Deck 17: Worlds Apart: The Americas and Oceania

Question 1

The influence of the Maya on the Toltecs can be seen in the similarities between Tula and the Maya city of

A)Tenochtitlan.
B)Teotihuacan.
C)Cuzco.
D)Cahokia.
E)Chichén Itzá.

Answer 1

Chichén Itzá.

Question 2

According to Mexica values,the primary role of women

A)was to serve as attendants in temples dedicated to the warrior cult.
B)was to serve as priestesses in the mysterious Chavín cult.
C)was to serve as unofficial political and social leaders,while the men served as warriors.
D)was to bear children.
E)increased when the men were away at war,much as with ancient Sparta.

Answer 2

was to bear children.

Question 3

The word Aztlán means

A)"the place of the seven legendary caves."
B)"the great feathered serpent."
C)"the hungry ghosts."
D)"the sun god."
E)"the warrior god."

Answer 3

"the place of the seven legendary caves."

Question 4

When the Mexica migrated to central Mexico they

A)adopted cultural and religious traditions shared by the peoples of Mesoamerica.
B)imposed their own traditions on the societies of Mesoamerica.
C)were not influenced by the traditions of the societies of Mesoamerica.
D)dramatically improved the limited cultural achievements of their Mesoamerican predecessors.
E)largely copied the existing brilliant Inca traditions.

Question 5

A Mexica woman who died in childbirth

A)suffered the greatest shame for her inability to serve the state.
B)was denied the right to pass on to the afterworld.
C)won the same fame as warriors who died valiantly in battle.
D)was seen as a sign of the gods' displeasure with the tribe.
E)was considered to be a sacrifice to the rain god.

Question 6

Bernal Díaz del Castillo was

A)the conquistador who defeated the Incas.
B)the founder of the Jesuits.
C)a Spanish missionary who made his way to India.
D)the conquistador who defeated the Maya.
E)a Spanish soldier who left detailed records of the Aztecs.

Question 7

The Toltec state collapsed by around 1175 because

A)they were conquered by a powerful Aztec army.
B)of a combination of civil conflict and nomadic invasion.
C)of the resurgence of Maya power.
D)of the spread of smallpox.
E)of an invasion by the Incas.

Question 8

The capital of the Aztec empire was

A)Tula.
B)Teotihuacan.
C)Cuzco.
D)Tenochtitlan.
E)Chichén Itzá.

Question 9

Mexica priests

A)played a very limited role in society.
B)had great power as advisors to the rulers.
C)made up the bulk of sacrificed victims.
D)spent the majority of their time working to improve the lives of slaves.
E)attended special state-funded schools.

Question 10

Most Mexica slaves

A)were captives of war.
B)were purchased from the Inca.
C)were not foreigners,but Mexica.
D)lost their free status because of their refusal to participate in the sacrificial ceremony.
E)were women.

Question 11

Teotihuacan was

A)the greatest Toltec king.
B)the largest early Mesoamerican city.
C)the Aztec god of the dead.
D)the Inca goddess of fertility.
E)a Central American bird whose brightly-colored plumage was traded by the Aztecs.

Question 12

Women in Aztec society

A)played a much more important role than in Inca society.
B)played almost no public role.
C)determined the identity of the emperor.
D)played a dominant role.
E)were significant because of the nature of matrilineal society.

Question 13

Rulers among the Mexica were chosen by

A)trials of combat.
B)matrilineal descent.
C)a council made up of the most successful warriors.
D)land ownership.
E)patriarchal descent.

Question 14

In the Aztec social hierarchy,most of the honors and rewards went to the

A)priests.
B)women.
C)farmers.
D)military elite.
E)bureaucrats.

Question 15

Chinampa system refers to the

A)process by which the Aztecs determined victims for ritualistic sacrifice.
B)Aztec practice of dredging fertile muck from the lake's bottom.
C)core of the Inca imperial administrative structure.
D)Inca system for memorizing facts without the use of a written language.
E)mixed agricultural and hunting system practiced by the Iroquois.

Question 16

Mexica

A)was the region that originally gave rise to the first Aztecs.
B)was the name of the lake where the Aztecs established their capital.
C)were the people who were later called Aztecs.
D)was the principal god of the early Aztecs.
E)was the leading pre-Inca society in South America.

Question 17

The Aztec expansion began under

A)Motecuzoma I.
B)Motecuzoma II.
C)Itzcóatl.
D)Quetzalcóatl.
E)Topa.

Question 18

The most important city of the Toltecs was

A)Tula.
B)Teotihuacan.
C)Cuzco.
D)Tenochtitlan.
E)Cahokia.

Question 19

Tezcatlipoca was

A)a god that the Aztecs introduced to Mesoamerica.
B)the patron deity of warriors.
C)the main god of the Aztecs.
D)the Aztec god that supported the arts and agriculture.
E)the Aztec god of suicide.

Question 20

By the middle of the fifteenth century,the Mexica had formed a triple alliance with

A)the Maya and Incas.
B)the Toltecs and Maya.
C)the Incas and Iroquois.
D)Tenochtitlan and Cuzco.
E)Texcoco and Tlacopan.

Question 21

Cahokia was the

A)legendary founder of the Inca people.
B)dominant South American society before the rise of the Incas.
C)North American mound that was the third largest structure in the pre-Columbian Americas.
D)Aztec god also known as "the Smoking Mirror."
E)Maya woman who translated for the Spanish.

Question 22

A marae was

A)a Pacific ceremonial precinct and temple structure.
B)a member of the priestly class in Hawai`i.
C)a Polynesian sun god.
D)the type of open boat that allowed for continual trade between the Pacific islands.
E)a family of water sprites that were a central feature in Pacific island mythology.

Question 23

The massive stone palace at Nan Madol was located in the

A)Caroline Islands.
B)American southwest.
C)Inca empire.
D)Aztec empire.
E)Cahokia complex in North America.

Question 24

The Hawaiian class of high chiefs were known as the

A)kapu.
B)ali`i nui.
C)marae.
D)heiau.
E)chimu.

Question 25

Tezcatlipoca was also known as

A)"the Feathered Serpent."
B)"the Fire From Above."
C)"the Devourer of Children."
D)"the Hungry God."
E)"the Smoking Mirror."

Question 26

The native peoples north of Mexico

A)possessed no form of writing.
B)invented a style of writing that was much more complex and useful than that of the Aztecs.
C)copied their writing system from the Aztecs.
D)used a series of hieroglyphics that were very similar to the Maya script.
E)developed three distinct forms of writing,none of which can be read today.

Question 27

The Pueblo and Navajo peoples of the American southwest

A)were the most nomadic of the North American native peoples.
B)formed a political partnership with the Iroquois nations.
C)lived a settled,agricultural existence.
D)eventually fell under Aztec control.
E)were wiped out after a bloody confrontation with the Maya.

Question 28

Rulers of which group deliberated state policy in the presence of the mummies of their predecessors?

A)Inca
B)Aztec
C)Chimu
D)Pueblo
E)Maya

Question 29

The Aztecs viewed human sacrifice as a(n)

A)means of mass entertainment.
B)form of state terrorism to terrify their enemies into submission.
C)essential ritual to ensure the world's survival.
D)primitive act performed ignorantly by their ancestors.
E)necessary evil to maintain their alliance with the wealthy Inca.

Question 30

The five Iroquois nations were the

A)Oneida,Onondaga,Cayuga,Seneca,and Cahokia.
B)Oneida,Pueblo,Navajo,Seneca,and Onondaga.
C)Mohawk,Oneida,Cahokia,Seneca,and Onondaga.
D)Onondaga,Mohawk,Seneca,Cayuga,and Pueblo.
E)Mohawk,Oneida,Onondaga,Cayuga,and Seneca.

Question 31

North American societies

A)developed on a relatively small scale.
B)were much larger than the Mesoamerican or South American societies.
C)were mainly influenced by the Aztecs.
D)were mainly influenced by the Incas.
E)were mainly influenced by the Maya.

Question 32

The kingdom of Chucuito was located in

A)southwest North America.
B)northeast North America.
C)Mesoamerica.
D)Oceania.
E)South America.

Question 33

The capital of the Inca empire was

A)Teotihuacan.
B)Tula.
C)Cuzco.
D)Chimu.
E)Chanchan.

Question 34

The cultural and religious traditions of the Australian aborigines

A)spread throughout Australia as the aborigines conquered.
B)died out completely before the arrival of the Europeans.
C)eventually spread to the islands of Oceania.
D)did not diffuse much beyond their own regions.
E)were surprisingly similar to that of the ancient Aryans.

Question 35

The capital city of Chimu was

A)Chanchan.
B)Tula.
C)Teotihuacan.
D)Cahokia.
E)Cuzco.

Question 36

The Inca sun god was

A)Viracocha.
B)Huitzilopochtli.
C)Cuzco.
D)Quetzalcóatl.
E)Inti.

Question 37

Most Aztec human sacrifices were in honor of

A)Quetzalcóatl.
B)Tezcatlipoca.
C)Itzcóatl.
D)Huitzilopochtli.
E)Viracocha.

Question 38

The ruler that began the first major expansion of the Inca empire was

A)Atahualpa.
B)Itzcóatl.
C)Pachacuti.
D)Quetzalcóatl.
E)Viracocha.

Question 39

The Inca quipu was

A)a mnemonic aid consisting of small cords with knots.
B)the underground irrigation system that allowed for an agricultural surplus.
C)the head priest in charge of determining victims for human sacrifice.
D)the underworld.
E)a type of demon who inhabited the night and who tempted the spiritually unprepared.

Question 40

The Incas encouraged obedience from subject peoples

A)through the use of extreme terror.
B)through the spread of a common written language.
C)by forcing the worship of their main god,Huitzilopochtli.
D)by taking hostages from the conquered tribes' ruling classes.
E)through a surprisingly modern professional police force.

Question 41

What could the emphasis on human sacrifice tell you about the Aztec state and religion? In what ways was it a continuation of traditional Mesoamerican practices? In what ways was it not? Is the Aztec emphasis on human sacrifice similar to any other societies studied so far?

Question 42

Examine native North American societies.How were these societies different and how were they similar?

Question 43

Cuzco served as the administrative,religious,and ceremonial center of the Inca empire.

Question 44

Aztec newborn girls were told,"Thou wilt be in the heart of the home,thou wilt go nowhere." Explain the significance of those instructions.What was the role of women in this military society? Compare the status of women in the Aztec empire to the role of women in other military societies studied so far.

Question 45

With seasonal migrations,encounters with other people,and trade,the aboriginal people of Australia diffused their cultural traditions throughout the Pacific islands.

Question 46

Examine the formation of the Aztec empire.What were the foundations of Aztec success? Who were the important leaders?

Question 47

The Mexica looked only upon certain portions of the male population as potential warriors.

Question 48

Compare the social,political,and religious worlds of the Americas and Oceania.In what ways were they similar? In what ways were they different?

Question 49

Compare the social and religious structures of the Aztec and Inca empires.How might these structures help to explain their success?

Question 50

Examine the Toltec society.In what ways was it a continuation of earlier Mesoamerican societies? What was its influence on later societies?

Question 51

An extensive road system enabled the central government at Cuzco to communicate with all parts of the Inca empire.

Question 52

Fishponds allowed Hawaiians to harvest large quantities of mature fish with relative ease,and thus contributed to the islanders' supply of food.

Question 53

From the time of the Olmecs,Mesoamerican peoples had regarded the ritual sacrifice of human beings as essential to the world's survival.

Question 54

What factors might explain the differences between the native peoples of North America and those of Mesoamerica and South America?

Question 55

According to Bernardino de Sahagún,newborn Aztec boys were told,"Heed,hearken: thy home is not here ...Thou hast been sent into warfare." What can this simple statement tell you about Aztec society? What role did warriors play in Aztec society? Compare the Aztecs to other societies you've covered so far.

Question 56

Examine the rise of the Inca empire.What were the leading factors in this movement? Who were the important leaders?

Question 57

The indigenous peoples of the Americas had only sporadic dealings with their contemporaries across the oceans.

Question 58

Unlike imperial states in the eastern hemisphere,the Aztec empire had no elaborate bureaucracy or administration.

Question 59

High chiefs guided the affairs of complex societies throughout Polynesia,as they allocated land,mobilized the work force,and organized men into military service.

Question 60

About 1438,the Inca ruler Pachacuti launched a series of military campaigns that expanded the Incas' authority.

Question 61

What are some of the notable achievements of Inca society?

Question 62

Describe the respective role of priests and peasants in Inca society.

Question 63

What are the distinctive features of the Mexica social structure?

Question 64

What are the distinctive aspects of Mexica religion? What is the purpose of human sacrifice?

Question 65

What role did trade play in the nomadic foraging societies of Australia?

Question 66

Examine the picture of the mummified Inca ruler on page 319.How was the Inca ruler viewed by his subjects? Have we seen anything similar in other societies?

Question 67

Look at the picture of Nan Madol on page 323.What does the building of this structure tell you about the evolution of religious and political concepts in Oceania?

Question 68

What are some of the typical trade goods within the Aztec empire? Which items particularly impressed the Spanish?

Question 69

Examine Map 17.1,The Toltec and Aztec empires,950-1520C.E.What was the relationship between these societies? How did they influence each other? Why were the Aztecs able to put together such a large empire?

Question 70

Look at the reproduction of the Mexica list on page 312.How important was the role of writing to the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican societies? How does the role of writing for these tribes relate to that of the tribes of North and South America? What role did tribute from its conquered peoples play in the Aztec success?

Question 71

Examine the picture of the Great Serpent Mound on page 316.What were the religious or functional purposes behind mound-building by North American peoples? Why didn't the societies of North America build states as large or as powerful as those of their counterparts in Mesoamerica and South America?

Question 72

Which of the societies of North America had developed settled agriculture by the fifteenth century? What kind of agriculture was typical?

Question 73

What are some of the distinctive features of Mexica agriculture? Why was it so productive?

Question 74

How did the Mexica people establish their authority over the peoples of central Mexico? How did the Mexica treat conquered peoples?

Question 75

What are the distinctive features of the agricultural societies to emerge in the Pacific islands before western contact?