VOCABULARY
This term means a family’s line of descent.
What is genealogy?
The largest desert in the world and home of early trade routes.
What is the Sahara?
Ghana became wealthy because it was located between these two resources.
What are gold and salt?
This ancient city became a center of Islamic learning and trade.
What is Timbuktu?
The Guptas ruled through local leaders in a system known as this.
What is indirect rule?
Clay figures or sculptures baked at high heat.
What is terra-cotta?
A semi-dry region between desert and savanna used for farming and herding.
What is the Sahel?
This process of heating ore to extract metal changed West Africa.
What is smelting?
Capital city of ancient Ghana and a huge gold-salt trading hub.
What is Kumbi Saleh?
This famous university taught mathematics, medicine, religion, and science.
What is Nalanda University?
A person who tells stories, history, and traditions through spoken word.
What is a griot?
This grassland region is good for farming and raising livestock.
What is the savanna?
This valuable good helped replace minerals lost through heavy sweating.
What is salt?
This city grew where the Niger and Bani Rivers meet and became a major trading center.
What is Djenné (or Jenne-jeno)?
This epic poem taught lessons about duty, loyalty, and good vs. evil.
What is the Mahabharata?
A story passed down by word of mouth, often teaching a lesson.
What is a folktale?
This river supported transport, farming, fishing, and major trade routes in West Africa.
What is the Niger River?
He brought attention to Mali by supporting learning, trade, and a famous pilgrimage.
Who is Mansa Musa?
A musical style where one voice sings a line and another group repeats it.
What is call-and-response?
These caves are known for their Buddhist paintings and rock-cut art.
What are the Ajanta Caves?
This term describes tracing descent through the father’s line.
What is patrilineal?
This West African region provides timber, cocoa, and oil palms.
What is the West African Rainforest?
These made trans-Saharan trade easier by surviving heat, carrying heavy loads, and traveling long distances.
What are camels?
Cloth woven by West African artisans, often used for trade.
What is a textile?
Two major math achievements of Gupta India.
What are the decimal system and the concept of zero?