Africa and Mesoamerica

Which of the following would describe the Geography of the African continent?

• Hot and humid

• A wide variety of climates from tropical to desert

• Has mixed seasons

• Arid and hot

Which generalization is best supported by the data from this chart?

• East African city-states were connected to vast trading networks.

• East African city-states isolated themselves from other civilizations.

• The rulers of East African city-states funded explorations of the world.

• East African city-states controlled Trans-Saharan trade

". . . Merchants were carriers of Islam rather than agents of Islamization. They opened routes and exposed isolated societies to external influences, but they were not themselves engaged in the propagation [spread] of Islam, which was the work of religious leaders. The leaders became integrated into African societies by playing religious, social, and political roles similar to those of traditional priests. Like traditional priests, Muslim men of religion were peacemakers, who pleaded for those who broke the king’s laws. Mosques, like traditional shrines, were considered sanctuaries. Immunity of life and property was extended to men of religion only as long as they kept out of politics and posed no threat to the existing sociopolitical order. . . ."

According to The Oxford History of Islam, what is one way Islam was spread to African societies?

• Africans traveled to Mecca to learn about Islam

• Africa was conquered by Islamic Caliphates that forced Africans to convert

• Traders opened opportunities for religious leaders to introduce Islam to Africans

• Africans adopted Islam in exchange for spices from the Middle East

. . . Merchants were carriers of Islam rather than agents of Islamization. They opened routes and exposed isolated societies to external influences, but they were not themselves engaged in the propagation [spread] of Islam, which was the work of religious leaders. The leaders became integrated into African societies by playing religious, social, and political roles similar to those of traditional priests. Like traditional priests, Muslim men of religion were peacemakers, who pleaded for those who broke the king’s laws. Mosques, like traditional shrines, were considered sanctuaries. Immunity of life and property was extended to men of religion only as long as they kept out of politics and posed no threat to the existing sociopolitical order. . . .

The process described in the passage above is most similar to which of the following historical developments?

• The expansion of the Roman Empire

• The spread of Hellenistic culture through Alexander the Great’s conquests

• Pope Urban II’s call for Crusade

• The spread of Buddhism to China, Korea, and Japan

The definition “materials or substances like minerals, forests, water, and land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain” best defines...

• Natural Resources

• Replenishable Resources

• Non-renewable Resources

• Nature

Identify the most important natural resource in the Mali Empire:

• Gold

• Sugar Cane

• Salt

• Coffee

Mansa Musa was credited with which of the following achievements:

• Discovering the source of the Nile River

• Building the Great Wall of China

• Establishing the Inca Empire

• Expanding Mali, promoting trade, and spreading Islam in Northern Africa

". . . The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions, wrote few books or dramas, and gave the world no new crops or methods of agriculture. Their own craftsmen could not weave cloth, cast metal, make pottery, or even bake bread. They manufactured neither porcelain nor pottery, painted no pictures, and built no buildings. Yet, as their army conquered culture after culture, they collected and passed all of these skills from one civilization to the next. . . . "

— Jack Weatherford from the NYS Global History and Geography Regents Exam, June 2010.

This passage leads to the conclusion that the Mongols:

• rejected technology

• were a peaceful people

• were urbanized

• contributed to cultural diffusion

". . . The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions, wrote few books or dramas, and gave the world no new crops or methods of agriculture. Their own craftsmen could not weave cloth, cast metal, make pottery, or even bake bread. They manufactured neither porcelain nor pottery, painted no pictures, and built no buildings. Yet, as their army conquered culture after culture, they collected and passed all of these skills from one civilization to the next. . . . "

— Jack Weatherford from the NYS Global History and Geography Regents Exam, June 2010.

Identify one effect of the historical development described in the passage above.

• The Chinese learned how to make gunpowder.

• Civilizations in the Middle East and Europe learned to make paper and how to print.

• Islam spread to North Africa.

• Hinduism spread from India and became a prominent religion in Eastern Europe.

What is a valid conclusion that can be reached by studying this map?

• Africans had centralized governments during the age of European feudalism.

• African kingdoms did not exist before the Europeans arrived in Africa.

• African civilizations existed only in southern Africa.

• Africa’s civilizations established many trade routes to India.