AP World
Chapter 13
1.
What is a tropical environment? Explain the different ecosystems contained in the tropical areas of Africa and Asia
and what climatic factors control them.
•
•
•
Tropical Zone (dry & wet) falls between the Tropic of Cancer in the north and Tropic of Capricorn in the south.
While those parts of the tropics such as coastal West Africa , west-central Africa, and southern India get
abundant rainfall, there is also an arid zone extending across northern Africa (the Sahara) and NW India and
another arid zone in SW Africa. Altitude also affects climate, with high-altitude mountain ranges and plateaus
having cooler weather and shorter growing seasons than the low-altitude coastal plains and river valleys. Major
rivers bring water from these mountains to other areas
– Wind patterns Afro-Asian tropics have a cycle of rainy and dry seasons dictated by the alternating
winds known as monsoons
– tropics have an uneven distribution of rainfall during the year.
• In order to have year-round access to water for intensive agriculture, tropical farming societies
constructed dams, irrigation canals, and reservoirs.
temperate zone (based on temperature and four seasons) North and South zones and maritime and continental
areas related to wind zones and wind blockage by mountain ranges
– Northern most Africa surrounding the Mediterranean is in a temperate zone
There is a wide range of tropical environments from deserts to rain forests.
2. Why were metalworking and food-producing systems important to tropical peoples?
•
•
3.
Metalworking was important for the manufacture of tools, weapons, and decorative objects, and that it
permitted greater adaptation to the tropical environment.
Iron, copper, and gold were three minerals having the most significant role in Asian and African tropical culture
and economy.
– Gold and artworks fashioned from various metals were important in long-distance trade networks,
which supplied commodities not available in a tropical environment.
– Iron implements for agriculture and hunting allowed tropical peoples to flourish in an unforgiving
climate.
– Copper was of special importance to Africa because it was used as currency as well as for artistic
expression.
Outline the events of the arrival of Islam into India – be specific and thorough.
4. The Indian Ocean trade was the world’s richest maritime trading network. Why was it important and how did it
develop? What technologies made the trade network a success? Did Islam play a role? Why could it be described as
“decentralized and cooperative”? Be sure to include the various goods, peoples, and lands involved.
IOMS was world richest trade network and area of rapid Muslim expansion. The reason for the expansion of this
maritime trade was the rising prosperity of Asian, European, and African states and the resulting demand for luxury
goods, such as jewelry , precious metals, and fine textiles. Another reason was the Mongol conquest of the 13 th century,
disrupted overland trade-the IOMS became more strategically important. There were many threads of the trade route:
Arabia and Red Sea = dhow
Eastern Africa and Swahili Coast
Indian Ocean to Gujarat (textiles, leather goods, carpets, silk)
Later into Southeast Asia
Improvement in seafaring technology allowed increasingly larger cargoes, which resulted in bulk goods being shipped
very long distances. The boats, the dhow, and the junk were very important to the development of the network. The
long distance trade helped spread Islam, uniting diverse peoples throughout the region through commercial cooperation,
not political authority. The trade also connected peoples from eastern Asia to Europe. Many different regions and
peoples involved in the trade including East Africa, Arabia, India, and Malacca.
5. How and why did the roles and status of tropical women change between 1200 and 1500?
 Women in the tropics played an important role in community life through child rearing, food preparation, farm
work, making clothing and clay pots, spinning, weaving and making crafts. However, the status of women was
determined by the status of her father, husband, or owner. Women of higher status experienced the world
differently than women of lower orders of society.

In Muslim communities, veiling and seclusion was applied in a variety of ways. In Africa, women did not veil
or seclude themselves as in the Middle East but adapted the custom to their own culture. Ibn Battuta makes note
of the differing habits of African women. In India, the tradition of sati or widow burning became optional and
the betrothal of a firl could happen in childhood although the consummation of the marriage did not take place
until the bride was “of age”. Rules of fidelity and chastity were enforced on women more strict than on men.
6. What were the three major factors that caused social and cultural changes in the lives of tropical peoples from 1200
to 1500? Provide detailed descriptions for each of the three factors.
•
•
•
Three primary influences are primarily state growth, commercial expansion, and the spread of Islam.
The growth of many states in the region were interrelated such as the states and empires of the Asian states of
Delhi, Gujarat, Malacca, and Malabar, as well as the African states of Kilwa, Mali, Aden, and Great Zimbabwe.
The importance of trade on the growth of these states created networks which further stimulated the ongoing
growth.
– The sub-Saharan and Indian Ocean trade networks and the impact these routes had on the growth of
these states and their prosperity resulted in widening class differences among tropical peoples, as well as
dramatic changes in architecture and education.
– There were changes in women’s roles and the expansion of slavery as major social developments.
– The spread of Islam to the tropical regions of Asia and Africa also had important social, cultural,
economic, and intellectual results.
– Islam spread to Asia and Africa through peaceful penetration, as well as through warfare in India.
– Islam impacted architecture, math, science, literacy, and social habits.
7. The people who lived in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia both affected and were affected by their natural
environments. In what ways were those people shaped by their environments? In what ways did they participate in
actively shaping their environments?




Diverse ecosystems in tropical regions forced people to adapt and modify their environment
some relied on wild foods, some raised domesticated animals
conditions varied; rainfall accumulation and temperate zone
pastoral peoples thrived in arid areas unsuited to agriculture; farmers concentrated on agriculture in places where
disease prohibited the raising of livestock.
8. Create a thesis statement in response to the following:
 Analyze the changes and continuities in the Indian Ocean region from 500 BCE – 1400 CE. Discuss economic,
cultural and demographic factors. Using 500 BCE as a starting point, include examples from at least three of the
following regions: South, Southeast, and East Asia; the Middle East; and East Africa.