The Rise of African Civilization

Section 13-1

Vocabulary

1.plateau- ______

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2.Ghana- ______

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3. Mali- ______

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4. griots- ______

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5.Sundiata Keita- ______

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6.Timbuktu- ______

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7. Mansa Musa- ______

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8. Sunni Ali- ______

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9.Songhai- ______

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10.Axum- ______

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11. dhows- ______

______

NOTES:

I.Africa’s Geography

  1. Africa is the world’s ______- largest continent. The United States fits into Africa ______times with room left over.
  2. The African continent contains ______, ______and ______. (look at the map on Page 445)
  3. The ______is the largest desert in the world.
  4. Africa’s savannas are good for raising herds of ______.
  5. Almost all of Africa, except for the coastal plains, rests on a ______.
  6. The ______River is Africa’s longest river. The Congo is about 2700 miles long.
  7. Some of the earliest human fossils have been found in the ______.

II. West African Empires

  1. The Berbers were the first known people to settle in North Africa. After crossing the Sahara to trade with others, they told stories of the ______in West Africa.
  2. The Romans brought camels from central Asia to Africa. Camels could travel for days without water, and they used stored fat in their humps for food. Camels were nicknamed ______.
  3. ______, the first large empire to rise from trading wealth, was located where trade routes came together. Ghana’s rulers required traders to pay a ______to Ghana to pass through.
  4. Ghana fell in the 1200s and was replaced by the kingdom of Mali. Legend tells of a warrior king named ______, the “Lion Prince”, seized Ghana and won control of Timbuktu, a trading city.
  5. Mansa Musa was the last strong ruler of Mali and he died in 1332. After his death the Berbers took over.
  6. ______, leader of the Songhai, stormed into Timbuktu and drove the Berbers out. He had built the largest empire in West Africa, which lasted almost 100 years after his death.
  7. In 1591, Arab soldiers from ______attacked the Songhai and ended their empire.

III. Kingdoms of the Rain Forest

  1. Africa’s rain forests blocked ______and provided resources.
  2. People in the rain forest built their own empires, such as Kongo and Benin.
  3. King Ewuare founded the empire of Benin around 1440.
  4. The rain forests provided farmers with a climate and soil suitable for ______. The farmers could grow plenty of food and the surpluses supported rulers and an artisan class.
  5. These empires traded surplus food to neighboring people in the savannas for ______, ______, and ______.

IV. East Africa

  1. The country of ______today traces its origins to Queen Makeda, who became queen of an empire called Saba or Sheba in 1005 B.C.
  2. ______, Ethiopia’s oldest written history, tells how Makeda visited with King Solomon of Israel. When she returned to Saba, she introduced ancient Israel’s religion to her empire.
  3. ______was a powerful city-state in Ethiopia. It was located on the Red Sea and became a powerful trading center. Axum fought with neighboring Kush to control trade routes.
  4. Arabs invented triangular sails called dhows that helped them sail to Africa. Arab Muslims traders sailed to Africa to trade with East Africian city-states.
  5. ______was a great trading city. Great Zimbabwe was the capital.