Deck 13: Art of the Americas Before 1300

Question 1

How did the discovery of an offering of carefully arranged figures in La Venta contribute to art history's knowledge of the Olmec?

A) It demonstrated their skills at carving.
B) It provided a context for similar figures found elsewhere.
C) It explained Olmec ritual practice and belief.
D) It proved the Olmecs interacted with other cultures.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

How does the Mayan site of Tikal conform to the uneven terrain of the rainforest?

A) the use of a grid plan
B) the buildings are terraced into the mountains
C) structures placed on high ground connected by causeways
D) the use of temporary structures made of impermanent materials

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which North American culture did NOT create burial and ceremonial earthworks?

A) the Adena
B) the Hopewell
C) the Mississippian
D) the Pueblo

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The city of Teotihuacan was planned around what distinctive feature?

A) a grid system that organized extensive residential structures
B) a broad thoroughfare laid along a North-South axis
C) the Ciudadela
D) a high mountain plateau

Question 5

Mayan temples set atop steep pyramids with _______levels, which probably reflected the culture's concept of the underworld.

A) 3
B) 6
C) 9
D) 10

Question 6

What is indicated by the form emerging from the priest's mouth in the fresco of the Bloodletting Ritual from Teotihuacan?

A) the priest's chanted words
B) his own blood, released to fertilize the earth
C) the date and location of the ceremony
D) the pain of the bloodletting process

Question 7

The Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque is built above a corbel-vaulted stairway that leads to __________.

A) a natural spring, which may have been the original focus of worship
B) the subterranean tomb of the ruler Pakal the Great
C) a chamber with extensive reliefs and inscriptions that give the temple its name
D) none of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT true about Mayan writing?

A) The same word can be written in multiple ways.
B) Writing was closely related to the production of painted imagery.
C) Inscriptions typically record historical events.
D) Extant codices provide information about Mayan religious practice.

Question 9

The different architectural style and art emphasizing military conquests seen at the city of __________ demonstrates the influence of Central Mexico on the Maya in the post-classic period.

A) Chichen Itza
B) Yaxchilan
C) Palenque
D) Tikal

Question 10

How is the relief carving of Lady Xok's Vision (Accession Ceremony) characteristic of Mayan sculpture?

A) The relief is very high.
B) It depicts a scene of courtly life.
C) The key figures shown are human.
D) All of the above.

Question 11

Which Mesoamerican culture's architecture is characterized by talud-tablero construction, where a sloping base supports a flat entablature?

A) Olmec
B) Teotihuacan
C) Mayan
D) Aztec

Question 12

The ancient Olmec culture produced____________________.

A) colossal heads with individualized features
B) stone mosaics and objects buried beneath ritual sites
C) jade objects and tools
D) all of the above

Question 13

How is Andean culture distinguished from the artistic developments in other parts of the world?

A) the early production of textiles
B) the extensive of gold in secular and ritual objects
C) the early manufacture of functional ceramic vessels
D) the lack of monumental architecture

Question 14

The discovery of ___________at Olmec sites is evidence of long-distance trade with other parts of Mesoamerica.

A) jade
B) woven textiles
C) basalt
D) all of the above

Question 15

Situated in an environment of_____, the Olmec culture built massive earth mounds where ceremonial centers were located.

A) arid deserts and plains
B) swampy coastal areas
C) densely forested mountains
D) fertile river valleys

Question 16

Mayan inscriptions on architecture and stelae commonly_______________.

A) offer prayers to the gods
B) record specific historical events
C) serve an ornamental function
D) provide instruction for ritual practice

Question 17

How does the architecture of Chavin de Huantar reflect its position as an important religious center in the Andean highlands on a trade route between the coast and Amazon basin?

A) the U-shaped Old Temple
B) the sunken circular courtyards
C) the synthesis of regional architectural forms
D) none of the above

Question 18

Which of the following features was shared by the different cultures of Mesoamerica?

A) a common language
B) a centralized system of government
C) a supreme deity
D) a ritual ballgame

Question 19

The Nazca are best known for their colossal __________.

A) earthworks
B) sculpted heads
C) temples
D) chacmools

Question 20

What Mayan object commonly included inscriptions or painted text?

A) cylinder vessels
B) wall paintings
C) monumental stelae
D) all of the above

Question 21

The Diquis culture produced elaborate jewelry that reflects ________________.

A) their belief in gold's supernatural powers
B) their mythological beliefs
C) their ritual practices
D) all of the above

Question 22

What feature of Southwestern pictographs is NOT shared by the prehistoric cave paintings found in Europe?

A) They depict animals and human figures.
B) They may record a successful hunting expedition.
C) They were made by scraping away the brown bacteria on the canyon wall.
D) They may have ritual significance.

Question 23

The Maya perfected a more sophisticated version of the Mesoamerican _____________, which was used in recording the accomplishments of their rulers.

A) burial site
B) temple
C) ballgame
D) calendar

Question 24

Much of what we know about Mayan courtly life comes from paintings on _________________.

A) cylinder vases
B) rectangular vases
C) wall reliefs
D) wood statues

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT an early culture of the early American Southwest?

A) Hohokam
B) Mimbres/Mogollon
C) Ancestral Puebloans
D) Maya

Question 26

Textiles produced by the Paracas culture are characterized by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the predominance of male artists
B) the use of many colors in a single textile
C) twining, knotting, and braiding fibers
D) repeated embroidered figures

Question 27

The nine great houses at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico are referred to as_________.

A) pueblos
B) dwellings
C) hause
D) mimbres

Question 28

The woodhenges (circles of wooden columns) found at the Mississippian culture of Cahokia seem related to _______________.

A) astronomical observation
B) a ritual ball game
C) food preparation and other domestic tasks
D) defending the city from enemies and wild animals

Question 29

The Beaver Effigy Platform Pipe is used by the smoker in such a way that the smoker would be face to face with the beaver figure's ____________ eyes.

A) pearl
B) jade
C) bone
D) pipestone

Question 30

The Moche culture of Peru is known for their realistic ____________ vessels, made in the shape of naturalistically modeled human beings.

A) burial
B) portrait
C) landscape
D) scroll

Question 31

The ___________ at Teotihuacan is built over a multi-chambered cave with a spring, which may have been the original focus of worship at the site.

A) Pyramid of the Sun
B) Pyramid of the Moon
C) Temple of the Inscriptions
D) Avenue of the Dead

Question 32

_____________ are often found on canyon walls where artists could scrape away the dark brown bacterial staining called "desert varnish" and expose the lighter sandstone beneath.

A) Hieroglyphs
B) Petroglyphs
C) Pictographs
D) Stereographs

Question 33

The Temple of the Feathered Serpent includes high-relief carvings depicting a serpent with the goggle-eyed headdress associated with the Teotihuacan ______________.

A) Lightning God
B) Sun God
C) Storm God
D) Thunder God

Question 34

Evidence of the Moche culture's sophisticated metallurgy skills are the gold-and-turquoise _________ found in the tomb of the Warrior Priest at Sipán.

A) earspools
B) headdresses
C) belts
D) necklaces

Question 35

What is a distinguishing feature of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon?

A) It had multiple stories and many rooms.
B) It stood at the hub of a network of roads to other communities.
C) It was a site of low-fired pottery production.
D) It was built on ledges under sheltering cliffs.

Question 36

The naturalism that characterizes sculpted animal and bird heads of the Florida Glades culture demonstrates ___________________.

A) the artistic influence of Western cultures
B) their remarkable powers of observation
C) their belief that supernatural beings inhabited the sculptures
D) the narrative function of art in the culture

Question 37

The Paracas culture is best known for its beautiful __________, which were found wrapped around bodies of the dead.

A) belts
B) necklaces
C) textiles
D) bracelets

Question 38

What evidence suggests that the Hohokam culture of the American Southwest had ties with Mesoamerican culture of the period?

A) the imagery found on Hohokam pottery
B) the presence of jade objects
C) ballcourts at the Hohokam site
D) all of the above

Question 39

The ________ people produced pipes, depicting forest animals and birds, which have been found from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico.

A) Parachas
B) Moche
C) Maya
D) Hopewell

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Pueblo kivas?

A) They were the site of religious ritual and initiation.
B) They have a dome-like roof made of interlocking pine logs.
C) A central hole in the roof admits a shaft of light on summer solstice.
D) An indentation on the floor recalls the culture's mythic origins.

Question 41

What was the appearance and possible purpose of the colossal Olmec heads found in Mexico?

Question 42

What advancements were developed by the people of Mesoamerica?

Question 43

Where is the Great Serpent Mound of the Mississippian culture located?

A) Louisiana
B) Ohio
C) Mississippi
D) Indiana

Question 44

For what achievements are the Maya known?

Question 45

What do the carved lintels of a palace in Yaxchilan represent?

Question 46

What monuments are present in the Ceremonial Center of the city of Teotihuacan?

Question 47

How were the people of Central America different from their neighbors in Mesoamerica?

Question 48

What are the principle monuments of Teotihuacan?

Question 49

What characterized the Early Horizon period?

Question 50

What was the lifestyle of the North American people between 5000 and 1000 BCE?

Question 51

What are the prominent features of Chichen Itza, and why are they different from earlier sites?

Question 52

What features were shared by the different civilizations of Mesoamerica?

Question 53

What are the Nazca geoglyphs and what might have been their use?

Question 54

What were two uses of Hopewell pipes?

Question 55

What are the characteristics of the Mayan ideal of beauty?

Question 56

The earspools worn by the Moche warriors on the gold and turquoise Earspool illustrate what notable features of Moche art?

A) capacity for naturalism
B) close attention to detail
C) frequent use of gold in their jewelry
D) all of the above

Question 57

How and why did Mayan artists create their work?

Question 58

How did the lives of the coastal central Andes people differ from those who lived in the highlands?

Question 59

What did the Paracas culture use textiles for?

Question 60

The Moche culture's development of________________ allowed them to mass-produce some of their pottery forms.

A) lost-wax technique
B) low-fire glazes
C) ceramic molds
D) hand-building

Question 61

What monumental structures were built in the ancient Americas?

Question 62

Discuss the cultures of North America and their various earthworks.

Question 63

How might the Great Serpent Mound relate to Haley's comet?

Question 64

Discuss the similarities and differences characterizing the major cultures of Mesoamerica.

Question 65

Why might the most extensive great house in Chaco Canyon, Pueblo Bonito, have had so many rooms?

Question 66

What three cultures rose in the early American Southwest?