Who's Who: Living in the Sahara Desert Quiz

Answer: Kiffian culture

The Kiffian culture inhabited the Sahara 10,000-8,000 years ago before the area became a desert. It was during this time, called the Neolithic Subpluvial, that the area had a plentiful water supply. In fact, many historians refer to the region during that time as the Green Sahara. Remains of the Kiffian culture have been found at a site called Gobero; a massive graveyard, the largest Stone Age cemetery found to date in the Sahara, belonging to the Kiffian culture has been discovered.

Some of the remains of the people prove that they were very tall - some as tall as 6'8".

When they lived at Gobero, the site was on the edge of a lake. The existence of bones of the animals they presumably hunted testify to their skill as hunters.

Answer: Tenerian Culture

The Kiffian culture disappeared from the Sahara when the area became dry approximately 8,000 years ago. Their settlement site at Gobero was once again used by the Tenerians about 4600 BC, a time when scientists believe the extreme dryness had subsided for a time. Believed to be related to Mediterranean groups, the Tenerians also used Gobero as a burial site; the difference, however, from the earlier group is that Tenerian culture burials included what is viewed as a spiritual component.

Their graves included burials goods, such as pottery and jewelry, and flowers! One burial consisted of what is believed to have been a family - presumably a mother and two children - who were interred hugging each other on a bed of flowers.

Answer: Nubians

The Nubian kingdom occupied the area that is currently southern Egypt to central Sudan as early as 2000 BC. The ancient Egyptians called the area ""Ta-Seti," or "The Land of the Bow," conquering and incorporating parts of the Nubian Empire into their own by the time of the Middle Kingdom, when the Nubians became known as the Medjay in ancient Egypt.

By the time of the New Kingdom the Nubians were used as an elite policing force, typically stationed around temples, palaces, and tombs throughout all of Egypt. Eventually the Nubians conquered the Egyptians and ruled Egypt during the 25th Dynasty. Aside from their interaction with ancient Egypt, which was important because of the information regarding the Nubians that the Egyptians recorded, the Nubians previously had learned to domesticate plants and animals and were a farming people who also raised cattle.

The kingdom fell around 350 AD, and was replaced by other small groups.

Answer: Egyptians

There is archaeological evidence that Egyptians lived in the Sahara during the Paleolithic Era in approximately 30,000 BC. This occurred, of course, long before the First Dynasty was founded by Narmer in 3100 BC and before ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia became Cradles of Civilization. Artifacts point to the existence of a hunting-gathering lifestyle, which continued until the Neolithic Age in approximately 6,000 BC., when the Egyptians learned to farm and consequently were able to make permanent settlements. By 3400 BC, however, scientists believe that the Sahara had become as dry as it is today, and settlements were built more along the Nile or at the occasional oasis. Nevertheless, it must be said that the impenetrable desert is what allowed the ancient Egyptians to develop the civilization as they did. Without the worry of outside invasion or influence from other people, the Egyptians were able to establish a very unique civilization.

The Eastern Desert between the Nile River and the Red Sea provided copper, granite, limestone, gold, and other resources, and an important trade network was established there. Also considered to be part of the ancient Egyptian Empire, the Western Desert, much drier than the Eastern, held settlements around the oases, and, of course, was the domain of Osiris, the judge of the dead.

Answer: Phoenicians

The ancient Phoenicians are well-known for establishing settlements along the North African Mediterranean coast in areas that were suitable for trade. Their most important colony, Carthage, was located near present day Tunis, Tunisia. Although their main purpose in establishing these settlements was sea trading, the practical Phoenicians also realized that they needed raw materials that were used in the manufacturing of their trade goods, as well as other luxury items that would attract business.

They built small settlements in the desert to support the caravans they sent there, which came back with goods like gold, timber, salt, and even apes. It was written that these Phoenician merchants invented the use of the auction for trading merchandise, and used that method for trading with African tribes.

Answer: Berbers

Found in Egyptian references as early as 3,000 BC, the Berbers are believed to have lived in the Maghreb region of North Africa since at least 10,000 BC. This area included Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania, where many Berbers continued to live today.

They were called Berbers by the Romans, who were insinuating that they were barbarians because they spoke a language that they could not understand; the Berbers actually call themselves Amazigh, meaning "free men" or "free people". Today there are many groups of Berbers who have formed communities across North Africa. Contrary to the belief that they were primarily nomadic groups, the Berbers were traditionally farmers living on the coast or in oases, however, some groups today are nomads or at least move from season to season with their animals.

Answer: Tuareg

The Tuareg are believed to have moved away from the larger Berber group sometime during the 4th or 5th centuries. Led by their queen, Tin Hinan, they moved southward from the oasis, Tafilalt, in Morocco. By the tenth century, Arab traders were recording information about the Tuareg, who were largely converted to the Islam religion and assisted in its spread across northern Africa. Since the early 1800s, the different groups have been organized into confederations, each with its own leader and council of elders. Normally wearing clothes dyed with indigo, the Tuareg are called the "blue people" because the dye from the cloth also stains their skin.

Answer: Garamantes

Farmers and merchants, the Garamantes are credited with establishing at least eight major towns c.500 BC-700 AD in the area called Libya today. They dug tunnels into the mountains to bring water to their fields, conquered their neighbors, and used them as slaves to continue their tunneling efforts. Even though the Greeks and Romans believed the Garamantes to be barbarians, they still established trade relations with them.

Their settlements collapsed when they were no longer able to find water, however, the remains of some of their villages have been found and examined in the 2000s.

Answer: Hausa

One of the largest ethnic groups in Africa today, the spiritual home of the Hausa is considered to be the town of Daura in northern Nigeria. According to their legends, a prince of Baghdad named Bayajidda left his home and traveled in Africa until reaching Borno, an empire that existed in Nigeria beginning in the 1380s. Stories differ as to why Bayajidda left Borno, however, he continued on until arriving in Daura, where it is said that he killed a snake that had been pestering people at the well; a very grateful Queen, Magajiya Daurama, consequently married him.

The Hausa have intermixed both culturally and genetically with many other ethnic groups in the area over the years, making it sometimes difficult to tell one group from another. Their language, however, is considered to be one of the most-spoken languages in Africa today with an estimated 27 million people using it as a first language and 20 million using it as a second language, mostly in trade.

Answer: Songhai

The Songhai Empire, which eventually covered 540,500 square miles, was one of the largest empires in African history; the northern part of the empire included the Sahara Desert. Coming into power after the decline of the Mali Empire in the mid-15th century, the Songhai Empire was centered around the cities of Djenne and Timbuktu, which became a great trading and cultural center.

The kingdom collapsed, however, when its gold and salt trade attracted the attention of the kingdom of Morocco. Although the Songhai Empire fell at the end of the sixteenth century, the Songhai people continue to live in West Africa, particularly in Mali.