Deck 7: Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas

Question 1

The introduction of maize to the Andean region

A) resulted in the overthrow of the political leadership.
B) caused the abandonment of all other crops.
C) spurred empire building.
D) caused widespread malnutrition because of the low yield of maize.
E) increased food supplies, which allowed for greater urbanization.

Answer 1

increased food supplies, which allowed for greater urbanization.

Question 2

The Anasazi lived in

A) kivas.
B) pueblos.
C) mound houses.
D) cliff dwellings.
E) yurts.

Answer 2

cliff dwellings.

Question 3

Teotihuacan was ruled by a(n)

A) monarchy.
B) oligarchy.
C) military dictatorship.
D) monarchy and an oligarchy.
E) oligarchy and a military dictatorship.

Answer 3

oligarchy.

Question 4

The economy of the Hopewell people of North America was based on

A) no sedentary activities, but trading of plants for medicine.
B) full-scale domesticated agriculture.
C) hunting and gathering, with limited agriculture.
D) fishing and trade.
E) long-distance trade.

Question 5

An example of the enduring impact of the Olmec on Mesoamerican life is

A) ritual dance honoring Shiva and Vishnu.
B) music played with copper bells.
C) evidence of the use of ritual masks for initiation ceremonies.
D) evidence of ritual ball games.
E) blue-dyed body art.

Question 6

Social and political organization in the North American tribes was dependent on

A) conquest.
B) tribute systems.
C) chiefdoms.
D) thanes .
E) shamans.

Question 7

The isolation of early American cultures

A) kept them from developing many of the attributes of civilization.
B) prevented the formation of social classes and slavery.
C) distinguished them from the world's other major cultural regions.
D) resulted in irreversible damage to the environment.
E) protected them from the ills of civilization.

Question 8

In addition to religious rituals, kivas were used for

A) council meetings.
B) military defense.
C) cooking.
D) trade.
E) weaving and making pottery.

Question 9

The giant head sculptures were

A) part of the Olmec culture.
B) copied from Egyptian culture.
C) certainly made by Nubian artists.
D) high in the Andes Mountains.
E) common in all American cultures.

Question 10

What caused the collapse of Teotihuacan ca. 650 C.E.?

A) Lack of fortification left them open to conquest by the Spanish.
B) Volcanic activity destroyed their civilization.
C) They competed with rival cities for resources.
D) Governmental corruption undermined their dominance.
E) We don't know; many theories have been suggested.

Question 11

Women in Maya society were

A) granted rights only while serving in temples.
B) rulers by ancient tradition and ritual.
C) allowed to live in segregated communities.
D) not allowed any rights in the patrilinear society.
E) central to the religious and economic life of every home.

Question 12

Which Mesoamerican group practiced human sacrifice?

A) Maya
B) Aztec
C) Olmec
D) Toltec
E) All of these

Question 13

What plants were domesticated and formed the staple of the Mesoamerican diet?

A) Corn, beans, and squash
B) Grapes, wheat, and olives
C) Wheat, barley, and legumes
D) Taro, plantains, and melons
E) Rice, yams, and plantains

Question 14

Which of the following Mesoamerican civilizations emerged first?

A) Toltecs
B) Olmec
C) Maya
D) Aztecs
E) Oaxacans

Question 15

Which was not part of the Maya reckoning of time?

A) The ritual calendar of 260 days, with thirteen months of twenty days
B) The solar calendar of 365 days in eighteen months of twenty days, plus five bad days
C) The long-count calendar, which began in 3114 B.C.E.
D) A lunar calendar of 344 days per year in thirteen months of twenty-eight days, with an extra month added once every four years
E) They didn't use any of these.

Question 16

Maya society was organized in which family system?

A) Matrilineal
B) Patrilineal
C) Unilateral
D) Communal parenting
E) Dictatorship

Question 17

The cultural core of early Olmec civilization was located at

A) La Venta.
B) Palenque.
C) Teothuacan.
D) San Lorenzo and La Venta.
E) Tres Zapotes.

Question 18

Why was Chavin de Huantar's location pivotal in its success?

A) It was located at the intersection of trade rou tes connecting the m ountain valleys and the coastal lowlands.
B) The rich farmland produced enormous agricultural surpluses.
C) The isolation from Andean societies prevented corrupting outside influences.
D) Its elevation was so high that it was difficult to invade.
E) Its location on the sea allowed for many positive outside influences and trade.

Question 19

What factor most likely led to the abandonment of Chaco Canyon in the twelfth century?

A) Drought
B) Warfare
C) Plague
D) Floods
E) Encroachment of the Spanish

Question 20

The only domesticated beast of burden in the Americas was the

A) horse.
B) llama.
C) camel.
D) bison.
E) cow.

Question 21

Rural people in Olmec society provided the elite urban minority with labor and food because

A) only city dwellers were offered as human sacrifices.
B) they were very well paid.
C) they needed protection from invaders.
D) most of the time the elite didn't ask for much.
E) they wanted to participate in the awe-inspiring religious rituals staged in the cities.

Question 22

Andean rulers kept track of population and tribute obligations by use of

A) calpollis.
B) prisoners.
C) khipus.
D) mit'a.
E) ayllus.

Question 23

What made the Chimù empire different from previous Andean civilizations?

A) It supported construction projects that required the coordination of large amounts of labor.
B) Its capital was constructed in a way that emphasized the power of the elite.
C) Its farmers relied on llamas and alpacas.
D) It did not collapse because of an environmental catastrophe or social unrest.
E) Its technologies and political institutions had no influence on later civilizations.

Question 24

As Chavín's power grew,

A) merchants became more important than priests in government.
B) soldiers increasingly used bronze weapons.
C) class distinctions in its society became more pronounced.
D) it imported a less diverse range of agricultural products.
E) it stopped relying on religious rituals to secure the allegiance of its people.

Question 25

Cahokia was

A) a Maya city.
B) a Mound Builder city.
C) the center of Four Corners Pueblo peoples.
D) in the Andes.
E) a pyramid in Mexico.

Question 26

Which of the following did not occur during the Mesoamerican classic period?

A) Population growth.
B) The emergence of more complex social hierarchies.
C) The emergence of large cities.
D) The invention of agricultural techniques such as terracing and irrigation.
E) Growth in the power of government.

Question 27

What were chinampas?

A) greenhouses that allowed for year-round cultivation of vegetables.
B) a new type of irrigation canal that made it possible to bring more land under cultivation.
C) a new kind of forge that made it possible to produce steel.
D) artificial islands with subsurface irrigation that dramatically increased agricultural yield.
E) the special racquets used in the Mesoamerican ball game.

Question 28

The Moche civilization was probably destroyed by

A) changes in climate.
B) conquest.
C) religious ritual.
D) failure of trade.
E) earthquakes.

Question 29

Which of the following has not been suggested as a cause of the collapse of Maya urban centers at the end of the classic period?

A) Disruption in trade routes caused by the fall of Teotihuacan.
B) Excessive population growth.
C) A crisis in the legitimacy of Maya rulers.
D) European conquest.
E) An environmental crisis.

Question 30

The Maya, like other Mesoamerican civilizations, carried out all their monumental construction projects without the benefit of

A) the lever.
B) the wheel.
C) tools of any kind.
D) mathematics.
E) large amounts of coordinated labor.

Question 31

In Andean civilizations, the mita was

A) a type of ayllu.
B) a term for the mysterious source of divine power, represented in the form of a jaguar.
C) a system for coordinating labor on large projects.
D) an alcoholic beverage made from honey.
E) a term used to refer to the gendered division of labor.

Question 32

To flourish, complex societies in the Andean region needed

A) carts and pulleys.
B) good sources of tin in order to make bronze.
C) to control territory in a variety of different ecological zones.
D) to avoid building on mountains.
E) none of these.

Question 33

Olmec cities served primarily as

A) trading hubs.
B) places for the poor to live.
C) astronomical calendars, like Stonehenge.
D) religious centers.
E) centers of bureaucratic administration.

Question 34

When the Maya took captives in war, they

A) sacrificed the commoners and held the nobles for ransom.
B) sacrificed the nobles and enslaved the commoners.
C) tortured and killed them on the spot.
D) saw it as an act with no religious significance.
E) sacrificed the commoners and enslaved the nobles, in order to humiliate them.

Question 35

The clan structure that provided for communal ownership of land in the Andean civilizations was

A) ayllu.
B) altepetl.
C) kormire'.
D) matrilinear village.
E) mit'a.

Question 36

Moche civilization was

A) democratic.
B) oligarchic.
C) a military dictatorship.
D) a monarchy.
E) theocratic.

Question 37

Mayan writing was

A) alphabetic.
B) a mixture of pictographic signs and phonetic symbols.
C) pictographic.
D) derived from cuneiform.
E) alphabetic, but with vowels omitted.

Question 38

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Olmec

Question 39

Which of the following made the Toltec different from previous Mesoamerican civilizations?

A) Their government was based on military power.
B) They practiced human sacrifice.
C) Their city centers featured spectacular stone monuments.
D) The regions they controlled were ethnically diverse.
E) They were the source of nearly all Mesoamerica's cultural achievements.

Question 40

Llamas and alpacas were valued by Andean civilizations for

A) wool.
B) food.
C) transportation.
D) All of these.
E) None of these; they we re considered sacred for religious reasons.

Question 41

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
mit'a

Question 42

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
llama

Question 43

As Mesoamerican populations grew, political institutions gained in power. How did the power of these institutions affect Mesoamerican society?

Question 44

What was the Maya view of the cosmos?

Question 45

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Toltecs

Question 46

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Chavin

Question 47

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Teotihuacan

Question 48

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Moche

Question 49

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
chiefdom

Question 50

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
ayllu

Question 51

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Chimú

Question 52

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
chinampas

Question 53

Choose an important city in Mesoamerica before the fifteenth century C.E. and describe it. Are there aspects of that city life that match your experience with cities?

Question 54

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Wari

Question 55

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Culhuacàn

Question 56

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Anasazi

Question 57

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Maya

Question 58

Briefly discuss the impact of geography and the effects caused by the isolation of America in relation to the development of civilization in America. Use specific examples from Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations.

Question 59

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
tzompantli

Question 60

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Tiwanaku

Question 61

What features of Maya and Toltec culture were similar? What were the differences?

Question 62

What were the cultural and technological contributions of the Maya?

Question 63

Compare and contrast the Olmec and Chavín civilizations, paying particular attention to the role of geography and religion in each.

Question 64

What was the influence of religion on politics in the Mesoamerican world?