Deck 5: Africa: Early History to 1000 C.E

Question 1

Based on Map 5-1,which of the following best describes the central features of African geography?

A)is relatively uniform throughout the entire continent.
B)is very similar to that of Europe.
C)displays a great deal of diversity.
D)has no parallels anywhere else in the world.

Answer 1

displays a great deal of diversity.

Question 2

The earliest Iron Age culture in West Africa about 500 B.C.E.belonged to the

A)Egyptian pharaohs.
B)the Hyksos.
C)Babylonian mercenaries.
D)nomads from the southern steppes.

Answer 2

Egyptian pharaohs.

Question 3

Which of the following represents a major language grouping of Africa?

A)the spread of literacy.
B)ancient developments in food production and migrations.
C)Indo-Aryan settlements.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Answer 3

ancient developments in food production and migrations.

Question 4

Which of the following is not an important primary source for rural sub-Saharan African history?

A)deserts in the south,savanna lands in the central area and rain forest in the north
B)deserts in the far north and south,savanna lands in the north and south,and rain forest in the center
C)rift valley regions are in the far west of the continent
D)cataracts bisect the Nile as it flows to the west

Question 5

The reason that racial theories cannot be used to explain the development of languages,agriculture,and state-building in Africa is because

A)underwent a rapid desiccation.
B)became a grazing region for cattle
C)saw a general depopulation.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 6

Finds in the royal palace fortress ruins and tombs of the early Kushite kingdom suggest that

A)originated in the north and spread generally south.
B)originated in the south and spread generally north.
C)centered on the Kalahari desert as the hub for a vast network.
D)remained underdeveloped until European colonization.

Question 7

In general,the people of Africa have

A)writings from government bureaucracies
B)archeological artifacts
C)reports from outside observers
D)oral traditions

Question 8

Based on Map 5-2,the expansion of trade and technology

A)Greek historians.
B)Egyptian inscriptions.
C)the ruins of palace fortresses and tombs.
D)oral tradition.

Question 9

Archeological research has indicated that by the first millennium B.C.E.people in the Sudan

A)internal trade was very limited in Africa.
B)iron-smelting in Africa was invented in the Jos Plateau of modern northeastern Nigeria.
C)copper became the standard monetary unit in Iron-age Africa.
D)Africa traded more goods with societies outside of the continent than inside.

Question 10

In general,the geography and climate of Africa

A)is less diverse than that of most other continents.
B)is composed entirely of Bantu-speaking Negroid peoples.
C)displays a uniformity similar to that of Australia.
D)is as diverse as that of the other major continents.

Question 11

We know that the Kushite kingdom was strong and prosperous based on the evidence of

A)tax collector for the New Kingdom pharaohs of Egypt.
B)middleman for African goods bound for the Mediterranean and Near East.
C)the main producer of maize in Africa.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 12

As early as the fourth millennium B.C.E.,Nubia had been subjugated and colonized by

A)the people of Kush were prolific craftsmen but largely illiterate.
B)Kushite traditions and culture may have had little or nothing in common with those of Egypt.
C)its kings may have taken the gold mines of lower Nubia from the Egyptians.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 13

What is the primary drawback to the reports of outside observers concerning African societies?

A)has largely been proven to be correct.
B)is incorrect.
C)is substantiated by recent archeological research.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 14

During its high point,the Meroitic Empire prospered primarily due to its role as

A)from father to son.
B)within the royal family,often through the maternal line.
C)by public acclamation.
D)through contests of military skills.

Question 15

The popular view that sub-Saharan Africa was isolated from civilization until it was "discovered" by Europeans

A)Afro-Asiatic
B)Nilo-Saharan
C)Niger-Kongo
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 16

The language map of present-day Africa has been affected by

A)our primary sources are biased.
B)we don't yet know enough about human interaction in Africa.
C)the concept of race itself is problematic.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 17

Ethnically and culturally,the population of Africa

A)They only give us reliable access to relatively recent history.
B)There are very few accounts available.
C)They are often strongly biased.
D)They only focus on the larger African societies.

Question 18

Archeological research has indicated that

A)Nubians.
B)Nigerians.
C)Ethiopians.
D)Nok people.

Question 19

In the Meroitic Empire,royal succession proceeded

A)saw themselves as the rightful heirs of the Egyptian pharaohs.
B)modeled their political system on that of Rome.
C)were descended from Bantu-speaking immigrants from Nok.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 20

After 2500 B.C.E.,the Sahara region

A)had refined techniques for settled agriculture.
B)had developed a sophisticated hunter-gatherer society.
C)were trading bronze implements within Africa.
D)had actually regressed to a simpler Neolithic technological level.

Question 21

The Neolithic peoples who moved from the Saharan regions into West Africa did not settle in the equatorial rain forests because

A)the efficient control of the Mamluk rulers.
B)the nomadic nature of the primary enemies of the Sudanese.
C)interregional trade networks with contacts to the Mediterranean.
D)the decline of the rival trade center of Jenne.

Question 22

Aksumites enjoyed a relatively cordial relationship with the

A)the revival of Kushite power under the kings of Meroe.
B)its growing geographic and religious isolation with the spread of Islam.
C)the discovery of newer,richer sources of gold in west Africa.
D)the collapse of agriculture due to a prolonged series of droughts.

Question 23

The rulers of the Napatan Empire of Kush

A)Napatan,Meroitic,Nok
B)Napatan,Nok,Meroitic
C)Nok,Meroitic,Napatan
D)Nok,Napatan,Meroitic

Question 24

Meroitic culture is especially known for its

A)invasions by nomadic people from Arabia.
B)competition from Aksum for control over trade routes.
C)the spread of Christianity in the first century C.E.
D)the rise of Carthage in the east.

Question 25

A primary element that promoted the rise of larger political units in the western and central Sudan was

A)an economy based on a mix of hunting,fishing,and farming.
B)location in an oasis or a river region.
C)autonomous settlements organized in loose confederations.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 26

In the first centuries C.E.,the kingdom of Aksum grew wealthy by

A)its rejection of a hierarchical organization.
B)its replacement of the Greek language in the ritual with Ge'ez.
C)its unique utilization of monastic orders for popular conversion.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 27

Ghana's fame and importance in the Sudan was due to

A)their knowledge of iron smelting gave them a technological advantage.
B)of their military advantage.
C)their loose social confederation allowed them to intermarry easily.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 28

About when did the newly Christianized state of Aksum finish off the last of the weakened Kushite empire?

A)took place on a south to north axis.
B)was conducted mainly by sea.
C)was conducted mostly along land routes.
D)took place in the Northwestern Sahara caravan routes and along the east coast.

Question 29

Trans-Saharan trade increased dramatically in the first centuries C.E.as a result of the introduction of

A)water and weapons.
B)gold and salt.
C)gold and silk.
D)bronze and cereal grains.

Question 30

According to Map 5-3,African trade generally

A)Muslims.
B)Arians.
C)Jews.
D)Patriarch of Constantinople.

Question 31

Select the proper chronological arrangement for the following African cultures:

A)use of the war chariot.
B)fine pottery.
C)free-standing sculpture.
D)religious bas-relief.

Question 32

According to Herodotus,Greek knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa was

A)Islam.
B)nature worship.
C)Christianity.
D)a polytheism similar to that in Egypt.

Question 33

The Kushite god Apedemak,whose importance is seen in the number of temples dedicated to him,was

A)based solely on myth.
B)based on Alexander the Great's conquest.
C)based on second-hand sources.
D)nonexistent.

Question 34

The Aksumite Empire declined primarily as a result of

A)of the inability of animals to survive "sleeping sickness."
B)the savannah areas of West Africa could support cereal grains.
C)agriculturalists were able to augment their stone tools with iron tools.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 35

The most important commodities exchanged between the Sahara and West Africa were

A)settled agricultural populations and the expansion of trade.
B)the failure of smaller trading stations such as Timbuktu.
C)the decline of internal trade that promoted self-sufficiency.
D)both the failure of smaller trading stations such as Timbuktu,and the decline of internal trade that promoted self-sufficiency.

Question 36

A major step in the unique development of the Abyssinian Christian church during and after the fifth century was

A)200 C.E.
B)220 C.E.
C)330 C.E.
D)400 C.E.

Question 37

One of the main reasons for the decline of Kush in general and Meroe in particular was

A)Egyptian in origin.
B)a warrior god with an elephant's head.
C)worshipped,by the third century B.C.E.,to the exclusion of all other gods.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 38

The primary religion in the Aksumite Empire was

A)selling goods from inner Africa to the people of the Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean.
B)providing slaves for Roman plantations in Arabia.
C)exporting agricultural goods to Egypt.
D)providing mercenary troops to other African kingdoms.

Question 39

All of the early urbanized areas of western and central Sudan were characterized by

A)armed caravan escorts.
B)vaccines against malaria and sleeping sickness.
C)the domesticated camel.
D)None of these answers are correct.

Question 40

The first millennium C.E.saw the rise of several sizable states in the western and central Sudan because of

A)its control over the gold trade.
B)the failure of its main competitor,Timbuktu.
C)its military superiority.
D)its geographical position on the savanna.

Question 41

What factors enabled the Bantu peoples to dominate other peoples in the regions to which they spread? Trace the spread of the Bantu and analyze the impact of their expansion on the various areas of Africa.What were the contributions of the Bantu people?

Question 42

How was the political system of the Meroitic Empire similar to and different from that of Egyptian rule? Be specific about the royal succession.

Question 43

What are the primary sources for the study of early African history to about the year 1000 C.E.? What are the benefits and drawbacks to these sources? To what extent should we accept the opinions of outside observers of the African continent?

Question 44

Explain the relationship between Bantu expansion and the development of African trade.Who controlled the trade? Why were some regions unaffected or,conversely,deeply affected by the trade?

Question 45

What were some of the important contributions that early African societies made to other cultures? Was pre-Islamic Africa a relatively isolated land mass that contributed little to political,cultural,and religious developments in the ancient world?

Question 46

The Khoisan are

Question 47

Why has the once popular view of Africa south of the Sahara as a vast region that was isolated from civilization until it was "discovered" by Europeans been discounted? Pay attention to both archeological evidence and trade activity.

Question 48

Bantu peoples managed to impose their languages on earlier cultures because

A)were more isolated and economically self-sufficient than the rest of the continent.
B)already had extensive overseas contacts with India,Arabia,and the Mediterranean.
C)were united into a great empire by the Periplus Dynasty.
D)had not yet evolved beyond hunting and gathering.

Question 49

Discuss the diffusion of languages and peoples in African history.How does the linguistic diffusion show that,despite natural barriers,Africa's peoples have not been as internally isolated or compartmentalized as was once thought?

Question 50

The Arab scholar al-Mas'udi describes East African religion as

A)Sahara was once wet.
B)artists were hunters.
C)artists had an aesthetic sensibility.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Question 51

How would you define the term "civilization"? How has the conflation of the two meanings of this word been used to imply that African societies were backward and therefore inferior?

Question 52

How did Aksum become a Christian community? Did this disrupt Aksumite trading relations with Byzantium? What long-range ramifications did a Christian community in Ethiopia have for the development of Islam?

Question 53

How did the spread of Islam affect various African cultures and civilizations?

Question 54

In the first millennium C.E.,the coastal regions of East Africa

A)devoutly Muslim.
B)Monophysite Christian.
C)traditional and animistic.
D)Roman Catholic.

Question 55

What is the role of geography in African history? Compare and contrast the evolution and spread of the people and cultures in West Africa,the East African littoral,North and South Africa.

Question 56

What were the most important items for the internal trade in Africa? What products were traded overseas and how extensive was this trade? How does African trade argue against the broad definition of "civilization" that sees African societies as backward and inferior?

Question 57

Compare and contrast the evolution of Aksum as compared to Ghana.What role did religion play in the development of these kingdoms? What role did trade play? What factors contributed to their decline?

Question 58

The Sahara rock paintings provide evidence that the

A)probably descendants of Bantus.
B)speakers of a Bantu language.
C)a mix of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists.
D)socioeconomically privileged in present-day Africa.

Question 59

What role did trade play in the development of the cultures of West and East Africa? What goods were important in African trade,and how did those goods bring the various regions of Africa into contact with each other and with other cultures? Did trade play any role in the rise and fall of African societies?