Download Fusion Review Africa Geography Bantu Aksum

Fusion Review Africa Geography Bantu Aksum
World History/Napp
A. Sahara
It is the belief that spirits are present in
animals, plants, and other natural forces,
and also take the form of the souls of their
ancestors. It was an early African belief.
________
B. Savanna
They originally lived in the savanna south
of the Sahara, in the area that is now
southeastern Nigeria and when they
learned to farm and engaged in slash and
burn farming, they needed more land and
migrated throughout sub-Saharan Africa
spreading agriculture, iron and language.
________
C. Desertification
It is the movement of people from one land
to another. It might occur due to a need
for farmland or resources or it might occur
to avoid harm. _______
D. Griots
It was located south of Kush on a rugged
plateau on the Red Sea, in what are now
the countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia. It
grew wealthy from trade and was a
powerful kingdom. ________
E. Animism
It is the world’s largest desert. It separates
North Africa from the rest of Africa. It is a
barrier but not an impenetrable barrier.
Nomads crossed it with camel caravans. __
F. The Bantu
Few early African societies had written
languages instead, storytellers shared
orally the history and literature of a
culture. In West Africa, these storytellers,
were called this and kept history alive,
passing it from parent to child. _________
G. Migration
This king of Aksum converted to
Christianity. To the present day, there are
many Christians in Ethiopia. ________
H. Aksum
These tropical grasslands cover almost half
of Africa. They are home to farmers and
herders. _________
I. Ezana
It is farming that occurs on mountains.
The rugged terrain must be adapted to
create flat spaces for farming. _______
J. Terrace Farming
The Sahel is a narrow strip of land between
the Sahara and the savanna. This fragile
ecosystem is often being over-farmed
leading to this. _________
Between 500 B.C. and A.D. 1500, the
migration of the Bantu people of Africa led
to the diffusion of
1. languages and metallurgical skills
2. porcelain and cannons
3. camels and Islam
4. cuneiform and galley ships
The Bantu migrations in Africa (500 B.C.–
A.D. 1500) had the greatest impact on the
development of modern African
1. languages
2. market systems
3. transportation systems
4. architecture
“One theory is that there were waves of
migration, one moving through the east of
Africa and another making its way through
the centre of the continent. In Zambia, there
is evidence of at least three routes of
migration – from the great lakes, from the
Congo forest and from Angola.”
~ Source: BBC, The Story of Africa: Early
History
This passage about the early history of
Africa describes migrations associated with
which group of people?
1. Phoenicians
2. Bantu
3. Moors
4. Babylonians
Which statement about the Bantu migration
is an opinion rather than a fact?
1. The migration occurred gradually
over a long period of time.
2. Language and knowledge spread from
northwestern to southern and eastern
Africa.
3. The lack of primary documents makes
it difficult to determine the exact cause of
the migration.
4. Bantu civilization was superior to those
civilizations that it displaced.
One similarity between the Nile River valley
and savanna lands in Africa is that they
both
1. served as major barriers to the
movement of people and goods
2. provided necessary resources for
settlement
3. are located on the western side of the
continent
4. had little effect on the lives of the
people who lived in these regions
The remarkable oral tradition of subSaharan Africa was preserved primarily by
1. Muslim African scholars.
2. Professional singers and griots.
3. Village chiefs and diviners.
4. Women.
Trade and communications networks were
slower to penetrate sub-Saharan Africa
compared to other regions because
1. Africans had little contact with each
other.
2. Africans did not have any goods that
others wanted to trade for.
3. There was a language barrier.
4. There were formidable geographic
barriers to overcome.
The earliest Bantu migrants were
1. aggressive warriors.
2. hunting and gathering peoples.
3. fishing peoples.
4. agriculturalists.
All of the following stimulated African
migrations EXCEPT
1. iron metallurgy.
2. bubonic plague.
3. population pressure.
4. agriculture.
Base your answers to the questions on the map below and on your knowledge of social
studies.
This map illustrates the relationship between
1. religion and government
2. ironworking and trans-Saharan trade
3. humans and environment
4. monsoons and flooding
Which concept is best supported by this map?
1. Cultural Diffusion
2. Nationalism
3. Imperialism
4. Mercantilism
The arrows on the map clearly indicate that the Bantu migrated to the South. According to
the map, a primary reason for the direction of this movement was access to
1. religious sites
2. trade fairs
3. river irrigation
4. iron deposits
Aksum
British Museum
There are very few clues as to what Aksum was like. Most of the evidence is archaeological.
From remains we can see that this Ethiopian kingdom may have been one of the most
important states in the region.
Source 1
The Aksumites developed a civilisation of considerable sophistication. Aksum’s
contribution in such fields as architecture and ceramics is both original and impressive.
~ Munro-Hay 1991: 10
Source 2
Red jar, AD 275 – 350
British Museum
Source 3
Aksum’s political control extended to regions beyond the modern borders of Ethiopia and
Eritrea. Large areas of southern Arabia were ruled from Aksum at intervals between the
3rd and 6th centuries AD. ~ Phillipson 1998: 51
Source 4
The general prosperity and reputation of the country led the Persian religious leader Mani
to label Aksum as the third of the kingdoms of the world in the later 3rd century.
~ Munro-Hay 1991: 13
Source 5
Gold coins of King Ezana, c. AD 320–360
British Museum
Source 6
Copper coin, AD 340 – 540
British Museum
Source 7
No other sub-Saharan African state issued its own independent coinage in ancient times.
Indeed, only a few other contemporary states anywhere in the world could issue coinage in
gold – Rome, Persia.
~ Munro-Hay 1999: 9
Source 8
Aksum developed a civilisation and empire whose influence, at its height in the 4th and 5th
centuries AD, extended throughout the regions lying south of the Roman Empire, from the
fringes of the Sahara in the west, across the Red Sea to the inner Arabian desert in the east.
The Aksumites developed Africa’s only indigenous written script, Ge’ez … They traded
with Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean and Arabia.
~ Reader 1997: 202
Source 9
~ Modern Ethiopian cushion cover showing King Solomon of Jerusalem and Queen Sheba
of Aksum beneath stelae.
British Museum
Questions:
1- What can you learn about Aksum from these sources?
2- When was Aksum most important?
3- How important was Aksum according to these sources?
Some aspects of religion in Ethiopia have changed since the time of Aksum, while others
have remained more or less the same. Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian states in the
world, and 60% still follow the Orthodox Church. See if you can spot examples of change
and continuity. ~ British Museum
Source 1
There is good evidence that building stelae as grave-markers was a widespread practice
over much of north-eastern Africa during the last 5,000 – 2,000 years. ~ Phillipson 1998: 95
Source 2
Aksumite stelae field with low-status stelae
Source 3
Those tombs of the wealthy which are roughly dated to the period after the adoption of
Christianity appear to be less flamboyantly showing off power, but they do retain many
features from earlier times. ~ Phillipson 1998: 111
Source 4
Coins of Ezana, before and after conversion to Christianity
~ British Museum
Source 5
The present Old Cathedral at Aksum stands on a massive podium…of typical Aksumite
style. The date of the original Cathedral is firmly placed by Ethiopian tradition in the reign
of Ezana. ~ Phillipson 1998: 116
Source 6
Church of St George, Lalibela, Ethiopia, built in the 12th or 13th century
Source 7
1- What evidence of religion is there from before the
time of Ezana?
2- What examples of continuity are there in Ethiopian
religion?
St. George and the Dragon 17th-century Ethiopian painting
~ British Museum