West African historian or storyteller

A religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living.

Belief system in which people believe that spirits in nature are responsible for acts of nature.

City in the West African kingdom of Mali that became a center of wealth and learning

Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and made Timbuktu a center for trade and learning.

Moroccan that traveled throughout N. Africa and Asia. Much of what we know about Mali comes from his journal

The movement of the Bantu peoples southward throughout Africa, spreading their language and culture, from around 500 b.c. to around A.D 1000

linked North and West Africa across Sahara Desert; Islam was spread, and gold-salt trade occurred as a result

blend of Bantu language with Arabic spoken in coastal regions of East Africa.

Eastern African trading kingdom

Coastline with few natural harbors which limits trade

A climate zone characterized by grassland with scattered trees and bushes

A 5,000-kilometer belt of land below the Sahara Desert, that stretches from Africa's Atlantic coast to the Red Sea.

4,000 mile long fault line of mountains and valleys that slices thru eastern part of Africa extending from the Red sea to the Zambezi River, formed millions of years ago

The countries of the Western Hemisphere south of the United States, including South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, especially those speaking Spanish, Portuguese, or French.

A grasslands region in Argentina and Uruguay

lowland plains in Colombia and Venezuela

 an agricultural system used by the Incas that is in the form of steps going up a mountain

a mountain range in western South America, extending about 4,500 miles from northern Colombia and Venezuela south to Cape Horn. 

The time period prior to the arrival of Columbus in America.

A society developing in Mexico around 1200-1500 AD, noted for its sacrifices in religious ceremonies, sophisticated legal system, engineering techniques, and craftsmanship in gold, silver, stone, and wood

A civilization in the western Andes Mountains of South America from approximately 1000-1530 AD, credited with accomplishments in architecture, medicine, government, and mathematics.

the capital of the Aztec empire: founded in 1325; destroyed by the Spaniards in 1521; now the site of Mexico City.

a hard, glassy volcanic rock used by early peoples to make sharp weapons

floating gardens built by Aztecs

A system of knotted strings used by the Inca people for keeping records.

In the Incan empire, the requirement that all able bodied subjects work for the state a certain number of days each year.

(1466-1520) was one of the last rulers of the great Aztec Empire before the arrival of the Spanish

a city of the Inca Empire that sits 8,000 ft above sea level in the Andes Mountains.  It is sometimes called the "lost city" because the Spanish never discovered the city when they conquered the Inca in the 1500s

the capital of the Incan Empire