Deck 8: Early Civilizations in Africa

Question 1

Scholars believe that the Garamantes kingdom declined as a result of ____ and the drying up of the Sahara.

A) an Egyptian invasion
B) the fall of the Roman Empire
C) a devastating plague
D) civil war
E) the rise of Ghana

Answer 1

the fall of the Roman Empire

Question 2

Karl Mauch found the ruins of

A) Katmandu.
B) Pietermar Teburg.
C) Great Zimbabwe.
D) Kilwa.
E) Namibia.

Answer 2

Great Zimbabwe.

Question 3

If one traveled south from the grasslands of central Africa, one would reach

A) the transvaal.
B) the Great Divide of the continent.
C) the area in which the predecessors of modern human beings first lived.
D) some of the world's richest deposits of minerals.
E) the Nile River

Answer 3

some of the world's richest deposits of minerals.

Question 4

The ancient African kingdom of Meroë is recognized for its wealth stemming from

A) gold.
B) silver.
C) bronze.
D) iron.
E) copper.

Question 5

The people of North Africa, who served as trade intermediaries for the great trans-Saharan commerce, were the

A) Kurds.
B) Phoenicians.
C) Carthaginians.
D) Berbers.
E) Cree.

Question 6

Competition to Meroe's economic predominance came from

A) Yoruba.
B) Kush.
C) Sahara.
D) Axum.
E) Saba.

Question 7

The ancient civilization that was located in the highlands of what is known today as Ethiopia was

A) Yoruba.
B) Kush.
C) Sahara.
D) Axum.
E) Saba.

Question 8

The "Hump of Africa" refers to the

A) burden of poverty the continent caries today.
B) sites of earliest human evolution.
C) set of massive political problems the continent has been dealing with since the end of colonial rule.
D) westernmost grasslands and tropical forests that border on the Atlantic Ocean.
E) highest peaks of the Atlas Mountains.

Question 9

What was the ancient African kingdom that claimed to be descended from the Arabian kingdom of Saba (or Sheba)?

A) Axum
B) Kush
C) Meroë
D) Egypt
E) Nubia

Question 10

Agriculture first emerged in ____ Africa.

A) northern
B) southern
C) western
D) eastern
E) central

Question 11

Which of the following is not a valid observation about the ancient civilization of the Kush?

A) It was located in Nubia.
B) Evidence suggests that it may have developed an agricultural kingdom before the Egyptians.
C) It spread its empire to the north by driving the Romans out of Egypt.
D) It had emerged as a major trading state by the end of the second millennium BCE
E) It declined in the mid-first millennium BCE

Question 12

The great river that dominates the western region of Africa, the so-called "hump of Africa," is the

A) Nile.
B) Niger.
C) Congo.
D) Zaire.
E) Zambeze.

Question 13

What was the ancient kingdom to the South of Egypt called?

A) Kush
B) Mali
C) Kenya
D) Ethiopia

Question 14

The northern area of Africa, from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans, is composed of the greatest desert on Earth, the

A) Kalahari.
B) Gobi.
C) Sahara.
D) Niger.
E) Mojave.

Question 15

The vast grasslands that border the great desert region of the Sahara are known as

A) meoris.
B) wetlands.
C) savannahs.
D) jungles.
E) transvaals.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the Sahara Desert is true?

A) Its western half was under the Atlantic Ocean until 2000 BCE
B) All evidence indicates that it was never anything other than a vast desert region.
C) At one point, it was an area that was green and flourishing with life.
D) It contained no significant trade routes.
E) It completely cut off Egypt from the rest of Africa.

Question 17

A unique aspect of the ancient Ethiopian civilization was the fact that

A) it was the only Muslim society in the area.
B) it adopted the form of Christianity practiced in Egypt.
C) its assimilation by Kush was brought about through the development of trade ties.
D) it became a Muslim nation because of the Syrians.
E) it remained animist in religion until the twentieth century.

Question 18

The city of Meroë was located near extensive ____ deposits.

A) gold
B) iron
C) silver
D) tin
E) copper

Question 19

The so-called "cradle of humanity," where the earliest hominids evolved, is located in

A) the Hump of Africa.
B) the Great African Rift valley.
C) modern-day Egypt.
D) the Niger River region.
E) ancient Ghana.

Question 20

The geographical obstacle which divides Africa's northern coast from the rest of the continent

A) is the Niger River.
B) is the Nile River.
C) are the Atlas Mountains.
D) is the Sahara Desert.
E) is the Kalahari Desert.

Question 21

The Garamantes

A) transported goods across the Congo rain forest.
B) were known to the Chinese.
C) built complex irrigation systems.
D) Were known to the Chinese.
E) were a nomadic people.

Question 22

The African Nok culture which is remembered for its early, sophisticated sculptures was located in the ____ region.

A) Congo
B) Kalahari
C) Niger River
D) Sahara
E) East-African coastal

Question 23

East African trade

A) was exclusively oriented through the Nile to the Mediterranean.
B) provided a lively, ocean-going commercial intercourse with civilizations far to the east.
C) maintained a strictly coastal exchange between African cultures only.
D) was mainly with Madagascar.
E) was dominated by Christian merchants from Constantinople.

Question 24

In regard to state building in West Africa, it can be said that

A) Ghana was the first great commercial state there.
B) warfare with the Byzantines resulted in the eventual decline of the kingdom of Ghana.
C) trade and commerce produced the growth of an integrated empire in the region.
D) Zimbabwe replaced Ghana as the predominant trading nation of the area.
E) it was conquered by Arabs.

Question 25

The following were true about the trans-Sahara caravan trade except

A) the Arab introduction of the camel into Africa enabled this trade to greatly increase.
B) cultural exchanges were stimulated by the growth of the caravan activity.
C) it enabled the Sahara region to become a major crossroad of international commerce.
D) it brought the first Islamic traders to central Africa in the first century BCE
E) it allowed Islam to influence much of Africa south of the Sahara.

Question 26

The trading cities of East Africa imported porcelain from

A) Italy.
B) Japan.
C) the Middle East.
D) China.
E) India.

Question 27

About ____ years ago, Homo sapiens sapiens began to spread out across Eurasia.

A) one million
B) 200,000
C) 100,000
D) 50,000
E) 20,000

Question 28

The family of languages spoken by people who inhabit the region south of the Sahara Desert and Axum is

A) Kalaharian.
B) Nok.
C) Swahili.
D) Bantu.
E) Khoisan.

Question 29

What was true about Swahili?

A) It was a culture reflecting a mixture of Indian and African influences.
B) It was a language that employed Bantu grammar and Arabic linguistic terms.
C) It was a term that derives from the Arab word for "jungle."
D) It was exclusively a written language.
E) It became the official language of Islam.

Question 30

The original reason for the rise of the kingdom of Ghana was

A) its water resources.
B) its rich silver deposits.
C) the role it played in the gold trade.
D) its commerce in silk.
E) its religious ties to the Byzantine Empire.

Question 31

The Kingdom of Ghana

A) remained poor, in spite of large lead deposits, because of a series of spendthrift rulers.
B) exported gold, leather goods, slaves, and ostrich feathers.
C) was the first African state to develop large-scale fish farming.
D) had a merchant class but refused to trade with Berbers from the north.
E) accepted the tenets of Buddhism.

Question 32

The original Bantu homeland was located in what today is

A) Namibia.
B) Angola.
C) Chad.
D) Nigeria.
E) Zambia.

Question 33

By the eighth and ninth centuries, much of the trade across the Sahara Desert from Ghana was conducted by

A) Arab merchants.
B) Chinese immigrants.
C) central African slaves.
D) the Ghanaian army.
E) Italian mercenaries.

Question 34

All of the following statements about the arrival of Islam in Africa are true except

A) it began with the Arab defeat of the Byzantines in Egypt.
B) Muslim conversion was probably stimulated by tax incentives.
C) the Arab capture of Carthage unified their hegemony over what they called al-Maghrib.
D) Berber resistance blocked Arab expansion to the westward continental limits until after 1200.
E) Arab merchants played a notable role in trade in much of northern, central, and eastern Africa.

Question 35

All of the following are correct about the land of Zanj except

A) it had a large minority of residents from the Persian Gulf and Arabian peninsula.
B) it was ruled by the Zagwe and Azim dynasties for 400 years.
C) it exported rhinoceros horn, gold, and ivory.
D) it included the cities of Pemba, Kilwa, and Mombasa.
E) most of the coastal states were self-governing.

Question 36

The great iron-working culture of northern Nigeria was the

A) Nok.
B) Axum.
C) Kush.
D) Berger.
E) Malagasy.

Question 37

Swahili civilization was based on a mixture of native African and ____ cultures.

A) Arab
B) Roman
C) Indian
D) Byzantine
E) Khoisan

Question 38

A(n) ____ settlement was established on the island of Madagascar in the early first millennium C.E.

A) Malay
B) Chinese
C) Arab
D) Roman
E) Persian

Question 39

In southern Africa,

A) an integration of Khoisan and Bantu-speaking peoples took place.
B) the people of the area were generally darker and taller than the migrants from the north.
C) the culture of the Khoisan-speaking society came to dominate the area.
D) Islam became dominant in the 700s.
E) Christianity survived in the mountains in the south until recent times.

Question 40

The term "Zanj" refers to the "____" of the indigenous population of East Africa.

A) golden god
B) burnt skin
C) high and mighty priest
D) bountiful caravans
E) perfumed breath

Question 41

The Khoi people of southern Africa were

A) mercenary soldiers.
B) merchants.
C) farmers.
D) hunter-gatherers.
E) herders.

Question 42

The Kingdom of Mali

A) profited greatly from the pearl trade.
B) was sufficiently dry to enable its farmers to grow corn, as well as sorghum and millet.
C) maintained a very active pro-Islamic policy under Mansa Musa.
D) rejected Islam in favor of Ethiopian-style Christianity.
E) disappeared in the fifth century C.E.

Question 43

In the states of West Africa, the focal point of the major towns was the

A) town hall.
B) pleasure quarter.
C) temple of the high priest.
D) royal precinct.
E) marketplace.

Question 44

Which of the following states developed in the center of Africa?

A) Luba
B) Timbuktu
C) Marrakech
D) Ditripoli
E) Axum

Question 45

Which state developed in the southern half of Africa?

A) Luba
B) Timbuktu
C) Marrakech
D) Ditripoli
E) Axum

Question 46

African art

A) consists only of poetry and sculpture.
B) is very limited, due to the fact that wood was the universal medium of artistic statement.
C) contains no other major examples of architectural achievement except the pyramids.
D) includes the impressively crafted, mortar-less structures at Great Zimbabwe.
E) appeared only with the coming of Islam.

Question 47

Social practices typical to many African societies included

A) election of kings by all adult males.
B) a lineage system that was often matrilineal rather than patrilineal and strict behavioral patterns between the sexes.
C) behavior patterns between the sexes that were more relaxed than those found in societies in other parts of the world and a strictly patrilineal lineage system.
D) both a lineage system that was often matrilineal rather than patrilineal and behavior patterns between the sexes that were more relaxed than those found in other societies.
E) absolute intolerance of non-local religions.

Question 48

The local chieftain of a Mali farming village was called a

A) mansa.
B) nkisi.
C) bantu.
D) saba.
E) sheikh.

Question 49

Music in African societies

A) was almost exclusively composed of singing, with supporting instruments rarely used.
B) was rarely related to religious activity.
C) employed various musical instruments, including the harp, bells and the xylophone.
D) was exported to the New World in the eleventh century.
E) played no role in most communities.

Question 50

The San

A) was the largest tribal grouping in West Africa.
B) kept the Bantu out of their lands for eight centuries by using a guerrilla war strategy.
C) created the largest city in southern Africa in the eleventh century.
D) linguistically were related to the Khoi, distinguished by the use of "clicking" sounds.
E) overwhelmed the fortress at Marrakech in 1066.

Question 51

All of the following were true about the southern African state of Zimbabwe except

A) it was located south of the Zambezi River.
B) it played no significant role in the gold trade with the Swahili states to the east.
C) it derived great wealth from its role in expanded trade activities between coastal Africa and regions of the continent's interior.
D) a possible explanation for its demise may have been its unsound environmental practices, such as overgrazing.
E) it had a significant role in the gold trade with the Swahili states.

Question 52

Bronze heads sculptures and relief plaques depicting West African court life were created in

A) Benin.
B) Ife.
C) Nok.
D) San.
E) Kongo.

Question 53

The distinctively carved stone pillars, used to mark the tombs of Axum kings, are known as

A) stelae.
B) mansa.
C) sasa.
D) zamani.
E) ziggurats.

Question 54

What was true of African building materials during the first millennium C.E.?

A) Stone was increasingly used in West Africa during in the first millennium C.E.
B) The only construction material used during that period was dried mud.
C) Mosques were always constructed of wood.
D) The heavy use of mortar was predominant in buildings constructed at Great Zimbabwe.
E) Metal became an important building material as early as 1000 B.C.E.

Question 55

Slavery in Africa

A) was introduced by the Muslims.
B) went back to ancient times, long before the arrival of the Europeans.
C) saved its harshest treatment for the domestic and royal servants.
D) was virtually nonexistent in North Africa.
E) never involved more than two percent of the population.

Question 56

The well-known African city of Marrakech is located in which country?

A) Morocco
B) Ghana
C) Egypt
D) Ethiopia
E) Kenya

Question 57

The southern African state of Zimbabwe

A) lacked an adequate water supply.
B) had an exclusively agricultural economy.
C) collapsed around the seventh century C.E.
D) was the mightiest empire Africa had ever known.
E) had a significant role in the gold trade with the Swahili states.

Question 58

In addition to woodcarvings, other major African artistic contributions have been

A) steel sculptures of European visitors done before 100 B.C.E.
B) ivory statues from southern Nigeria.
C) bronze and iron statuary produced at today's southern Nigeria.
D) wooden fortresses constructed in Zimbabwe.
E) Saharan aqueducts at Aswan.

Question 59

African music

A) never served a religious function.
B) refused to employ the use of strong motifs of repeated beats.
C) produced a totality of music in its combination of voice and instrument sounds.
D) played no role in the ceremonies, rituals, and education processes of the society.
E) was restricted only to non-Islam societies.

Question 60

What is the earliest form of surviving architecture found in Africa?

A) The Moorish palaces at Zanzibar
B) The pyramids of Egypt
C) The ruins of Great Zimbabwe
D) The mound city of Timbuktu
E) The ruins of Carthage

Question 61

In the fourth century, the rulers of Axum adopted the Roman Catholic form of Christianity.

Question 62

Until the 1950s, the prevailing view among Western historians was that Africa was a continent without a history.

Question 63

The king of Mali who went on a famous pilgrimage to Mecca in the fourteenth century was Mansa Musa.

Question 64

Ghana was the first great West African commercial state.

Question 65

Prior to the arrival of Islam, most African religions were monotheistic.

Question 66

The Epic of Son-Jara tells the story of the founder and ruler of

A) Ghana.
B) Mali.
C) the Zanj.
D) Great Zimbabwe.
E) Kush.

Question 67

The rise of Islam transformed Axum into a maritime power.

Question 68

In Ethiopia, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, during the era of Zagwe dynasty, Christian churches were carved out of solid rock.

Question 69

The vast majority of African lived in coastal trading ports.

Question 70

The Garamantes carried out an extensive trade with the Romans.

Question 71

The Arabs built the city of Cairo to defend against Byzantine attacks.

Question 72

From 8000 to 4000 BCE, the Sahara featured lakes and ponds and vast grasslands.

Question 73

Slavery in Africa originated with the coming of the Europeans in the fifteenth century.

Question 74

Mali emerged as a great West African empire after the destruction of Ghana.

Question 75

The states of Luba and Kongo were primarily mercantile.

Question 76

The Nok culture eventually became one of the most active iron working societies in Africa.

Question 77

It is not certain when agriculture was first practiced on the continent of Africa.

Question 78

The major trading cities of East Africa were founded by Bantu-speakers.

Question 79

By the end of the fifth century CE, the kingdom of Axum was in a state of decline. .