Review It
The activity on the Try It page was based on Mesopotamian civilization. You will now review how to use context clues to identify vocabulary in passages from a source about societies in Africa.
Read the source below, written by the Greek historian Strabo, describing the geography and people of northeastern Africa during the first century C.E. Determine the meaning of key terms in the source using context clues.
The Aksum obelisk is a symbol of the Aksumite civilization in eastern Africa.
"Far in the interior was a place called Endera, inhabited by a naked tribe [the Gymnetae] who use bows and reed arrows, the points of which are hardened in the fire. They generally shoot the animals from trees, sometimes from the ground. They have numerous herds of wild cattle among them, on the flesh of which they subsist, and on that of other wild animals. When they have taken nothing in the chase, they dress dried skins upon hot coals, and are satisfied with food of this kind. It is their custom to propose trials of skill in archery for those who have not attained manhood (adult age)."
Find the term subsist in the first half of the passage. How do context clues help us understand the meaning of the term?
Next, find the term archery in the final sentence. How do context clues help us understand the meaning of the term?
Using the same context clues used to define the term archery, which of the following is closest to the meaning of archery as it is used in the passage?
A. Marriage
B. Pottery
C. Fishing
D. Hunting
In the next activity, you will get the chance to use context clues to identify the meaning of vocabulary in a source about an ancient civilization.
