Assessment © 2012 The Exploration Company
Civilizations do not just happen. They grow, like families and friendships, from among the people who live in them. The kingdoms of East, Central, and South Africa comprised a variety of African peoples as well as Arabs, Persians, and Indians who came to trade. Each society had its own hierarchy, or social structure.

Imagine you have just completed a trip through the early kingdoms and city-states of East, Central, and South Africa. Your family and friends ask you about the trip. Your task is to give them an oral history of your experience.

You may submit a written account, audio recording, or video. Remember, your family and friends will share your story and pass it on to future generations, like oral historians in Africa. Make it fascinating! No one wants to hear a boring story.

Tell the most significant or important things you saw or learned about kingdoms or city-states in each region. Be sure to do the following as you complete this assessment:

identify at least one kingdom or city-state that you visited from each region—East, Central, and South
Eastern Africa Central Africa Southern Africa
Meroe
Funj
Axum
Ethiopia
Oromo
Swahili

Bunyoro-Kitara
Kongo

Great Zimbabwe
Mwenamutapa
Lunda
Luba

explain at least one important political, one social, and one economic feature you observed in each of the three places you visited
write or speak with a natural narrative voice, as if telling a story to a friend
use complete sentences to express your ideas, and make sure that your explanations are thorough by providing details from the lesson
write at least three paragraphs total, one for each kingdom or city-state (with at least five complete sentences per paragraph)

die.

explanation:

what

the muslim brotherhood

the revival of interest in greek and roman influences also stimulated developments in math and science. the mathematical traditions that governed the conception of the universe were based in greek mathematics that had been preserved and built upon by scientists in muslim lands, such as nasir al-din in the 13th century. the catholic church endorsed the views of ptolemy, the greek philosopher and astronomer who constructed a geocentric theory where all planets, the moon, and the sun revolved around the earth. using calculations from al-din, polish monk and mathematician, nicholas copernicus, concluded that the geocentric theory did not make sense. instead, his data indicated that the earth and all the other planets rotated around the sun, a conclusion that he did not share widely, for fear of retaliation from the church. in fact, his heliocentric theory was not published until after his death in 1543.

the scientist that really got into trouble over the heliocentric theory was italian galileo galilei, who strengthened and improved copernicus' theory. other scientists, such as johannes kepler, had demonstrated that planets also moved in elliptical orbits, and galileo confirmed those theories as well. perhaps most famously, he built a telescope that allowed him to observe the phenomena directly, recording details of heavenly bodies that the ancients could never have known about. galileo's theories were published in the starry messenger in 1610, a highly controversial book criticized by other scientists, as well as officials of the church. galileo made the mistake of making fun of people that disagreed with him, and he was arrested and put on trial, eventually recanting his theory publicly in order to save his own life.