World History: Africa Study Guide
What was the chief means of social and political organization in African stateless
societies?

Lineage groups
What did Africans mainly provide in the trade between East Africa and West
Africa?

Gold and salt
The Swahili language developed from a mixture of what languages?

Arabic and Bantu
What is the age-set system?

The responsibilities you have at different ages, or learning your roles and/or
responsibilities at different times in you life based on your age
The original Almohads and Almoravids were both a part of which group?

Muslim reformers
Where is the region known as the Maghrib located?

Near the Mediterranean Sea
How did the rulers of Ghana grow rich?

Trade and taxing the traders
Who was Mali’s first great leader?

Sundiata
What people broke away from Mali’s empire and gained control of the
all-important trade routes?

Songhai people
Which event had the greatest effect on the growth of Islam in East Africa?

The increase of trade
Archaeologists believe that the Great Enclosure of Great Zimbabwe was
mainly intended to do what?

Protect and defend the city
The name Mutapa came from a phrase meaning what?

conqueror
What does it mean if an African society is matrilineal?

Children trace their ancestors through their mother’s side
Why did the African trade routes shift to the east several times?

Trade routes moved because they found gold in other places
How did Islam spread throughout Africa?

Trade and conquests
Explain the important change that took place in travel and how it lead to the
growth of the great Kingdoms.
 The change was the use of camels to go across the desert
 How is that a change – they can move faster than other animals, they drink
less water, etc
 They can trade more and need to start establishing trade cities which can
grow as trade grows there will be more money which will lead to more people
being there
 As these small cities grow they grow into kingdoms
What purposes do lineage groups and age-set systems serve in stateless societies?
Think about things like; organization, inheritance rights and leadership
 What is a stateless society?
 It’s a society with no centralized government
 Because there is no government, lineage (family history) is how society is
organized
 Lineage also tells who inherits what who is going to become the next leader
 The age set system is what teaches the people in society what they have to do
at different points or ages in their lives