AFRICA FOCUS VOCABULARY 7 th 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