AFRICA FOCUS VOCABULARY7th Grade World History

Mrs. Chen

SAHEL

Sahel is a semi-desert south of the Sahara and north of the Savannah

KINSHIP

Kinship is a connection among people by blood, marriage, or adoption

TRIBUTE Tribute a payment made by

one ruler or country to another for protection or as a sign of submission

LABOR SPECIALIZATION

Labor specialization is when some people focus on specific types of work

GRIOTS

A griot is an official West African storyteller

AMULETS

An amulet is a piece of jewelry or other object used as a charm to provide protection against bad luck, illness, injury, or evil.

VEGETATION ZONE

A vegetation zone is a region that has certain types of plants

SAHARA The Sahara is the large desert of northern

Africa

SAVANNAH

A savannah is a grassland in a tropical region

RAIN FOREST

A rain forest is a dense evergreen forest with regular heavy rainfall

CARAVAN A caravan is a group of

people, often traders, traveling across a desert

TRANS-SAHARAN TRADE

Trans-Saharan trade is the trade between North Africa and the southern forests of West Africa.

BERBERS The Berbers were a group of traders from North

Africa who practice Islam, they introduced written language(Arabic) to West Africa.

GHANA

Ghana is a region between the Sahara and the forests of southern West Africa

MATRILINEAL

Matrilineal means that royal inheritance was traced through women’s bloodlines rather than men’s.

MALI

Mali is a West African empire founded by the Malinke people

MANSA MUSA

Mansa Musa was a king of Mali who came to power in 1312.

TIMBUKTU Timbuktu was a city in Mali that was a

center of trade and culture