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Worksheets

West Africa

Total questions: 41

Worksheet time: 37mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What was the original way that things are pasted down in West Africa?

a)

Matrilineal

b)

Patrilineal

c)

Uncle to Nephew

2.

Smelting is

a)

process of applying heat to ore in order to extract iron to make tools

b)

when it is hot out and you are sweating a lot

c)

Yelling loudly

d)

a type of warfare

3.

What is the name of the area between the Sahara Desert and the African savanna?

a)

Sahel

b)

Niger River

c)

Songhai

d)

Rainforest

4.

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

5.
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
6.

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

7.

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

8.

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.

9.

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

10.
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
11.
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
12.

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

a)

Buddhism

b)

Christianity

c)

Islam

d)

Hinduism

13.

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

a)

iron

b)

ivory

c)

salt

d)

slaves

14.

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

15.

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.

16.

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.

17.

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.

18.

Which one of these was not an item that was NOT an item that was traded along the Trans-Saharan trade routes?

a)

Silk

b)

Gold

c)

Salt

d)

Slaves

19.

What is the best title for this list?

• Ghana

• Songhai

• Mali

a)

Trading Cities of the Sahara

b)

Tribes Who Ruled the Desert

c)

Early Kingdoms of West Africa

d)

Animal Gods of the Niger Valley

20.

Few large settlements developed in the Sahara because it was too

a)

dry.

b)

hilly.

c)

large.

d)

rocky.

21.

What were the two factors that led to the growth of small towns into larger cities?

a)

trade and ironworking

b)

river travel and fertilizer

c)

buying land and bribing towns

d)

armies and war

22.

By around 4000 B.C.E., some people in West Africa formed farming communities made up of

a)

village neighbors.

b)

religious officials.

c)

different tribes.

d)

extended families.

23.

What are the Nok, a people from West Africa during 500 B.C.E., known for?

a)

mastering ironworking

b)

fishing with thin wire

c)

building with concrete

d)

forming the first cities

24.

Early West African inhabitants that controlled trade routes became wealthy by

a)

robbing passersby along the river.

b)

raising prices of goods frequently.

c)

charging fees for trading activity.

d)

making farmers pay high taxes.

25.

The most respected people in Jenne-jeno were ______, who also acted as political leaders, judges, and doctors.

a)

blacksmiths

b)

farmers

c)

weavers

d)

traders

26.

What was one benefit of becoming part of an empire in Early West Africa?

a)

Men were required to serve in the king's army.

b)

Conquered people were required to give tribute.

c)

Kings provided protection for conquered territory.

d)

Kings sometimes sent governors to rule the land.

27.

What is essential to Islam?

a)

The 5 pillars

b)

The 4 noble truths

c)

The 3 Desk tops

d)

Ten Commandments

28.

What is the holy text of Islam that is written in Arabic?

a)

Qur'an (Koran)

b)

Bible

c)

Torah

d)

Vedas

29.

What is the holy month of Islam called?

a)

Qur'an

b)

Ramadan

c)

Hajj

d)

Zakat

30.

What is another word to describe the hajj?

a)

The pilgrimage (journey) to Mecca

b)

The pilgrimage to Mesopotamia

c)

Buddhist beliefs

31.

Queen Nzinga defended her people from enslavement. True or False?

a)

True

b)

False

32.

Who did Queen Nzinga(Ginga) stand up against?

a)

Canadians

b)

Americans

c)

Portuguese

d)

Australians

33.
What did Ghana’s kings do with the money raised from taxes?
a)
built up the army and kept most for themselves
b)
shared with all the citizens
c)
Kept everything to themselves
d)
Gave it to the government
34.
What three activities help express West African culture through the arts?
a)
Art, Music, and Dance
b)
Gold, Salt, and History
c)
Dance, music, and salt
d)
History, Sculpture, Masks
35.

In which African empires was Islam an important religion? Choose the TWO correct answers.

a)

Kush

b)

Axum

c)

Mali

d)

Songhai

36.

the colorful, hand-woven cloth produced in the Ghana empire.

a)

Kente

b)

Animist

c)

Pidgin

d)

Harmattan

37.

From what African country did the Kente cloth originate?

a)

Ghana

b)

Ethiopia

c)

Sudan

d)

Egypt

38.

Kente cloth names can be inspired by what?

a)

Human and animal behavior

b)

Proverbs and philosophical concepts

c)

Oral literature and moral values

d)

All of the above

39.

African folktales are part of a/an _____________ tradition.

a)

wildlife

b)

pastoral

c)

magical realism

d)

oral

40.

An African proverb ...

a)

is a saying from the bible

b)

is a grammatical construction seen only in the Swahili language

c)

contains advice

d)

contains an accepted truth

41.

The call and __________ is a technique wherein the main singer or chanter sings the line and then the audience responds with another line praising the subject of the poem .

a)

repeat

b)

reply

c)

response