Which of the following statements concerning the Sudanic states of Mali and Songhay is most accurate?
a. All the Sudanic populations converted to Islam upon their first contact with Islamic military forces.
b. The Sudanic states were distinguished from other African civilizations by the peculiar lack of family or clan lineages as an organizing principle of society.
c. Although powerful, the Sudanic states never reached the level of empires.
d. What provided the cultural unity necessary for the establishment of states in the Sudan was the conversion of many people to Christianity.
e. Sudanic states had territorial core areas in which the people were of the same ethnic background, but their power extended over subordinate communities.
Answer: E