culture/patterns of life
What advance in transportation increased African communities reach beyond their boarders?
Camels
Who's voice usually carried the greatest weight?
Older men and women.
What was the job of a diviner?
They served as interpreters between people and the divine world.
What two colors were symbols of power?
Bright gold and blue.
What did many Africans believe stood over all other gods and godesses?
A single, unknowable supreme being.
What was the basic family unit called?
The nuclear family
What is the process villages used to make decisions?
A consensus.
By what time has Islam and Christianity spread into Africa?
1000 A.D.
Griots were...
Professional storytellers.
Each society developed around what 4 elements?
Family, government, religion and art.
What was included in an age grade?
All boys and girls born in the same year.
How was power shared in farming communities?
Among a number of people.
What did some Africans like Chinese believe the spirits of their ancestors could do to their decendants?
They believed they could help, warn or punish them.
Why were riddles used by Griots?
to sharpen the wits of the audience
The ancient rock paintings of the Sahara were made around when?
1000 B.C.
Word for a group of households who claimed a common ancestor.
A lineage
who planted crops?
Both men and women.
What did oral traditions and myths teach?
Moral truths about right and wrong.
A kente cloth is a...
Traditional west African textile woven of silk and cotton.
Kongo flourished in what period of time?
About 1500 A.D.
What is the name for the type of family that important kinship ties like inheritance were passed down through the fathers side?
Patrilineal
Women took dominant roles in the marketplace in especially what region of Africa?
West Africa.
During what time did Jews move to north Africa after being expelled from Spain?
1492 A.D.
Who gathered in African cities such as Timbuktu and Kilwa?
Muslim scholars.
What was a common currency used in Africa and the congo?
Cowrie shells.