Early World
Old School Humans
This precious metal was the most valuable export from West Africa and helped make several empires wealthy.
What is gold?
This religion spread widely across Mali through trade and scholarship.
Islam
This warrior class rose to power in medieval Japan and followed a code of honor and loyalty known as Bushidō.
Samurai
These Scandinavian traders helped establish the early Kievan Rus state and founded the ruling dynasty beginning with Rurik in 862 CE.
Varangians (Vikings)
What is Mr. Willis' hometown?
Austin, Texas
Pick a group, rock paper scissors best two out of three and winner steals 200 points.
This valuable mineral from the Sahara was so important that it was sometimes traded for equal amounts of gold.
What is salt?
This famous trade city in Mali became centers of commerce and scholarship.
Timbuktu
This traditional Japanese architectural approach used precise joinery and carefully fitted wooden pieces instead of nails, relying on craftsmanship and balance so that each beam and joint fits perfectly into place.
wood joinery or (traditional Japanese joinery)
This early East Slavic state (880–1240 CE), centered in Kyiv, became the foundation for the cultures of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Kievan-Rus
Byzantine Empire
This early period of human history is known as the Old Stone Age, when humans lived as hunter-gatherers, used simple stone tools, and had not yet developed agriculture or permanent settlements.
Paleolithic Era
This ruler of the Mali Empire became famous for his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, during which he distributed so much gold along the way that it temporarily caused inflation in some cities he visited.
Mansa Musa
This long period of peace in Japan (1603–1868) was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate with a strict social hierarchy.
a) Yohtei Period
b) Edo Period
c) Heian Period
B) Edo period
This invasion destroyed Kyiv in 1240, contributing to the collapse of Kievan-Rus.
Mongol Invasion
What subject is Mr. Willis' favorite class to teach?
a) US History
b) World History
c) English
d) Government
b) World History
This period of human history, often called the New Stone Age, was marked by the development of agriculture, domestication of animals, polished stone tools, and the rise of permanent farming villages.
Neolithic Era
This powerful West African empire dominated the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade from about 300–1200 CE and declined shortly before the rise of the Mali Empire.
Ghana Empire
In feudal Japan, this military leader held the real political and military power, while the emperor remained largely a symbolic ruler.
The Shogun
This first ruler to officially take the title “Tsar of Russia” expanded Russian territory but became infamous for his brutal rule, the creation of the Oprichnina, and violent purges of his enemies.
a) Vlad the Impaler
b) Vladimir the Great
c) Ivan the Terrible
d) Lenin the Creator
c) Ivan the Terrible
What are Mr. Willis' dogs names?
Nova and Laz
This major event in Earth’s history occurred about 540 million years ago, when a huge variety of complex life forms suddenly appeared in the fossil record, including many early ancestors of modern animals.
Cambrian Explosion
This geographic feature helped make West African empires powerful because it placed them at the center of major trade routes.
Saharan-trade network
During the 1274 and 1281 invasions, fleets sent by Kublai Khan were destroyed by _________ the Japanese called the “divine wind.”
typhoons
What religion did the Russian territory begin to convert to in an effort to reconnect with their Greek beginnings?
Christian-Orthodox
If Mr. Willis had to choose between watching the animated Hercules from 1997 or Mulan 1998, which would he choose first?
This is tough as I love both movies dearly... I mean those soundtracks, simply perfection. But going back and analyzing deep internal biases that I possess I have come to the conclusion that I would ultimately choose Hercules. Makes me so darn happy. But best believe we playing Mulan next.