WorksheetsEarly West African Societies
Total questions: 40
Worksheet time: 39mins
What are Africa's savannas?
Deserts
Jungles
Grassy plains
Coastal regions
Ancient West Africans performed religious rituals and honored their
ancestors
diversity
future
own strength
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?
Mansa Musa
Muhammad
The Niger River
The Yellow River
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?
The Sahara Desert
The Sahel
The Savanna
The Rainforest
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?
The Sahara Desert
The Sahel
The Savanna
The Rainforest
I am huge; about 3.5 million square miles.
I am dry and hot.
I provide slabs of salt.
Who am I?
Sahara
Sahel
Savanna
Arabian
What river helped the traders in Mali transport their goods?
Nile River
Yangtze River
River Thames
Niger River
I sing songs and dance.
I am the official storyteller and keeper of history.
Who am I?
Why did the people of Mali need griots?
because they had no written language
because they needed a ruler
because they were good traders
The Nok were the first group to use iron farm tools. Farming was easier, so more _____ was produced and the ________ increased.
gold - salt
food - population
food - camels
salt - religion
How did Ghana rise to power and become so rich?
They controlled dozens of gold mines.
They taxed traders who were traveling along the trade routes.
They controlled dozens of salt mines.
They stole the gold and salt that was being transported through their lands.
Villages who became a part of an empire received ______ in return for paying _________ to the king.
protection from bandits - tribute
protection from Vikings - income tax
gold - salt
masks - kente
I made a famous hajj to Mecca.
I am said to be the wealthiest man who ever lived.
Who am I?
1. Which of the following were called “ships of the desert”?
camel
horse
lion
elephant
What religion was brought into West Africa by traders from the Middle East?
Buddhism
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Trans-Saharan trade in early West Africa MAINLY involved the exchange of _____ for gold.
iron
ivory
salt
slaves
Why was Mali a good place to trade salt and gold?
Mansa Musa was a generous king.
People liked to go to the library, so it was convenient.
It was located between the salt mines of the north and the gold mines of the south.
It was a great tourist spot.
Which of the following was NOT a way Mansa Musa spread Islam and education throughout Mali?
He stressed the importance of reading and writing in Arabic, the language of the Qur´an.
He waged war and forced everyone to accept Islam.
He sent scholars to study in Morocco and then to set up schools in Mali.
He hired artists and architects to build mosques in Mali.
What is the main reason why people in different vegetation zones traded with each other?
Large empires ruled over different zones
Different resources were found in each zone
The Niger River passed through different zones
The zones were home to different cultural groups
the wheel
the aqueduct
iron smelting
paper making
In West Africa between about 500 and 1600 C.E., Ghana, Songhai, and Mali were three _____ that arose.
states
kingdoms
countries
religions
Why are historians unable to study written sources from early West African societies?
No one can translate the documents' language
All of the documents were burned in a fire.
Most of the period has no written records.
The government owns all of the documents.
The savanna is a vegetation zone of tall grasses and trees. This is due to its
very dry climate
very rocky plains
long rainy season
mountainous land
West Africa's geography influenced the__________ that developed there.
forms of authority
extended families
religious beliefs
patterns of trade
What changes did the development of iron tools bring?
Farmers could clear land and grow crops more efficiently.
Villages could produce surpluses to trade for other goods.
People could freely engage in weaving and metalworking.
all of the above
Tribute is
a payment made for protection or as a sign of submission
a payment made for groceries
a payment made for home-building
Matrilineal is based on
a child's family line
a man's family line
a woman's family line
The genealogy of a family gives information about the family members'
jobs
recreation
housing
ancestry
The Trans-Saharan trade increased after about 300 CE as a result of the
Introduction of camels
Population increase
Discovery of Salt
Growth of Cities
How did West Africans preserve their history before writing was introduced?
Booksellers made marks with sharp sticks on wet clay
Griots memorized the stories and passed them down.
Painters made a long series of paintings like a comic strip
Foreign visitors kept the only record of events in the region
Islam was first brought to West Africa by
Slave raiders
Armed nomads
Caravan Traders
Religious refugees
For what was the city of Timbuktu especially well known?
its sea trade with East Asia
its productive salt mines
its talented portrait artists
its community of scholars and education
How did Battuta’s travel Impact the world ?
He discovered new lands , establishing new trade routes with countries in Asia
His travels show different aspects of Islam to the world
He gave rise to the Ottoman Civilization
His travels helped raise awareness to the importance of camels crossing deserts.
Why might Ibn Battuta's account of life in West Africa be historically accurate?
He never actually made it to Mali
Battuta's account is bias because it focuses primarily on his perspective of a Muslim trader
Battuta's writting contradicts the writing by the West African griot scholars
He was upset with the king because they didn't give him the gold he asked so he wrote negatively about the civilization
