Which of the following best characterizes African peoples during the early modern period? A. Impoverished-struggling agriculture, cut off from international trade, and hard-hit by bubonic plague
B. Isolated - cut off from international trade, no exposure to other languages, and no resistance to outside disease
C. Cohesive-mostly organized into large empires with only a few languages but the same religious beliefs
D. Diverse-multiple languages, religions, and forms of government

I would say B or C, since some African people were more isolated, but there were also a few big empires with similar beliefs languages etc. If anything, I would go for C

Explanation:

i believe out of the choices it is a.

i believe it would influence their own way of understanding things. it shall be a foundation where they can draw or start an argument.   historians are also  scientists that  have their tools of analysis and expertise to unlock a variety of difficulties such as relationships of man, origin, politics, economy, and culture. based on facts and understanding on these areas, they may shade light to extract ideas and develop options to validate a hypothesis or debunk it.