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Where did hominids first evolve? Why in that part of the world?: In East Africa 4 million years ago. Africa, which was in the middle of Pangea, was a stable land mass next to the equator. It made a perfect "incubator" for hominids to evolve.
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Where did early humans live originally?: On the "savanah", a grassy plain with mild temperature, abundant wild life and nutritious plant food.
When did early humans begin to migrate from Africa? Where did they go?: 1.5 million years ago they migrated to Asia and Europe.
When and why did people move to the Nile Valley and West Africa?: 5000 - 6000 years ago the Savanna began to dry up and formed the Sahara desert. People who had been living there had to move to find food.
What did Ancient Egyptians call their land and what did it mean?: Kemet
It means "land of the blacks"
Who built the greatest civilization of the ancient world? What were some of their gifts to the world?: Egypt

Mathematics, writing, pyramids, medical knowledge, religion, record keeping, and the first national government
What is the "Aftro-centric debate"?: It is a disagreement about how much of Egyptian culture was developed by Europeans vs. black African peoples who came from Nubia or another place further south in Africa.
Why was the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt unusual? Who ruled the new empire?: Because it was the first time an empire had been unified under a single ruler, the Pharoah. It occurred by 3100 BCE.
by when had the Sahara spread to Egypt? What is the process of this spreading called?: by 2000 BCE.
"desertification"
Name a significant pyramid built by the Egyptians. When was it built?: Pyramid of Giza built 4,500 years ago.
Who called Egypt "the gift of the Nile"?: Herodotus, a Greek historian
Between 1000 BCE and 1000 CE the population of Africa multiplied from 6.5 million to 33 million, mostly south of the Sahara. What caused this expansion?: 1. They were able to farm and the stable food supply allowed them to grow the population. 2. iron working skills allowed them to make more effective farming tools and better weapons so they lived longer.
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When did Ghana begin to rise as a power? How long did its power last?: after 300 CE it rose to power. It's power lasted 300 years, reaching its peak in 1000 or so.
What key principals played a role in the rise of the 3 Empires?: the laws of supply and demand: Ghana had salt (supply) and the people in southern Africa needed salt (demand) so they were willing to trade their gold for Ghana's salt.
Who created Ghana?: the Sokike people of the southern edge of the Sahara.
How did Ghana make its money and gain power?: trade of gold for salt. They had a monopoly on the gold-salt trade. MOney from the trade financed their army and government.
When was Islam founded? By whom? Where?: It was founded in 600 CE by Muhammad in Arabia.
Why did Islam spread successfully to Africa?: They saw Muslims as rich and aspired to be like them.
People learned to read and write in Arabic, not their traditional languages (which were only spoken).
Many aspects of Islam were compatible with African customs so could be combined easily (multiple wives, for example).
How did Islam spread to Africa: During Ghana's peak, Muslim traders from Arabia brought Islam there.
Where are the revelations from God that came to Muhammad written? What is the Hadith?: God's revelations are written in the book called the Qur'an (Koran). The Hadith is the book of stories of important deeds and sayings.
What are the Five Pillars of Islam? (SSZSH): 1. Faith - "Shahadah"
2. Obligatory prayer 5 times a day - "Salat"
3. Alms Giving - "Zakat"
4. Fasting during Ramadan, the 9th month - "Sawm"
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once - "Hajj"
What are the two types of Muslims and what do they believe?: Shi'ite Muslims (a small group) believe that onlly Mohammed's male descendents should lead the Islamic community. Sunni Muslims, the majority, accepted the Umayyad Dynasty that ruled from Damascus.
What is Sufism?: A type of Islam based on mysticism.
How did the Ghana Empire eventually fall?: An army of Muslims from NW Africa conquered Ghana. Smaller kingdoms within Ghana grew stronger as a result. The Mandinka people (under the leader Sundiata) finally put an end to the empire in the 1200's.
Who was Abu Bakari II?: A Mali ruler in the 1300's who sent ships to explore the world (200 years before Columbus!) - they were never heard from again, unfortunately...
Who was Mansa Musa?: Mali's most famous rulter (1312 CE). He is known for promoting culture and learning throughout the empire.
What were some of Mansa Musa's accomplishments?: 1. Timbuktu became world famous for mosques, palaces,schools, Muslim culture and learning.
2. His pilgrimage to Mecca made big news - he brought loads of people, slaves,camels and gold with him. He spent and gave away LOTS of gold.
What caused Mali's decline?: When Mansa Musa died, small states and kingdoms started to break away. Evenually, in the 1400's, the Songhai conquered Mali.
Who was Sunni'Ali?: A Muslim General who led the Songhai people in taking over Timbuktu and then Djenne, gaining control of the whole region.
Who was Askia the Great?: In 1492, when Sunni 'Ali died, Askia declared himself emperor. He ruled from 1493 - 1528 CE.
What eventually caused the downfall of the Songhai empire?: North Africans from Morocco invaded with firearms, wanting to take over the Gold/Salt trade.
What were the values of traditional African religions and culture?: Kinship was most highly valued. People often lived together. They asked the spirits of dead family members for help, and they honored them in religious ceremonies and dances. The eldest male was the family's priest and ran the religious ceremonies.
How did Africans communicate at that time?: Drums were widely used. Nigeria's people used "talking drums" with tones of more than an octave. Drums were based on the tones of the language.
When and how did Christianity spread to Africa?: In the 300's CE Aksum introduced it to East Africa. In the 1500's CE the Portuguese brought Christianity to West Africa. Africans were slow to accept but eventually did.
Who were the first Europeans to begin exploring Africa?: The Portuguese, under Prince Henry the Navigator in the 1400's. They needed trade with Africa to support their spend-thrifty nobility!
What were European explorers looking for in Africa?: 1. new trade routes to Asia for gold.
2. ways to spread Christianity.
3. looking for a legendary Christian ruler named Prester John of the ancient Christian kingdom of Aksum.
Why were the Portuguese the first to reach Africa?: Prince Henry set up a big institute for exploration and developed a new ship called a "caravel" that was better than previous models. They also were responsible for spreading awareness that the Earth was round, not flat.
Where did some of the 1000 slaves per year that were shipped to Spain eventually end up?: In the Americas - some as explorers, some as soldiers and some as slaves.
How did the Portuguese regard slaves initially? (Did they see them as inferior?): The Portuguese were extremely impressed by the wealth, power and knowledge of Africans and treated them as honored guests. When they started shipping so many slaves to Portugal they needed to justify it so said they were inferior human beings.
How did Spain get involved with Africa?: Spain was first invaded by Muslims from North Africa in 711 CE. To get back the Iberian Penninsula from the Muslims, the Christian armies launched the Crusades and re-conquered most of the land. Just before Columbus set sail in 1492 they were able to defeat the last Muslim stronghold in Granada.

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Number of cards 42