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Worksheets

West African Societies

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 30mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The traditional religion of Animism believes

a)

objects in nature have souls

b)

in worship of animals

c)

all animals go to heaven

d)

in the Eight-fold Path of Islam

2.

Ancient West Africans performed religious rituals and honored their

a)

ancestors

b)

diversity

c)

future

d)

own strength

3.

I provide fresh water and fish.

I provide fertilizer for the savanna and rain forest.

I have been described as a "highway" by West African traders.

Who am I?

a)

Mansa Musa

b)

Muhammad

c)

The Niger River

d)

The Yellow River

4.

I get a lot of rain and I am always damp.

I am a source for oil palms, yams, and teak and mahogany trees.

Hidden in me you MAY find Wangaran gold mines.

Who am I?

a)

The Sahara Desert

b)

The Sahel

c)

The Savanna

d)

The Rainforest

5.

I am home to animals who like to eat my tall grasses and shrubs.

I usually get enough rainfall to fill my rivers and make farming possible.

Who am I?

a)

The Sahara Desert

b)

The Sahel

c)

The Savanna

d)

The Rainforest

6.

I am home to grazing animals who survive on my low growing grasses, thorny shrubs, and acacia trees.

I get more rain than the desert.

Who am I?

a)

The Sahara

b)

The Sahel

c)

The Savanna

d)

The Rainforest

7.

I am huge; about 3.5 million square miles.

I am dry and hot.

I provide slabs of salt.

Who am I?

a)

Sahara

b)

Sahel

c)

Savanna

d)

Arabian

8.

Most of Africa's rainfall occurs in:

a)

rift valleys

b)

deserts

c)

coastal areas

d)

Rainforests

9.

What river helped the traders in Mali transport their goods?

a)

Nile River

b)

Yangtze River

c)

River Thames

d)

Niger River

10.
I write poems.
I sing songs and dance. 
I am the official storyteller and keeper of history. 
Who am I?
 
a)
A king
b)
A trader
c)
A griot
d)
A shaman
11.
The people of West Africa preserved the record of their past through the use of
a)
oral histories
b)
cuneiform writings
c)
stories written on scrolls
d)
hieroglyphics
12.

Why did the people of Mali need griots?

a)

because they had no written language

b)

because they needed a ruler

c)

because they were good traders

13.

The Nok were the first group to use iron farm tools. Farming was easier, so more _____ was produced and the ________ increased.

a)

gold - salt

b)

food - population

c)

food - camels

d)

salt - religion

14.

What could be made from using iron?

a)

livestock

b)

tools and weapons

c)

clothing

d)

computers

15.

How did Ghana rise to power and become so rich?

a)

They controlled dozens of gold mines.

b)

They taxed traders who were traveling along the trade routes.

c)

They controlled dozens of salt mines.

d)

They stole the gold and salt that was being transported through their lands.

16.

Villages who became a part of an empire received ______ in return for paying _________ to the king.

a)

protection from bandits - tribute

b)

protection from Vikings - income tax

c)

gold - salt

d)

masks - kente

17.

Ghana ended

a)

because it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks

b)

because it had a plague of smallpox

c)

because Mali conquered it

d)

because it ran out of gold

18.

I united kings and distributed lands.

I am the founder of the Mali Empire.

I am called the "Lion King"

Who am I?

a)

A griot

b)

Mansa Musa

c)

Muhammad

d)

Sundiata

19.
I am a great king of Mali.
I made a famous hajj to Mecca.
I am said to be the wealthiest man who ever lived. 
Who am I?
a)
Griot
b)
Mansa Musa
c)
Muhammad
d)
Sundiata
20.

I am about the past.

I was created long after the event or time period

I may be a textbook, magazine, book, or encyclopedia.

Who am I?

a)

a primary source

b)

a secondary source

21.

I may be a photo, diary, letter, treaty, document, map, art, speech, etc...

Who am I?

a)

I am a primary source

b)

I am a secondary source

22.

I am the Catalan Atlas, a medieval map. I was drawn in 1375 by a Spanish mapmaker who relied on the accounts of travelers and traders who encountered Mansa Musa's hajj.

I am a _________

a)

a reliable primary source

b)

an unreliable secondary source

c)

a reliable secondary source

23.
The trade of which two products shaped the early history of North and West Africa?
a)
ivory and salt
b)
salt and gold
c)
silk and gold
d)
spices and ivory
24.

1. Which of the following were called “ships of the desert”?

a)

camel

b)

horse

c)

lion

d)

elephant

25.

What religion was brought into West Africa by traders from the Middle East?

a)

Buddhism

b)

Christianity

c)

Islam

d)

Hinduism

26.

Trans-Saharan trade in early West Africa MAINLY involved the exchange of _____ for gold.

a)

iron

b)

ivory

c)

salt

d)

slaves

27.

How did the people use salt?

a)

to preserve food

b)

trade it for gold

c)

for their health

d)

for all of these reasons

28.

Why was Mali a good place to trade salt and gold?

a)

Mansa Musa was a generous king.

b)

People liked to go to the library, so it was convenient.

c)

It was located between the salt mines of the north and the gold mines of the south.

d)

It was a great tourist spot.

29.

Which of the following was NOT a way Mansa Musa spread Islam and education throughout Mali?

a)

He stressed the importance of reading and writing in Arabic, the language of the Qur´an.

b)

He waged war and forced everyone to accept Islam.

c)

He sent scholars to study in Morocco and then to set up schools in Mali.

d)

He hired artists and architects to build mosques in Mali.

30.

What is silent barter?

a)

Trading without meeting face to face or talking.

b)

Trading without talking.

c)

Selling stuff on Ebay.

d)

Using money to buy things.