount of diamonds and gold.

2.  Africa has about 1000 different languages.

3.  Africa is the largest continent in the world.

4.  ½ of Africa is covered in jungles.

5.  Africa is mostly tropical.

6.  Countries that lie North of the Sahara Desert are referred to as sub-Sahara region.

7.  There are only two lines of latitude that run through Africa: Tropic of Cancer and the Equator

8.  There are glaciers in Africa.

9.  The Black Sea surrounds a part of Africa.

10.  Egypt is in Africa.

Section II: Multiple Choice (Value =12pts)

1.  ______is the largest desert in the world.

(A) Sahara (B) Kalahari (C) Mojave (D) Gobi

2.  ______was the author of ROOTS. (A) Kunta Kinte

(B) Langston Hughes (C) Frederick Douglass (D) Alex Haley

3.  ______is learning from an African perspective about African culture. (A) Eurocentrism (B) Afrocentrism (C) Ethnocentrism (D) None of the Above

4.  Which of the following bodies of water does not surround parts of Africa: (A) Indian Ocean (B) Pacific Ocean (C) Atlantic Ocean (D) Mediterranean Sea.

5.  Professional historians, such as those found in West Africa, are called ______and are trained in the oral tradition.

(A) Archaeologists (B) Botanist (C) Griot (D) linguistics

6.  Archaeological evidence shows that the birthplace of humanity was in ______. (A) America (B) Europe (C) Asia (D) Afirca

7.  The rulers of ancient Egypt were called ______. (A) Kings (B) Queens (C) monarchs (D) Pharaohs

8.  The picture-writings of the Egyptians are referred to as ______.

(A) hieroglyphs (B) cave drawings (C) paintings (D) script

9.  ______is when one culture thinks that they are superior over another culture. (A) Eurocentrism (B) Afrocentrism (C) Ethnocentrism (D) None of the Above

10.  The process by which green land becomes desert over a period of time is known as ______. (A) oasis (B) Mirage (C) desertification (D) deforestation

11.  The most famous king of Mali, ______, gave away so much gold on his trip to Mecca that the price of gold in Cairo dropped significantly. (A) Mansa Musa (B) Sonni Ali (C) Kunta Kinte

(D) Mandinka

12.  ______used elephants in warfare, trade and for transportation. (A) Axum (B) Kush (C) Songhai (D) Ghana

Section IV: Fill in the Blanks (value = 8pts)

Word bank

Botany Kunta Kinte Timbuktu

Roots South East Africa Nile

Nomadic Oral Tradition

1.  ______is the longest river in the world.

2.  ______was a trade center for Mali and Songhai.

3.  ______is passing down history through story telling.

4.  ______is the study of plants.

5.  Alex Haley wrote ______.

6.  ______is the main character in Roots.

7.  ______is when people move from place to place in search of food.

8.  Great Zimbabwe is located in ______.

Section V: Case Studies (Value = 10pts)

Read the following articles and answer the questions in point form.

1.  Trade 5pts

The civilizations that flourished in ancient West Africa were all based on trade, so successful West African leaders tended to be peace makers rather than warriors. Caravans from North Africa crossed the Sahara beginning in the seventh century of the Common Era. Gold from West Africa was exchanged for something the West Africans prized even more: salt. Salt was used as a flavoring, a food preservative, and for retaining body moisture.

The first people to make the trek across the desert were the Berbers of North Africa, who brought their strict Islamic faith across the Sahara. The Berbers converted many of the merchants of West Afr beliefs. The ancient West Africans, like Native Americans and the Sumerians, believed that many gods existed in nature. They did not accept the Muslim belief in one God.

Questions

A.  What was the natural resource that West Africans had a lot of to trade? 1pt

B.  What was considered a prize to West Africans and why? 2pts

C.  Who were the 1st people to trek across the desert? What did they bring with them? 2pts

2.  Ghana 5pts

An ancient African civilization we call Ghana existed in West Africa between the Niger and the Gambia Rivers from about AD300 to about 1100. The rivers were important to Ghana because its economy was based on trade, and before the modern age, rivers were the fastest way to carry goods. Ghana became wealthy by collecting taxes from traders who passed through the kingdom. The people called their nation Wagadu; we know it as Ghana because that was the name of their war chief.

Ghana managed the gold trade despite having few natural resources of its own. The gold and salt mines all lay beyond the borders of the empire, but the power of Ghana was based on the superior skill of their people in working with iron. Ghanaian warriors used iron tipped spears to subdue the neighbors, who fought with less efficient weapons made of stone, bone, and wood.

Muslim warriors known as Almoravids called a jihad (“struggle” in Arabic) on Ghana because the Ghanaian people kept their traditional beliefs and refused to accept Islam. The Almoravids were successful in weakening Ghana, but the empire continued to exist for more than a century. Many local warriors throughout the formerly mighty kingdom formed small states that threatened the vital trade routes through West Africa.

Questions

A.  Why were the rivers important in Ghana? 1pt

B.  How did Ghana become wealthy? 1pt

C.  What did the people of Ghana call their nation and what did it mean? 1pt

D.  What helped the people of Ghana to become powerful? 1pt

E.  Why did the Almoravids attack Ghana? 1pt

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