An Introduction of West African Civilization Reading Answers

An Introduction of West African Civilization is an IELTS Reading Answer that contains 13 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. An Introduction of West African Civilization reading answers also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. An Introduction to West African Civilization consists of questions like: Does the following statement agree with the passage? And choose one word only.

Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, An Introduction to West African Civilization Reading Answers provides essential information about the rich history of West Africa, from early desert civilizations and Nok terracotta art to powerful empires like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Topic:

The West African region, as defined by the United Nations, consists of sixteen states, stretching from Mauritania, Mali and Niger in the north to the coastal countries of the south, such as Nigeria and Ghana. The Sahara Desert forms the northern boundary of the region, the Atlantic Ocean (including the Gulf of Guinea) the western and southern.

Around 8,000 years ago, towards the end of the Great Ice Age that affected much of the northern hemisphere, today's Sahara Desert was a productive environment providing enough food for a large settled population. However, as the climate changed, leading to desertification, many of its inhabitants migrated south to a more fertile region. Key to the growth of West Africa over several thousand years was the domestication of cattle and camels and the development of ironworking technology. The production of iron tools and weapons contributed to improvements in agriculture, hunting and warfare, which in turn made towns sustainable. From the third century, if not earlier, camels were used for transport across the Sahara Desert, making it possible to trade with North Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Gold, metal ornaments, ivory, cotton cloth and other goods were exported in exchange for salt, horses, and manufactured goods such as textiles.

Trade and local resources led to prosperity, an effective system of taxation, centralised states and the development of larger urban centres. For example, by AD 500, Djenné-Djeno, on the River Niger, was a town of about 20,000 people, more than in most European towns of that time. One of the earliest known cultures of the area was that of the Nok people, who lived in villages on a plateau in the centre of present-day Nigeria from around 1,000 BC. They appear to have had an advanced social system. Between 500 BC and AD 200 they created terracotta sculptures of human beings and animals, sometimes life-sized or a little smaller, the human heads often displaying jewellery and elaborate hairstyles. The statues were first discovered by chance in 1928, during tin mining operations.

The function of the statues is uncertain: they may have been charms against crop failure, or were used to mark graves. Some appear to depict people suffering from particular diseases, giving rise to the suggestion that they were intended as charms against the illness in question. They vary so much it seems likely that each one was individually created, rather than being formed in a mould. The Nok also smelted and forged iron to make tools - at least by 550 BC, and possibly earlier.

Another technology used in West Africa to create figures - metal ones, in this case - is called 'lost-wax casting'. It was common from around AD 900. In brief, the process begins with a piece of beeswax, which is carved into the desired shape, covered with several layers of clay, and heated. The wax melts, and is poured off, leaving only the clay shell. Then liquid gold, bronze or another metal is poured into this mould. When that has cooled and hardened, the clay shell is broken, to uncover the metal figure. The metals came from various sources: tin, for example, is plentiful in Nigeria, while brass was brought across the Sahara by Arab caravans from the twelfth century. The Ghana, or Wagadou, Empire, probably arose in the eighth or ninth century, and lasted until the thirteenth. This state was located in part of modern Mauritania and Mali (it should not be confused with present day Ghana, further to the east). The Empire's power and wealth were based on gold - a tenth-century Arab writer described Ghana as having the richest mines on earth.

It benefited from the growth of trade across the Sahara when camels were introduced as a form of transport. Ghana seems to have been absorbed into the Mali Empire by the fourteenth century, though the reasons for this are disputed.

The Mali Empire expanded during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, developing into a centralised state covering much of West Africa. It gained a reputation for learning and prosperity. The city of Timbuktu, founded in the twelfth century, developed into a major educational centre. In 1324-5, the king, who had converted to Islam, undertook the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, in modern Saudi Arabia. While breaking his journey in Egypt, his wealth and generosity created astonishment. He apparently gave away so much gold that its price collapsed, and did not recover for several years. A few decades later, the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta visited Mali, and was greatly impressed by the peaceful, law-abiding country. However, Mali fell into decline, and gradually came under the control of the Songhai. From the fifteenth to the late sixteenth century, the Songhai controlled one of the largest Islamic empires in history.

They are thought to have settled at Gao, on the Niger River in modern Mali, around the year 800, and established the state, with Gao as its capital, in the eleventh century. Its rise to regional domination began in 1464, when Sonni Ali Ber came to power and embarked on the conquest of much of the Mali Empire's territory, including Timbuktu and the important trading city of Djenné (a few kilometres from Djenné-Djeno, which had been abandoned by the thirteenth century). The Songhai Empire reached its peak in the sixteenth century under Sonni Ali's successors.

Questions 1-4

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? Write

TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

1. The Sahara Desert produced plenty of food for its inhabitants about 8,000 years ago.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Around 8,000 years ago, towards the end of the Great Ice Age..., today's Sahara Desert was a productive environment providing enough food for a large settled population."

Keywords: [Sahara Desert, 8,000 years ago, food, inhabitants]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, lines 1–2

Explanation: The passage clearly states that during that time, the Sahara Desert supported a large population due to its productivity, confirming the statement is true.

2. In AD 500, Djenné-Djeno was the largest town in Africa.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: While the passage mentions Djenné-Djeno had about 20,000 people and compares it to European towns, it does not claim it was the largest town in Africa at that time.

3. The Nok people's statues were discovered during archaeological excavations.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: "The statues were first discovered by chance in 1928, during tin-mining operations."

Keywords: [Nok, statues, discovered, archaeological excavations]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, last line

Explanation: The statues were discovered accidentally during tin-mining, not through planned archaeological excavations, making the statement false.

4. It is possible that Nok statues were made to protect people from disease.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: "Some appear to depict people suffering from particular diseases... they were intended as charms against the illness in question."

Keywords: [Nok, statues, protect, disease]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 4, lines 1–3

Explanation: The passage supports the idea that some statues were possibly made to protect against illness, so the statement is true.

Questions 5-9

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

LOST-WAX CASTING TECHNIQUE

- A lump of beeswax is 5……………. into the shape of the required figure.

Answer: carved

Supporting statement: "The process begins with a piece of beeswax, which is carved into the desired shape..."

Keywords: [beeswax, carved, shape, figure]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 2

Explanation: The beeswax is shaped by carving, as described in the first step of the casting process.

- The beeswax is covered with 6………………

Answer: clay

Supporting statement: "...covered with several layers of clay..."

Keywords: [beeswax, covered, clay]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 2

Explanation: After carving, the beeswax is layered with clay to form a mould.

- The beeswax object is heated so that it 7……………….

Answer: melts

Supporting statement: "The wax melts, and is poured off..."

Keywords: [wax, melts, heated]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 3

Explanation: Heating causes the wax to melt and exit the mould, leaving a clay shell.

- The mould that remains is filled with heated metal In 8………………

Answer: metal

Supporting statement: "Then liquid gold, bronze or another metal is poured into this mould."

Keywords: [mould, filled, metal]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 3

Explanation: The mould is filled with heated liquid metal such as gold or bronze.

- When the metal has cooled, the mould is 9……………

Answer: broken

Supporting statement: "When that has cooled and hardened, the clay shell is broken..."

Keywords: [clay shell, broken, metal figure]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 4

Explanation: The hardened metal is revealed by breaking the clay shell after cooling.

- The metal figure is complete.

Questions 10-13

Choose ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.

10. Answer: terracotta

Supporting statement: "…they created terracotta sculptures of human beings and animals…"

Keywords: [Nok, statues, terracotta]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 4

Explanation: The Nok civilisation is described as creating terracotta statues, which are sculptures made from baked clay.

11. Answer: gold

Supporting statement: "The Empire's power and wealth were based on gold…"

Keywords: [Ghana, wealth, mining, gold]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 4

Explanation: Ghana’s prosperity came from trade and mining of gold, making it a central factor in the empire's development.

12. Answer: learning

Supporting statement: "It gained a reputation for learning and prosperity."

Keywords: [Mali Empire, learning, wealth]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, line 2

Explanation: The Mali Empire was celebrated for its education system, particularly in cities like Timbuktu, alongside its wealth.

13. Answer: conquest

Supporting statement: "…embarked on the conquest of much of the Mali Empire’s territory…"

Keywords: [Songhai Empire, increased power, conquest]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 8, line 4

Explanation: The Songhai Empire expanded and increased its power by conquering key cities like Timbuktu and Djenné.

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