Question 1

The first civic structures built by the Maya were:

Accepted Answer

A)  fully formed pyramids 
B)  mastabas 
C)  aqueducts 
D)  stepped platforms

Question 2

Mayanist David Webster estimates that about what percentage of the Maya population were food producers:

Accepted Answer

A)  90% 
B)  75% (about the same as Egypt) 
C)  66% 
D)  50%

Question 3

Discuss the results of a strontium isotopes analysis on the teeth of people buried at the Maya site of Copan. What do those results imply in terms of Maya politics?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss the results of a strontium isotopes...

Question 4

The constellation of Maya cultural practices-construction of large monuments, leaving hieroglyphic messages on stelae, controlling vast trading networks-declined dramatically after:

Accepted Answer

A)  A.D. 1000 
B)  A.D. 800 
C)  A.D. 400 
D)  A.D. 250

Question 5

What are the key features of the "Classic Maya" civilization?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the key features of the...

Question 6

Archaeological evidence shows that the Maya:

Accepted Answer

A)  were a people who fought bloody wars waged over trade and agricultural land 
B)  live in a peaceful society with a greater interest in the cosmos than in the mundane aspects of life 
C)  never attained a state-level society 
D)  lived in harmony with nature

Question 7

The Maya centers of Uxmal and Chichen Itza date to the:

Accepted Answer

A)  Preclassic Period 
B)  Classic Period 
C)  Postclassic Period 
D)  Postcontact Period

Question 8

How might local climate change have contributed to the decline of the Maya civilization after A. D. 800?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How might local climate change have contributed...

Question 9

Who was Fire Is Born? Where did he come from? What did he accomplish? What were the results of his actions?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Who was Fire Is Born? Where did...

Question 10

In A. D. 1521, Spanish conquistadors entered Tenochtitlán, which was:

Accepted Answer

A)  the highland valley where maize had first been domesticated 
B)  a ceremonial center in the Bolivian highlands 
C)  the capital of the Aztec empire 
D)  the ruins of an ancient city northeast of the modern city of Mexico City

Question 11

The city's name, Teotihuacán, was given by the Aztecs. It means:

Accepted Answer

A)  Ancient Enemies 
B)  Heaven 
C)  Where the Gods Are Made 
D)  Land of the Giants

Question 12

About how many surviving hieroglyphic inscriptions have been found on Maya buildings, monuments, and stelae:

Accepted Answer

A)  15,000 
B)  8,000 
C)  350 
D)  3

Question 13

The apartments of various residents of Teotihuacán exhibit:

Accepted Answer

A)  no diversity at all but seem to reflect an egalitarian element of Teotihuacán society 
B)  tremendous diversity, from the enormous and palatial homes of the elites to the tiny, poorly made homes of the vast population of Teotihuacán's poor 
C)  some but not an enormous level of social and economic inequality, and there is little evidence of abject poverty 
D)  evidence for the presence of two major religions at the site

Question 14

The Maya system of record keeping was:

Accepted Answer

A)  the first writing system in the New World 
B)  a hieroglyphic system with a number of astonishing similarities to that of ancient Egypt 
C)  not a writing system at all, but one based on knotted strings 
D)  derived from the older Olmec system of writing

Question 15

Fire Is Born was:

Accepted Answer

A)  a military ruler from Teotihuacán who inspired the Maya growth and expansion 
B)  the primary Maya deity 
C)  the name the Maya gave to Cortes, the Spanish conquistador, because of the firearms employed by the invaders in their war against the Maya 
D)  the first ruler of Palenque

Question 16

The capital of the Zapotec empire was:

Accepted Answer

A)  Teotihuacan 
B)  Uxmal 
C)  Monte Alban 
D)  Tikal

Question 17

Did the Maya calendar predict the end of the world on December 21, 2012:

Accepted Answer

A)  no 
B)  absolutely not 
C)  of course not 
D)  all of the above

Question 18

Describe the civilization of Teotihuacán. How did its enormous empire evolve?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the civilization of Teotihuacán. How did...

Question 19

The hieroglyphic inscription unearthed at the site of Dos Pilas:

Accepted Answer

A)  is the earliest version of the Popul Vuh, the Maya creation myth 
B)  bears a remarkable resemblance in its form to Egyptian hieroglyphics 
C)  provides a list of the names of Maya kings 
D)  relates the story of a war between the cities of Tikal and Calakmul

Question 20

The basic elements of Maya civilization included:

Accepted Answer

A)  a socially stratified society with an elite social class headed by a powerful great king 
B)  monumental temples with stone altars and palaces with corbelled arches 
C)  human sacrifice, a hieroglyphic written language, and a base 20-number system 
D)  all of the above

Exam 12: An Explosion of Complexity: Mesoamerica