Deck 6: The Americas

Question 1

The Maya is considered to be the "mother civilization" of Mesoamerica.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The chinampas

A)were agricultural plots built on swampy islands.
B)were built to maintain industrial production.
C)provided farmers with a means of growing waterfowl for export to South America.
D)were to be found only in the semi-arid areas of northern Mesoamerica.
E)were part of Inka religious culture.

Answer 2

were agricultural plots built on swampy islands.

Question 3

Pachakuti created a highly centralized Aztec state.​

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Pyramid of the Sun was built by the people of Teotihuacán in the fifth century C.E.

Question 5

Aztec society was

A)an egalitarian democracy.
B)a hierarchical dictatorship, with a privileged upper class and a downtrodden majority.
C)primarily involved in the trading of slaves.
D)unique in giving women major political power.
E)a purely theocratic society.

Question 6

The first civilization in Mesoamerica was the

A)Toltec.
B)Olmec.
C)Maya.
D)Aztec.
E)Moche.

Question 7

The Olmec peoples

A)did not do any stone carving, preferring to work in copper and ivory.
B)spoke the Quechuan language.
C)developed their capital at the mountain fortress of Cuzco.
D)developed a system of hieroglyphics.
E)replaced the Maya in Mesoamerica.

Question 8

Because the soil lacked sufficient nutrients, agriculture never developed in the Amazon region.

Question 9

The Maya were the only Mesoamerican people to have a complete written language.​

Question 10

The Aztec capital was

A)Tenochtitlán.
B)Huitzilopochtli.
C)Texcoco.
D)Mexica.
E)Zapotec.

Question 11

The Inka had no writing system, but kept records using a system of knotted strings called quipu.

Question 12

Which of the following is not true of the Olmec culture?

A)Its La Venta pyramid was the largest structure of it type for its era.
B)It created a writing system of some sort.
C)It developed in the high, mountainous areas of central Mexico.
D)It produced many stone carvings, tools, and monuments.
E)It did not develop the wheel or have horses.

Question 13

Mayan civilization

A)had such a sophisticated religious system that it was adopted by the Spanish invaders.
B)may have been composed of approximately thirty million people at its height.
C)was located in the northern part of the Valley of Mexico.
D)was never wealthy.
E)declined in the eighth or ninth centuries C.E.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is the most accurate depiction of the Aztec Empire?

A)It was a highly centralized, tightly administered monarchy developed through military conquest.
B)It was a confederation of localities linked by a feudal allegiance system in which a central ruler controlled an empire developed through military conquest.
C)It was a highly centralized maritime society that had evolved from a foundation of intense religious piety.
D)It was followed by the Mayan civilization.
E)Human sacrifice was abolished by Montezuma.

Question 15

What was the outcome of matches in the sacred ball court?

A)Losing players were sacrificed to the gods.
B)The games were played with the heads of sacrificed prisoners.
C)It fostered connections between the city-states of the Central Mexican Valley through sporting competitions.
D)Winners could become priests.
E)It disappeared after the fall of Olmec civilization.

Question 16

At Cahokia, near East Saint Louis, archeologists have discovered a burial mound more than 98 feet high with a base larger than Egypt's Great Pyramid.

Question 17

In which areas were the Mayan and Aztec civilizations similar?

A)They both practiced human sacrifice.
B)Both had religious practices and beliefs brought from Asia in the eleventh century.
C)Both used sophisticated alphabets with thirty-nine letters.
D)They were both seafaring societies.
E)Volcanic eruptions destroyed both civilizations.

Question 18

In contrast with the Aztecs, the Inka created a highly centralized state.

Question 19

The Aztec capital was Teotihuacán.

Question 20

The two commodities that enabled the Maya to develop trade relations with other civilizations in its region were

A)cotton and silver.
B)yams and manioc.
C)obsidian and cacao trees.
D)gold and silver.
E)manioc and turpentine.

Question 21

Which of the following is not accurate?

A)All males were liable for military service in the Inka army.
B)The quipu was a system of knotted strings used in the Inka Empire.
C)The Inka required subject peoples to speak Quechua.
D)The Olmecs adopted many aspects of Inka culture.
E)Women could improve their lifestyles by becoming "chosen virgins" in Inka temples.

Question 22

Aztec writing

A)was phonetic.
B)may have been the result of contact with traders from the Aleutians.
C)resembled ancient Greek in its organization.
D)was copied from Egyptian hieroglyphics.
E)was based upon hieroglyphs that represented an object or concept.

Question 23

The massive Aztec stone carving in the form of a disc portraying the struggle between the forces of good and evil in the universe is the

A)Disc of Forces.
B)Stone of the Fifth Sun.
C)Temple of Inscriptions.
D)Sun Disc.
E)Parthenonus.

Question 24

Aztec society

A)focused its religious interest on "the holy one," Huitzilopochtli, the only god in the monotheistic Aztec system of religious belief.
B)did not possess a writing system as such, although it developed hieroglyphs.
C)dedicated the sacred precinct in central Tenochtitlán to the rain god, Shiva, and to Huitzilopochtli.
D)did not sharply delineate gender roles.
E)was egalitarian in theory but hierarchical in practice.

Question 25

What was the purpose of the human sacrifices practiced by the Aztecs?

A)To obtain the atman of the victim.
B)To appease Huitzilopochtli, and thus delay the ultimate destruction of their world.
C)To insure an abundant harvest.
D)To insure long life for the emperor.
E)To provide victims for the ball court games.

Question 26

There were farming villages in Central and South America by

A)10,000 B.C.E.
B)5000 B.C.E.
C)1000 B.C.E.
D)100 C.E.
E)500 C.E.

Question 27

Which of the following was not a characteristic of the large kinship groups of the Aztecs?

A)They were the people's main link with the central government.
B)They often specialized in some particular area of responsibility.
C)They contained subdivisions of smaller family units.
D)Women were required to work in the fields five days each week.
E)In general, males were the dominant gender.

Question 28

Providing a valuable resource for later historians, this Spaniard recorded his impressions of Aztec society during a visit in the early sixteenth century:

A)Bernal Díaz.
B)Alphonso Gomorra.
C)Bartholomew Díaz.
D)Jakob Alverez.
E)Juan Carlos Garcia.

Question 29

Anasazi society possibly declined for all of the following reasons except

A)severe drought.
B)increase in internecine warfare.
C)invaders.
D)extensive floods.
E)starvation.

Question 30

The Moche culture

A)was ended by a devastating pandemic of the Black Death.
B)was located in a rain forest.
C)may have been ended by environmental changes.
D)was pacifistic, perhaps the major cause of its long existence.
E)was destroyed by the Aztecs.

Question 31

South America

A)was the original home of the Maya.
B)contained societies practicing irrigated farming approximately eleven thousand years ago.
C)has had human inhabitants for more than twelve thousand years.
D)was populated only as recently as 500 C.E.
E)was colonized from Africa rather than Asia.

Question 32

Most of the Aztec population belonged to large kinship groups called

A)texcocos.
B)chinampas.
C)calpulli.
D)quipu.
E)jatis.

Question 33

The civilization of the Inka

A)constructed an impressive system of roads and bridges throughout its extensive domain.
B)employed a force of highly-paid workers to construct the structures that it produced.
C)offered all women nothing but a life of domestic service restricted to the home.
D)developed an abundant lowland valley community at Machu Picchu.
E)routinely executed all war prisoners its army captured.

Question 34

The Inka capital was

A)Lima.
B)Cuzco.
C)Monte Verde.
D)Tenochtitlan,
E)Uxmal.

Question 35

Among the mounted nomads who came to dominate much of the southwestern plains of North America after 1500 C.E. were the

A)Ute and the Mohawk.
B)Apache and Navajo.
C)Cree and Shoshone.
D)Anasazi and Arawak.
E)both b and c

Question 36

In South America by 2000 B.C.E., peoples

A)had discovered the smelting of iron.
B)had domesticated wheat for making of bread,
C)were sailing the Pacific in wind-powered balsa wood rafts.
D)had developed a complex writing system.
E)were using the wheel in transportation.

Question 37

The tuber cultivated by the Arawak, which is used today to manufacture tapioca, is

A)millet.
B)maize.
C)manioc.
D)cacao.
E)squash.

Question 38

Who was the supreme deity among the Aztec pantheon?

A)Siva
B)Tlaloc
C)Quetzalcoatl
D)Huitzilopochtli
E)Ometeotl

Question 39

Who was the Inka king who began the conquests that led to the creation of their empire?

A)Pizarro
B)Huayna Inca
C)Pachakuti
D)Topa Inca
E)Montezuma

Question 40

In analyzing Aztec cosmology

A)its description reveals a totally unique approach to religious belief.
B)it is the basic format for all monotheistic practices.
C)it contained a distinct element of fatalism that was inherent in the creation myth.
D)it was copied from that of the Anasazi.
E)the ultimate reality was the destruction of the individual soul.

Question 41

A significant characteristic of South American agriculture is ​

A)​dependence on extensive, complex irrigation of crops.
B)​the hybridization of pastoralism and sedentary agriculture.
C)​development of the heavy plow pulled by oxen.
D)​the emphasis on vegetarianism.
E)​a complete reliance on trade with the coast and lowlands by the mountainous settlements in exchange for metal.

Question 42

​An alliance of Native Americans to avoid war was formed by which tribe?

A)​Iroquois
B)​Hopewell.
C)​Powhatan.
D)​Arawak.
E)​Ute.

Question 43

Identify the following terms.
Bering Strait

Question 44

The largest city in North America until 19th century Philadelphia was located at​

A)​Santa Fe.
B)​Cahokia.
C)​Los Angeles.
D)​Roanoke.
E)​Cuyahoga

Question 45

​The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán was unusual because:

A)​they conquored other states around them.
B)​they practiced agriculture based on a staple crop of manioc.
C)​it was centered on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco
D)​it created separate temples for a hierarchy of polytheistic gods.
E)​they inscribed petroglyphs to record their history.

Question 46

Identify the following terms.

-Carthaginians, lost tribes of Israel, and Atlantis

Question 47

Staple crops of the Olmec civilization included​ ​

A)​beans, corn and squash
B)​wheat and legumes
C)​potatoes, beans and peppers
D)​coffee, cacao and beans
E)​tomatoes, potatoes and squash

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic shared by the civilizations of the Western Hemisphere with those of the Old World?

A)Long-distance trade
B)Human sacrifice
C)Iron smelting
D)Irrigated agriculture
E)The practice of warfare

Question 49

Identify the following terms.
Mesoamerica

Question 50

Women in Aztec society were granted what position of privilege? ​

A)​They could become the supreme ruler.
B)​The family line was traced matrilinearly.
C)​Women controlled the household economy.
D)​Women performed marriage ceremonies.
E)​Women fought equally alongside men in the army.

Question 51

​What probably caused the decline of Teotihaucan? ​

A) Invasion of competing tribes.
B)​Collapse of the Olmec civilization.
C)Earthquakes.
D)​Volcanic eruption.
E)​Agricultural crises.

Question 52

​The supreme Mayan god Itzamna is credited with bringing to the Mayans all of the following EXCEPT

A)​cacoa
B)​writing
C)​maize
D)​medicine
E)​pyramids

Question 53

​Chichen Itza was controlled by which civilization?

A)​Mayan
B)​Olmec
C)​Toltec
D)​Aztec
E)​Zoque

Question 54

​The Mayan calendar was significant for

A)​demonstrating an advanced understanding of astronomy.
B) included a "long count" calendar based on 5,200 years cycles.
C) held the key to deciphering the hieroglyphic tablets found in Palenque.
D) measured time dating back to August of 3114 b.c.e.
E) all of these.

Question 55

​What was a pueblo?

A)​a centralized location for trade in the Hopewell tribes.
B)​a temple in the Moundbuilder area of the plains states.
C)​a form of irrigation practiced in the Caribbean islands.
D)​An adobe communal house in Anasazi lands.
E)​a rock formation for the practice of archeoastronomy.

Question 56

​The earliest collective civilization in the Central Andes was

A)​Chavin
B)​Moche
C)​Wari
D)​Chimor
E)​Inka

Question 57

Identify the following terms.
Yucatán peninsula

Question 58

Which of the following was NOT a detrimental factor in the technological development of the peoples of the Western Hemisphere?

A)Lack of large domesticated animals.
B)Geographic diversity.
C)Lack of established trade routes.
D)Lack of indigenous varieties of edible grasses to facilitate the transition from a hunting/gathering society to farming.
E)A difficult topography and environmental diversity.

Question 59

What is unusual about the Nazca lines?​

A)​They are only visible from considerable elevation.
B)​They are aligned with the summer and winter solstice.
C)They show evidence of significant environmental manipulation.
D)​They correspond to unusually high levels of magnetic polarity.
E)​They designate way-stations along the Incan road system.

Question 60

Identify the following terms.
Tehuacán valley

Question 61

Identify the following terms.
Aztec

Question 62

Identify the following terms.
Tikal, Palenque, Uxmal and Chichen Itza

Question 63

Identify the following terms.
rubber

Question 64

Identify the following terms.
Teotihuacán

Question 65

Identify the following terms.
Monte Albán

Question 66

Identify the following terms.
obsidian

Question 67

Identify the following terms.
Zapotec

Question 68

Identify the following terms.
Mexica

Question 69

Identify the following terms.
Olmec

Question 70

Identify the following terms.
Mayan hieroglyphs

Question 71

Identify the following terms.
ball courts/game

Question 72

Identify the following terms.
pulque

Question 73

Identify the following terms.
Valley of Mexico

Question 74

Identify the following terms.
Mayan Long Count

Question 75

Identify the following terms.
cacao

Question 76

Identify the following terms.
Itzamna

Question 77

Identify the following terms.
San Lorenzo and La Venta

Question 78

Identify the following terms.
chinampas

Question 79

Identify the following terms.
Pyramid of the Sun

Question 80

Identify the following terms.
Toltecs