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Chapter 5 Early West Africa

Total questions: 26

Worksheet time: 13mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Long valleys in eastern Africa formed by the movement of Earth's crust are

a)

peninsulas

b)

rifts

c)

isthmuses

d)

dunes

2.

Great civilizations in West Africa arose

a)

in the Sahara desert

b)

along the Atlantic coast

c)

along the Niger River

d)

in the Atlas Mountains

3.

Which statement best describes the Sahel?

a)

a strip of land that divides the desert from wetter land

b)

region of open grassland that supports grazing animals

c)

region of sand that makes up the world's largest desert

d)

strip of land along the Mediterranean ideal for farming

4.

Which of the following are traditional West African crops?

a)

olives and grapes

b)

dates and kola nuts

c)

sugar cane and rice

d)

peanuts and soybeans

5.

Mineral resources in West Africa include

a)

iron and diamonds

b)

granite and coal

c)

salt and gold

d)

oil and silver

6.

What role did elders play in the life of the village?

a)

they cared for the children

b)

they ground grain

c)

they studied the stars

d)

they tended crops

7.

Which of the following activities was part of West African religious practices?

a)

meditating

b)

dancing in costume

c)

traveling to shrines

d)

offering food to spirits

8.

Who led the desert caravans through the Sahara?

a)

the Nok

b)

the Berbers

c)

the Romans

d)

the Turks

9.

People south of the Sahara traded their gold for

a)

slaves

b)

copper

c)

food

d)

salt

10.

How did the climate of West Africa change 5,000 years ago?

a)

it became colder

b)

it became hotter

c)

it became wetter

d)

it became drier

11.

How did West Africans find iron?

a)

they heated certain kinds of rocks

b)

they took it from invaders

c)

they bought it from traders

d)

they baked clay mixtures

12.

Which began as a camp for African traders?

a)

Zambezi

b)

Congo

c)

Timbuktu

d)

Nigeria

13.

How did the climate change in West Africa affect people?

a)

people settled in villages

b)

people adopted a nomadic lifestyle

c)

people moved to the coasts

d)

people became skilled traders

14.

Men and women in traditional West African society were loyal to their

a)

work groups and parents

b)

extended families and age-sets

c)

religious and military leaders

d)

nobility and elders

15.

The traditional religious practice of West Africans was centered on the belief that

a)

the spirits of ancestors stayed nearby

b)

there was only one god

c)

rituals were very important

d)

each person lived several lives

16.

Farming in Africa improved around 500BC because

a)

people learned to build structures to transport water

b)

people began to use animals to help harvest

c)

people learned to make iron tools

d)

people began fertilizing the soil

17.

Which two uses of iron were the MOST significant for West Africans?

a)

for celebrating religious rites and using as weapons

b)

for decorating works of art and clearing land

c)

for farm tools and religious rites

d)

for clearing the land and using as weapons

18.

West Africans lived in different places after 500 BC because

a)

the Niger River flooded

b)

the Sahara desert spread

c)

they could use iron tools to clear more land for farming

d)

invaders drove them out of their villages

19.

Which of the following groups of people is part of one age-set?

a)

those who have the same grandmother or grandfather

b)

those who are born within two or three years of each other

c)

those who have identical village jobs such as carrying water

d)

those who worship the same ancestor spirit

20.

Which of the following statements about trade routes in Africa is true?

a)

Salt was carried south while gold was carried north

b)

Salt was carried north while gold was carried south

c)

Salt was carried east while gold was carried west

d)

Salt was carried west while gold was carried east

21.

What two factors had the biggest impact on the growth of West Africa?

a)

slavery and salt

b)

iron tools and farming

c)

climate and religion

d)

technology and trade

22.

In West Africa, what do the different regions running east and west have in common?

a)

they are all warm

b)

they are all on a desert plateau

c)

they are all covered in grasslands

d)

they all extend to the Mediterranean Sea

23.

Which list of Niger River regions is in order from MOST rainfall to LEAST?

a)

Sahel, savannah, rain forest, Sahara

b)

Sahel, rain forest, savannah, Sahara

c)

rain forest, Sahel, savannah, Sahara

d)

rain forest, savannah, Sahel, Sahara

24.

What does the animistic belief system reveal about traditional West Africans?

a)

they were well-traveled

b)

they were influenced by Asian culture

c)

they relied on nature for survival

d)

they kept religious practice separate from daily activity

25.

Which of the following are the effects of using the camel in desert trading?

a)

trading trips became shorter in distance and longer in time

b)

horses were used for long trips and camels for short trips

c)

trade routes became more dangerous and caravans were lost

d)

trading trips became longer in distance and shorter in time

26.

The Nok people were

a)

hunters, warriors, farmers, and artists

b)

traders, warriors, farmers and musicians

c)

miners, warriors, farmers, and writers

d)

hunters, warriors, farmers, and scientists