What is important and or interesting about the Swahili language? 

Please watch Kingdoms of Africa – Great Zimbabwe, which can be found on youtube:

In a short, well-written 750 word (approximately 3 pages) essay, please answer the following questions from the information found in the film:

Why were the Europeans who discovered these ruins convinced that Africans could not have built them? What would it mean if Africans had built them?

What was the attraction of the Swahili coast to traders? What was the most important trade item? Where did it come from?

What would the discovery of Rhapta mean? What was the evidence of its location?

What is important and/or interesting about the Swahili language?

Were the islanders African or Arabic? What is the proof? Why was the island so important, and how did the climate play into this?

What does “Manyikawi” mean? How was it tied to Great Zimbabwe? How do we know? Why was the grass so interesting?

How do we know that gold was valuable as something other than as a trade good?

Why was the bead game important? What is its significance?

What was the social purpose of the walls and passages in Great Zimbabwe? What does this suggest about their culture?

Papers should be written in 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with normal margins and include the following information in upper left corner of the first page: name, course, date, word count.