| Term | Definition |
| Mediteranean | Moderate climate with little rainfall; some farming and dense population |
| Desert | Extreme Hot/Cold; barely any rain; little vegetation with sparse population |
| Sahel | Pretty hot; not dry much; limited farming; famine |
| Rainforest | Very hot with lots of rain; lots of vegetation; almost no farming and sparse population |
| Savannah (vast flatlands) | Pretty hot, dry; little vegetation with light farming; moderate population |
| famine | Extreme+General scarcity of food |
| Kush | North African Empire from 1000BC-300AD |
| Meroe | Capital of Kush |
| Axum | North African Empire from 300AD-700AD;takes over Kush Empire |
| Swahili | Eastern African Empire; 1st century AD-16th century |
| Great Zimbabwe | Central African Empire; collapse in 15th century |
| Kongo | Central African Empire; 9th century-17th century |
| Ghana | Western African Empire 300AD-1300AD |
| Mali | Western African Empire 1300BC-1460BC |
| Sanghai | Western African Empire 1460-1700 |