Connections Across Africa, Asia & Europe — Problem set, Grade 6
Follow camel caravans and sailing ships as trade, religion, and mighty empires wove Africa, Asia, and Europe together in the postclassical and medieval world. See how those connections set the stage for the modern era.
Review the key ideas
The Spread of Religions & Trade Networks
Overland and maritime networks linked regions through many stages. Traders, migrants, scholars, religious specialists and political institutions all contributed. A route map shows possible connections, not proof that one person or idea traveled every segment.
Medieval Empires of Africa: Ghana, Mali & Songhai
Ancient/medieval Ghana was a West African state whose core was not the same territory as the modern Republic of Ghana. Mali and Songhai were distinct states with changing boundaries and overlapping regional histories, not one kingdom changing its name.
Tang, Song & Mongol Connections in East Asia
Tang, Song and Yuan refer to different dynastic formations. Their territories and institutions changed, and later transition dates do not mean every practice ended at once. Yuan identifies the Mongol-led dynasty established under Khubilai Khan; relate its chronology to conquest and administration.
Trade Networks, Epidemics & Historical Explanation
A network links nodes through routes and exchanges. Its existence can create opportunities for travel without proving every proposed movement occurred. Use dated records, objects and environmental evidence to identify specific links. Routes and political protections shift over time.
Interconnection & the Road to the Modern World
Mongol expansion began under Chinggis/Genghis Khan and successors, involving military conquest and substantial destruction as well as new political connections. Mobile pastoral societies were complex communities, not simply a prelude to empire. Separate origin, conquest and later administration.
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
Trade-linked contact may help explain access to a translated text. Continued practices and limited records do not support instant universal conversion or one-way replacement of an entire culture.
Trade-linked contact may help explain access to a translated text. Continued practices and limited records do not support instant universal conversion or one-way replacement of an entire culture.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
Yes. Effects differ by process, group and period.
Yes. Effects differ by process, group and period.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 3
Answer and explanation
Ibn Battuta’s journeys beginning in 1325 and Zheng He’s Ming-sponsored voyages of 1405–1433 overlap different networks and purposes. The former involved pilgrimage, scholarship and work; the latter involved imperial diplomacy and power as well as exchange. A compass concerns direction and a rudder steering. Neither supplies an exact travel time or removes political and environmental constraints. Locate stops, label the date range and distinguish a general connection from a precise itinerary.
Ibn Battuta’s journeys beginning in 1325 and Zheng He’s Ming-sponsored voyages of 1405–1433 overlap different networks and purposes. The former involved pilgrimage, scholarship and work; the latter involved imperial diplomacy and power as well as exchange. A compass concerns direction and a rudder steering. Neither supplies an exact travel time or removes political and environmental constraints. Locate stops, label the date range and distinguish a general connection from a precise itinerary.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 4
Answer and explanation
They address political image, economic practice and remembered legitimacy. Compare creator, date, audience and transmission; each has a distinct evidentiary role and limits.
They address political image, economic practice and remembered legitimacy. Compare creator, date, audience and transmission; each has a distinct evidentiary role and limits.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 5
Answer and explanation
They illuminate different experiences and help test omissions, dating and interpretation.
They illuminate different experiences and help test omissions, dating and interpretation.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 6
Answer and explanation
The records concern differently situated experiences: cultural/political loss and privileged administrative travel. Both may be relevant, but neither alone represents all residents.
The records concern differently situated experiences: cultural/political loss and privileged administrative travel. Both may be relevant, but neither alone represents all residents.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 7
Answer and explanation
No. Its creator, audience and representational choices limit the inference.
No. Its creator, audience and representational choices limit the inference.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 8
Answer and explanation
The sequence is consistent with connected movement but does not uniquely identify a route or intentional cause. Examine transport/ecological evidence and recognize the accusation as unsupported persecution, not a factual mechanism.
The sequence is consistent with connected movement but does not uniquely identify a route or intentional cause. Examine transport/ecological evidence and recognize the accusation as unsupported persecution, not a factual mechanism.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 9
Answer and explanation
A specific mechanism, dated evidence, alternative factors and differentiated consequences.
A specific mechanism, dated evidence, alternative factors and differentiated consequences.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 10
Answer and explanation
A permit can show official travel support and administrative power for eligible holders. It does not erase conquest, coercion, exclusions or conflict, and one object cannot establish equal freedom for all residents.
A permit can show official travel support and administrative power for eligible holders. It does not erase conquest, coercion, exclusions or conflict, and one object cannot establish equal freedom for all residents.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.
Problem 11
Answer and explanation
It imposes a later endpoint and erases other societies’ agency and histories.
It imposes a later endpoint and erases other societies’ agency and histories.
Response criteria
- Answer the actual question with accurate details.
- Explain how the evidence or language choice supports the conclusion.
- State a relevant limit, alternative or justified revision.