World History: Chapter 5 Africa: Early History to 1000 C.E.

Archeological research has indicated that A) Africa traded more goods with societies outside of the continent than inside. B) internal trade was very limited in Africa. C) iron smelting in Africa was invented in the Great Lakes region of the continent. D) copper became the standard monetary unit in Iron-age Africa.

During its high point, the Meroitic Empire prospered primarily due to its role as A) tax collector for the New Kingdom pharaohs of Egypt. B) the main producer of maize in Africa. C) middleman for African goods bound for the Mediterranean and Near East. D) All of these answers are correct.

After 2500 B.C.E., the Sahara region A) saw a general depopulation. B) underwent a rapid desiccation. C) None of these answers are correct. D) became a grazing region for cattle.

A primary element that promoted the rise of larger political units in the western and central Sudan was A) the decline of the rival trade center of Jenne. B) the efficient control of the Mamluk rulers. C) interregional trade networks with contacts to the Mediterranean. D) the nomadic nature of the primary enemies of the Sudanese.

Based on Map 5-1, which of the following best describes the central features of African geography? A) deserts in the far north and south, savanna lands in the north and south, and rain forest in the center B) deserts in the south, savanna lands in the central area and rain forest in the north C) rift valley regions are in the far west of the continent D) cataracts bisect the Nile as it flows to the west

Which of the following represents a major language grouping of Africa? A) All of these answers are correct. B) Nilo-Saharan C) Niger-Kongo D) Afro-Asiatic

The most important commodities exchanged between the Sahara and West Africa were A) water and weapons. B) gold and silk. C) gold and salt. D) bronze and cereal grains.

One of the main reasons for the decline of Kush in general and Meroe in particular was A) the spread of Christianity in the first century C.E. B) the rise of Carthage in the east. C) invasions by nomadic people from Arabia. D) competition from Aksum for control over trade routes.

In general, the geography and climate of Africa A) has no parallels anywhere else in the world. B) is relatively uniform throughout the entire continent. C) displays a great deal of diversity. D) is very similar to that of Europe.

As early as the fourth millennium B.C.E., Nubia had been subjugated and colonized by A) nomads from the southern steppes. B) Babylonian mercenaries. C) the Hyksos. D) Egyptian pharaohs.

The rulers of the Napatan Empire of Kush probably A) were descended from Bantu-speaking immigrants from Nok. B) modeled their political system on that of Rome. C) None of these answers are correct. D) saw themselves as the rightful heirs of the Egyptian pharaohs.

The primary religion in the Aksumite Empire was A) a polytheism similar to that in Egypt. B) Islam. C) nature worship. D) Christianity.

The earliest Iron Age culture in West Africa about 500 B.C.E. belonged to the A) Nok people. B) Nubians. C) Nigerians. D) Ethiopians.

Trans-Saharan trade increased dramatically in the first centuries C.E. as a result of the introduction of A) None of these answers are correct. B) armed caravan escorts. C) vaccines against malaria and sleeping sickness. D) the domesticated camel.

The Khoisan are A) socioeconomically privileged in present-day Africa. B) a mix of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists. C) speakers of a Bantu language. D) probably descendants of Bantus.

According to Map 5-3, African trade generally A) was conducted mostly along land routes. B) took place in the Northwestern Sahara caravan routes and along the east coast. C) took place on a south to north axis. D) was conducted mainly by sea.

Bantu peoples managed to impose their languages on earlier cultures because A) their loose social confederation allowed them to intermarry easily. B) None of these answers are correct. C) of their military advantage. D) their knowledge of iron smelting gave them a technological advantage.

In the first millennium C.E., the coastal regions of East Africa A) had not yet evolved beyond hunting and gathering. B) were united into a great empire by the Periplus Dynasty. C) already had extensive overseas contacts with the Arab and Indian worlds. D) were more isolated and economically self-sufficient than the rest of the continent.

In the Meroitic Empire, royal succession proceeded A) by public acclamation. B) from father to son. C) through contests of military skills. D) within the royal family, often through the maternal line.

The Sahara rock paintings provide evidence that A) All of these answers are correct. B) the artists were hunters. C) the artists had an aesthetic sensibility. D) the Sahara was once wet.

A major step in the unique development of the Abyssinian Christian church during and after the fifth century was A) None of these answers are correct. B) its unique utilization of monastic orders for popular conversion. C) its replacement of the Greek language in the ritual with Ge'ez. D) its rejection of a hierarchical organization.

Which of the following is not an important primary source for rural sub-Saharan African history? A) writings from government bureaucracies B) reports from outside observers C) oral traditions D) archeological artifacts

The Arab scholar al-Mas'udi describes East African religion as A) traditional and animistic. B) devoutly Muslim. C) Monophysite Christian. D) Roman Catholic.

According to Herodotus, Greek knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa A) was based on second-hand sources. B) was based on Alexander the Great's conquest. C) was based solely on myth. D) Africa was totally unknown to ancient scholars.

In general, the people of Africa A) have not been as internally isolated as was once thought. B) have suffered because of a lack of mineral wealth. C) have never had to deal with great physical variations in the geography of the region. D) have been almost completely isolated because of natural geographical barriers.

In the Meroitic Empire, royal succession proceeded A) from father to son. B) by public acclamation. C) through contests of military skills. D) within the royal family, often through the maternal line.

The Aksumite Empire declined primarily as a result of A) the revival of Kushite power under the kings of Meroe. B) the collapse of agriculture due to a prolonged series of droughts. C) the discovery of newer, richer sources of gold in west Africa. D) its growing geographic and religious isolation with the spread of Islam.

Ghana's fame and importance in the Sudan was due to A) its geographical position on the savanna. B) its control over the gold trade. C) its military superiority. D) the failure of its main competitor, Timbuktu.

What is the primary drawback to the reports of outside observers concerning African societies? A) There are very few accounts available. B) They are often strongly biased. C) They only focus on the larger African societies. D) They only give us reliable access to relatively recent history.

The first millennium C.E. saw the rise of several sizable states in the western and central Sudan because of A) settled agricultural populations and the expansion of trade. B) both the failure of smaller trading stations such as Timbuktu, and the decline of internal trade that promoted self-sufficiency. C) the failure of smaller trading stations such as Timbuktu. D) the decline of internal trade that promoted self-sufficiency.

The Neolithic peoples who moved from the Saharan regions into West Africa did not settle in the equatorial rain forests because A) of the inability of animals to survive "sleeping sickness." B) the savannah areas of West Africa could support cereal grains. C) All of these answers are correct. D) agriculturalists were able to augment their stone tools with iron tools.

We know that the Kushite kingdom was strong and prosperous based on the evidence of A) the ruins of palace fortresses and tombs. B) oral tradition. C) Greek historians. D) Egyptian inscriptions.

In the first millennium C.E., the coastal regions of East Africa A) already had extensive overseas contacts with the Arab and Indian worlds. B) had not yet evolved beyond hunting and gathering. C) were united into a great empire by the Periplus Dynasty. D) were more isolated and economically self-sufficient than the rest of the continent.

All of the early urbanized areas of western and central Sudan were characterized by A) All of these answers are correct. B) an economy based on a mix of hunting, fishing, and farming. C) location in an oasis or a river region. D) autonomous settlements organized in loose confederations.

In the first centuries C.E., the kingdom of Aksum grew wealthy by A) selling goods from inner Africa to the people of the Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean. B) providing slaves for Roman plantations in Arabia. C) exporting agricultural goods to Egypt. D) providing mercenary troops to other African kingdoms.

Ethnically and culturally, the population of Africa A) is as diverse as that of the other major continents. B) is less diverse than that of most other continents. C) is composed entirely of Bantu-speaking Negroid peoples. D) displays a uniformity similar to that of Australia.

Meroitic culture is especially known for its A) religious bas-relief. B) free-standing sculpture. C) use of the war chariot. D) fine pottery.

Archeological research has indicated that by the first millennium B.C.E. people in the Sudan A) had actually regressed to a simpler Neolithic technological level. B) were trading bronze implements within Africa. C) had refined techniques for settled agriculture. D) had developed a sophisticated hunter-gatherer society.

The popular view that sub-Saharan Africa was isolated from civilization until it was "discovered" by Europeans A) None of these answers are correct. B) is incorrect. C) has largely been proven to be correct. D) is substantiated by recent archeological research.

Aksumites enjoyed a relatively cordial relationship with the A) Jews. B) Patriarch of Constantinople. C) Muslims. D) Arians.

Finds in the royal palace fortress ruins and tombs of the early Kushite kingdom suggest that A) All of these answers are correct. B) Kushite traditions and culture may have had little or nothing in common with those of Egypt. C) its kings may have taken the gold mines of lower Nubia from the Egyptians. D) the people of Kush were prolific craftsmen but largely illiterate.

In the first millennium C.E., the coastal regions of East Africa A) already had extensive overseas contacts with the Arab and Indian worlds. B) were more isolated and economically self-sufficient than the rest of the continent. C) were united into a great empire by the Periplus Dynasty. D) had not yet evolved beyond hunting and gathering.

Based on Map 5-2, the expansion of trade and technology A) centered on the Kalahari desert as the hub for a vast network. B) remained underdeveloped until European colonization. C) originated in the north and spread generally south. D) originated in the south and spread generally north.