In many West African societies where written records were not common, how was knowledge of the past mainly passed from one generation to the next?

Through spoken stories, songs, and remembered histories.

By carving symbols and pictures onto large stone monuments.

By sending official documents and letters between villages.

Through yearly plays performed only in the capital city.

What was the most important function of the oral tradition maintained by griots?

To create a secret code for leaders.

To connect the past to the present.

To decide legal disputes between families.

To map out routes for long-distance trade.

To serve as a professional storyteller and historian

To trade goods along caravan routes

They were the wealthiest traders in the empire.

They held the community's entire history and culture in their memory, advising leaders and educating the people.

They controlled the farming and distribution of all food resources.

They were the only members of society who were allowed to travel.

The locations of distant gold mines.

The family lines of the people and epic poems.

The daily records of market sales.

The architectural plans for new buildings.