Deck 14: The Americas to the Fifteenth Century

Question 1

The Incan idea of a central relief fund is similar to which of the modern America concepts below?

A)an early form of disaster relief program
B)a primitive version of Social Security
C)some of the provisions of Medicare
D)elements of a welfare state
E)an ancient form of the Internal Revenue Service

Answer 1

elements of a welfare state

Question 2

In which field of science did the Maya achieve their most notable accomplishment?

A)astronomy
B)geography
C)horticulture
D)botany
E)chemistry

Answer 2

astronomy

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true of the Mayan civilization of Mexico?

A)It remains obscure because its written language has not been deciphered.
B)It was more advanced in the area of mathematics than was Europe at the time.
C)It never reached the level of advancement of the earlier Olmecs.
D)It has now had its entire written language deciphered.
E)It at one time reached a population of approximately 48 million people.

Answer 3

It was more advanced in the area of mathematics than was Europe at the time.

Question 4

Which of the following sites was considered a magnificent Incan achievement?

A)Chichén Itzá
B)Machu Picchu
C)Chaco Canyon
D)Cuzco
E)Tenochtitlán

Question 5

What was the main purpose of Mayan cities?

A)religion and government
B)trade and commerce
C)transportation hubs
D)communication
E)learning and religion

Question 6

Among the pre-Columbian Amerindians, the Aztec were probably the most accomplished in which of the following areas?

A)military organization and warfare
B)mathematics and astronomy
C)architecture and plastic arts
D)commerce and agriculture
E)record keeping and literacy

Question 7

What were the three sisters of food crops in the Mesoamerican civilizations?

A)maize, squash, and beans
B)corn, peppers, and cabbage
C)potatoes, maize, and turkeys
D)cocoa, beans, and wheat
E)corn, pasta, and rice

Question 8

What role did maize play in the lives of the Maya?

A)It was offered as a sacrifice to the gods.
B)It was passed down to the Maya from the Anasazi.
C)It was used as a currency for trade with other societies.
D)It was sacred because ancestors were created from its dough.
E)It played no role because the ground was too dry to produce the crop.

Question 9

Which ancient city had the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon at its ceremonial heart?

A)Chavin de Huántar
B)Teotihuacan
C)Chaco Canyon
D)Tenochtitlán
E)Cuzco

Question 10

All of the following was true of the Moche in South America EXCEPT

A)practiced metallurgy
B)made unusually realistic pottery
C)created elaborate ceremonial centers
D)controlled the Yucatan Peninsula
E)controlled the north river valleys in modern-day Peru

Question 11

What was one of the methods the Inca leaders used to help maintain control of those they conquered?

A)Removing the conquered people from their native lands.
B)Heavy  taxation to keep them poor and dependent on the Inca.
C)Placing military forces over them to enforce obedience.
D)Forcing them to serve in large numbers in military service for the Inca.
E)Using spies to help stamp out all resistance before it could get a strong foothold.

Question 12

Which of the following describes  calpulli ?

A)a Cahokian burial mound
B)an underground ceremonial chamber
C)an Incan record keeping system
D)an Aztec kinship group
E)a tool used by the Maya

Question 13

What other great civilization's ruins have been compared to the ruins of the Mayan civilization?

A)Sumeria
B)China
C)India
D)Egypt
E)Japan

Question 14

Which of the following was NOT true of the ayllu ?

A)It was originally based on kinship.
B)Ordinary people were organized into clans based on residence.
C)They were to pay taxes to the emperor.
D)The head of the ayllu was appointed by the boule.
E)The head of the ayllu was similar to a feudal baron.

Question 15

Which of these did the Inca NOT develop?

A)dams and canals
B)a strong military
C)monumental architecture
D)a written language
E)irrigation systems

Question 16

Why did Pachacuti Inca institute the practice of split inheritance in the 1450s?

A)to divide the Inca
B)to weaken the Inca
C)to develop an Incan empire
D)to keep regional dominance
E)to destroy kinship groups

Question 17

What large geographical area seems to have been the general center of the later Mayan civilization?

A)Lake Titicaca
B)Mexico's west coast
C)Isthmus of Tehuantepec
D)Teotihuacan
E)the Yucatan Peninsula

Question 18

Which of the following groups was at the bottom of the social hierarchy in Aztec society?

A)women
B)merchants
C)warriors
D)serfs
E)priests

Question 19

Which of the following was NOT a role of Mayan women?

A)tended to family garden and domestic animals
B)performed weaving
C)led religious rites at home
D)had no rights in society
E)participated in politics

Question 20

What was the main method the Aztec used to rule over subject peoples?

A)assimilation
B)shared administration
C)extermination
D)tolerance
E)terror

Question 21

____________________ was the New World's largest city in the 1400s.

Question 22

Why did the Aztecs believe that human sacrifices were necessary?

A)for the sun god to continue to bless their crops
B)for the gods to give them victory against their enemies
C)for the moon to continue its orbit
D)for the rains to fall
E)for children to be born healthy

Question 23

____________________ was the first correct city in the Western Hemisphere.

Question 24

____________________ was the mysterious mountaintop Inca city discovered in 1911.

Question 25

In the early centuries of the Common Era, the area around what is today Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona was settled, and saw the emergence of new civilizations. This area is known as the ____________________.

Question 26

Which of the following civilizations built dwellings of wood slats and mud as well as used terraced mounds for astronomical and religious purposes?

A)Hopewell
B)Anasazi
C)Hohokam
D)Cahokia
E)Moche

Question 27

____________________ was the largest pyramid in North America and built entirely of soil.

Question 28

____________________ were a militaristic civilization that dominated the Valley of Mexico around 900 C.E.

Question 29

Which of the following was NOT true of Pueblo Bonito?

A)It was the largest of Chaco Canyon's Great Houses, with over 600 rooms.
B)It was used for ceremonial and astronomical purposes.
C)It contained two dozen kivas .
D)Some of the Great Houses, including Pueblo Bonito, may have stood as much as five stories high.
E)The Great Houses were constructed over a period of about three centuries.

Question 30

Which of the following statements describes the Hohokam civilization?

A)They were one of the Woodland civilizations in North America.
B)They had ball courts similar to Mesoamerican courts.
C)They apparently only ate large mammals.
D)They did not farm.
E)They appeared around the modern-day state of Illinois.

Question 31

What was the relationship between Cahokia and the other Amerindian civilizations of that general period?

A)Cahokia seems to be related to the Mississippian civilization.
B)Cahokia was derived from the ancestral Puebloan civilization.
C)Cahokia was founded by the Toltecs.
D)Cahokia was the first to grow maize and taught the other civilizations about the new food source.
E)Cahokia was geographically centered in the Four Corners region.

Question 32

All of the following statements are reasons that would prompt a pre-Columbian Amerindian to travel to Chaco Canyon EXCEPT

A)to gain more information on lunar and solar cycles
B)to engage in trade
C)to be in a regional center
D)to participate in a religious ceremony
E)to seek refuge from flooding rivers

Question 33

Which of the following states was NOT part of the Four Corners region?

A)Utah
B)Colorado
C)New Mexico
D)Arizona
E)Nevada

Question 34

What was the purpose of kivas ?

A)hunting tools
B)storage containers
C)ball courts
D)underground ceremonial chambers
E)agricultural tools

Question 35

The Hopewell tradition is known for all of the following EXCEPT

A)They did not farm.
B)They engaged in trade from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.
C)They were a diverse group of societies.
D)They had craftspeople living within their societies who created beautiful works of art.
E)They had common burial practices and symbols of authority.

Question 36

A vast complex of Mayan buildings in the Yucatan Peninsula was called ____________________.

Question 37

____________________ was the language of the Inca Empire.

Question 38

Which of the following statements was true of Aztec society?

A)Officials of the emperor were wealthy landowners who purchased their offices so that they could then govern much like European feudal lords.
B)The majority of Aztecs were serfs and slaves, though those numbers fluctuated on a regular basis due to warfare.
C)Warriors recruited from the ranks of freemen could, after capturing at least four prisoners for ritual sacrifice, begin to keep some of the spoils of war for themselves.
D)Those who cared for the fields and the empire's network of roads were exempted from military service.
E)From decoded Aztec written records, we have learned that Aztec women had much more freedom than did many European women living during the same time period.

Question 39

The Mesoamerican civilizations referred to maize, squash, and beans as the ____________________.

Question 40

The   ____________________  civilization was able to raise maize, beans, and squash in the relatively dry desert by means of irrigation, which in some cases involved distances up to 16 miles from the Salt River.

Question 41

Term for identification: Chaco phenomenon

Question 42

Term for identification: Cahokia

Question 43

Discuss the similarities and differences in the roles of Aztec and Mayan women.

Question 44

Compare and contrast the development of the Aztec and Incan empires. Do you think this aided or hindered the conquest of these peoples by the Spaniards? Support your answer with examples.

Question 45

Term for identification: kivas

Question 46

Compare and contrast the Hohokam, Anasazi, Hopewell, and Mississippian  civilizations  including culture, population growth, trade, and food supplies.

Question 47

Term for identification: Hohokam

Question 48

Discuss the significance of trade for the pre-Columbian North American civilizations.  Include information on the possible trade aspects of Chaco Canyon and the Southwest Amerindian groups as well as the trade aspects of the Woodland Civilizations.

Question 49

Term for identification: Inca

Question 50

Term for identification: Chichén Itzá

Question 51

Compare and contrast the Maya, Teotihuacan, Aztec, and Incan empires including religion, agricultural, political, scientific, social, and cultural aspects.

Question 52

Term for identification: Hopewell tradition

Question 53

Term for identification: Four Corners region

Question 54

In what major ways did North American and Mesoamerican civilizations differ?

Question 55

Term for identification: Tenochtitl á n

Question 56

Term for identification: Monk's Mound