Deck 18: Native Arts of the Americas Before 1300

Question 1

Which of the following supports the importance of San Lorenzo and La Venta to Olmec culture?

A) Provided opportunities for the Olmec to gather and celebrate
B) Represented the structure and ideals of Olmec society
C) Allowed the Olmec to focus on the power of the king
D) Provided income for the priesthood

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Teotihuacán as well as its key pyramids are carefully oriented.Which of the following is the commonly suggested reasoning for such placement?

A) Related to the calendar of the gods
B) Related to the topography of the area
C) Related to the legend of the king
D) Related to astronomical phenomena

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is not part of the Mesoamerica region?

A) Mexico
B) Guatemala
C) Bolivia
D) Honduras

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following has been proposed as the identity of the giant Olmec heads?

A) Priests of the feathered-serpent
B) Deities
C) Maya overlords
D) Rulers

Question 5

Recent archaeological work in West Mexico has discovered that these people did not produce large-scale stone sculpture.In addition to this discovery,what other important find has been uncovered?

A) Stele indicating trade with the Anasazi
B) A Maya cemetery
C) Tiered platforms and ball courts
D) Vases indicating trade with Tula

Question 6

The modern-day region occupied by the Classic Maya was which of the following?

A) Caribbean coast of South America
B) Belize,southern Mexico,Honduras,and Guatemala
C) Southwestern Mexico
D) Valley of Mexico

Question 7

The layout of the La Venta site is an early form of the temple-pyramid and plaza complex.Which of the following is a possible explanation for the temple-pyramid?

A) Mimics the sacred mountain
B) Mimics the palace of the king
C) Is a very early form of the Maya temple-pyramid complex
D) Forms the diagram of the universe

Question 8

What significant change occurred at Teotihuacán?

A) It became the mediation center for the Maya.
B) It became the international trade center between Mexico and Guatemala.
C) It underwent monumental expansion into a genuine city.
D) It became the pilgrimage location for the Highland Maya.

Question 9

Which of the following does the urban plan of Teotihuacán most resemble?

A) Maya city planning
B) Anasazi city planning
C) Hellenistic and Roman city planning
D) Olmec city planning

Question 10

The Mesoamerican Mexican Preclassic period is ____.

A) 3000 BCE to CE 2000
B) 2000 BCE to CE 300
C) 100 to 900 CE
D) 200 to 500 CE

Question 11

Which of the following would support the belief that West Mexican tombs were filled with elaborate offerings?

A) Shallow graves that are easily accessed
B) Tomb sites associated with palace
C) Deep shafts with chambers at base
D) Tomb plaques that indicate wealth

Question 12

What architectural feature has been found in nearly all Mesoamerican cultures?

A) A circular temple
B) A ball court
C) A rectangular plaza with a fountain at the east end
D) An open courtyard with a kiva in the center

Question 13

How did the division of labor affect Mesoamerican societies?

A) It created a hierarchy that formed the social organization of the societies.
B) It allowed for greater food production.
C) It provided a greater variety of foods.
D) It allowed more land to be cultivated.

Question 14

West Mexican ceramics are noted for the small-scale narrative scenes including temples and houses with figurines shown in a variety of lively activities.Based on this information,which of the following would support their value for analysis?

A) They may provide informal glimpses into daily life.
B) They may provide a comparative assessment of Maya lifestyles.
C) They may provide economic information about trade items.
D) They provide concrete evidence of the religious significance of these figures.

Question 15

The human-animal representations used by Olmec religious practitioners are thought to symbolize which of the following?

A) Gods of the underworld
B) Transformations in order to wrest power from supernatural forces
C) The dance of life
D) The creation of the Olmec dynasty

Question 16

At regular intervals the Olmec as a community would convene for ritual observances at which of the following sites?

A) Teotihuacán and La Venta
B) Teotihuacán and Tula
C) San Lorenzo and La Venta
D) San Lorenzo and Teotihuacán

Question 17

The Olmec carved and polished ax-shaped forms are called ____.

A) hachas
B) palmas
C) celts
D) cinturas

Question 18

Which of the following would account for the unique cosmopolitan character of Teotihuacán?

A) The city's diversified populations
B) The city's tolerant acceptance of all deities
C) The city's position as the most important pilgrimage site
D) The city's relationship with the Maya of Guatemala

Question 19

The economic base of Mesoamerican Mexico was which of the following?

A) Production of ceramics
B) Cultivation of wheat
C) Exploitation of metal technology
D) Cultivation of maize (corn)

Question 20

What does Maya architecture signify?

A) Power of the priesthood
B) Importance of the marriage alliance
C) Importance of the cult of the mason
D) Power of the ruler

Question 21

Which of the following describes the southwest kiva?

A) A clay mound attached to the northeast corner of the pueblo
B) A large circular semi-subterranean structure
C) A small wooden structure located aboveground
D) A large tall stone structure located aboveground

Question 22

Ceramic figures from Jaina most often represented which of the following?

A) Memorials to rulers
B) Heroic figures from local legend
C) Scenes of sacrifice
D) Scenes from everyday life

Question 23

Which of the following was typical of Mayan art and architecture?

A) Unornamented architectural construction
B) Use of wood for sacred construction
C) Creation of huge ceremonial centers
D) Use of groined vaults

Question 24

How is the Chavín horizon style now defined?

A) The culmination of developments that began in Mexico
B) The culmination of developments centered in Yucatán
C) The culmination of developments,which began 2,000 years earlier elsewhere
D) The culmination of developments that began 200 years earlier in Chavín de Huántar

Question 25

Which of the groups below is often referred to as the "mother culture" of Mesoamerican Mexico?

A) Olmecs
B) Aztecs
C) Maya
D) Mixtecs

Question 26

Most extant objects from the Adena and Mississippian cultures were found in which of the following?

A) Village ceremonial sites
B) Kivas
C) Burial and temple mounds
D) Tall stone pyramids

Question 27

Corbelled vault construction was typical of the architecture of the ____.

A) Moche
B) Maya
C) Anasazi
D) Olmecs

Question 28

The feathered serpent is one guise of which Mesoamerican Mexican deity?

A) Quetzalcoatl
B) Tlaloc
C) Coatlicue
D) Coyolxauhqui

Question 29

We have a much better understanding of the chronology of Mesoamerica due to the deciphering of the writing and dating system of which of the following groups?

A) Olmecs
B) Mixtecs
C) Aztecs
D) Maya

Question 30

Like most Mesoamerican cities,Teotihuacán had a mural program.One mural features a goddess,earth or nature,thought to be the city's principal deity.Among the motifs ascribed to this deity are human hearts that were essential attributes in the Mesoamerican ritual of human sacrifice.Which of the following is an explanation for the ritual of human sacrifice?

A) Essential to agricultural renewal
B) Essential to kingly ritual
C) Essential for the renewal of the city
D) Essential for the inheritance of power

Question 31

How did Chavín iconography spread throughout the Andean region?

A) Via portable media
B) Via permanent and set stele with inscribed glyphs
C) Via active missionary priests
D) Via markers placed along the system of roads

Question 32

Which of the following describes Temple I at Tikal (Temple of the Giant Jaguar).

A) It is almost 150 feet below sea level.
B) The tomb of a ruler is found beneath it.
C) It is an excellent example of Aztec workmanship.
D) It is made of cement.

Question 33

Which site did the Aztec visit with a deep sense of reverence?

A) Copan
B) San Lorenzo
C) Teotihuacán
D) La Venta

Question 34

Teotihuacano murals most often depicted which of the following?

A) Ancestral spirits
B) Everyday life
C) Coming-of-age ceremonies
D) Deities and ritual activity

Question 35

Which of the following describes the Tairona pendants and their use?

A) Hammered gold,badges of office
B) Shaped clay,meant to be worn as ornaments
C) Hammered gold,meant to be worn as amulets and talismans
D) Shaped clay,tribal insignias

Question 36

Which of the following sites is not located in South America?

A) Chavín de Huántar
B) Tiwanaku
C) Chichén Itzá
D) Cuzco

Question 37

Which of the following was one of the purposes of Maya ritual?

A) Guaranteed the order of the state and the cosmos
B) Guaranteed the chaos of the cosmos
C) Guaranteed the sacrosanct nature of the ruler by excluding him from performing the rituals
D) Guaranteed the importance of the ruler by excluding him from performing the rituals