AACC Study Guide PDF

AACC study guide Escarpment - a long steep slope/cliff Cataract - cloudy area in the lens of your eye Great rift valley - geographic rift through asia and africa hydroelectric power - renewable energy, uses water subsistence farming - when enough is made with little or no extra Desertification - th...

AACC study guide Escarpment - a long steep slope/cliff Cataract - cloudy area in the lens of your eye Great rift valley - geographic rift through asia and africa hydroelectric power - renewable energy, uses water subsistence farming - when enough is made with little or no extra Desertification - the change of semi-arid land to desert Ancient Egypt Misr- Ancient name of Egypt Northeast corner of Africa Surrounded by - Desert - Mountains - Mediterranean sea Nile river Source of transportation, water, food, irrigation, and protection for Egypt Egyptians relied on the nile for their calendar, activities, and brought silt Created a surplus of farming from the fertile land The nile linked the upper and lower societies and used boats to trade and travel Barter - traded goods for goods Nile river valley civilizations Pharaoh appointed governors -taxed and also served as judges in court -made sure flood waters were equally shared -reported back to the pharaoh Religion Pharaoh was the child of Ra (son god) Theocracy Pyramids Built as sacred toms Places of worship for the gods Religious beliefs Polytheism Isis and the seven scorpions Revealed that the gods were violent with each other but empathetic to their people The book of the dead They care about being a good person, but are allowed to make mistakes Hieroglyphics Sacred writing and symbols, the words of the gods Government records, taxes, and history Scribes Pharaohs record keepers Educated in reading, writing, and math Highly respected Only men could be scribes Social pyramid Pharaoh Religious leaders Gov officials Soldiers Merchants Craftsman Peasants Slaves Literature, art Griot- the oral storyteller Communal - when the entire community comes together to hold meetings and activities Music is commonly used African music often uses drums Visual art function- religious purposes, practical purposes, social status, art Resources Gold, Salt, Ivory, Cloth, Metal, etc Commodity A raw material that can be traded/bought/sold. Has value Ghana The land of gold West Africa, Islam, traditional animistic Gold-salt trade, king and court Decline - The almoravids invaded the trade, the empire declined but ghana stayed Mali West Africa Free religion Gold and Salt trade Monarchy (Mansa Musa) Decline - in the 1400’s when Musa died the empire fell Songhai West Africa Traditional religious beliefs, eventually Islam Timbuktu trading city center Bureaucracy Decline - moroccans and almoravids invade in the 1500’s civil war overpowered Axum - Eastern Kingdom, 1-8 century CE,Christian, traditional religions, trade contained cloth gold and spices, Islam spread isolated the kingdom and created civil war, declined. Ethiopia - Judaism, influenced by Axum, 10 century CE Cultural diffusion - the spread or mixing of different cultures Arabia, Persia, China and across the indian ocean traded with the east african coast The success of this trade led to Swahili Great zimbabwe Massive stone ruins East african trade state Involved with the gold and salt trade Declined but was broad Portugal, Spain, France and England had the biggest European presence in Africa The dama - funeral rite to celebrate the life of the deceased Red mask is symbolized to protect all the other masks Kanaga mask represents the earth The dance line represents how the human souls links should never break Sirigue mask represents the movement of the sun Animism - religious belief that everyone has a spirit Gender wasn’t a factor, only social class Women could own land, divorce, sell land, etc. African slavery - the slave was working off debt, working off crimes, or a war prisoner Arab slavery - Prisoner of war, otherness European slavery - racial basis in the 17th century, chattel (property), factories, hereditary Brazil and caribbean were sent more slaves because worse conditions so more slaves were sent then to usa The conditions in the boat in the slave trade were horrible, many people died, overcrowded, starved, sickness spread, stench.