Deck 13: Mesoamerica

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the Danzantes carvings at Monte Alban?

A) a chamber used only for ceremonial feasts held by the elite
B) the site of the first use of the "roof comb," an architectural device to enhance the height of structures
C) a depiction of dozens of sacrificial victims
D) a mural showing ceremonial dancers in elaborate costumes

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following sites was not a Classic Maya center?

A) Copan
B) Palenque
C) Teotihuacan
D) Tikal

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following statements about our knowledge of the Mesoamerican ball game is incorrect?

A) there are likely three main forms of the game with an unknown number of variants
B) absolutely nothing is known about the rules of the game or how it was actually played
C) most balls were made from the latex sap of the lowland Castilla elastica tree
D) ball courts vary considerably in shape and size, but are typically "I"-shaped

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Major architectural features of Teotihuacan include all of the following structures, with the exception of the __________________.

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

Question 5

The __________________ culture of the Formative period made use of the Long Count, an elaborate calendrical system used by the Maya.

A) Oaxacan
B) Zapotec
C) Aztec
D) Olmec

Question 6

All of the following are Olmec traits that are major themes in later Mesoamerican cultures EXCEPT:

A) large public monuments
B) ball game rituals
C) luxury goods
D) elaborate written music

Question 7

The politically dominant ethnic group in the Valley of Oaxaca during the Classic Period were the __________________.

A) Zapotecs
B) Maya
C) Toltecs
D) Mixtecs

Question 8

Teotihuacan became the greatest urban center in the Basin of Mexico after much of the infrastructure of the city of Cuicuilco was destroyed by __________________.

A) a series of droughts
B) a collapse of the city's irrigation system
C) several volcanic eruptions
D) invading Aztec armies

Question 9

Plant domestication allowed for the development of the first complex societies in North America. Maize and __________________ were especially important domesticates.

A) wheat
B) beans
C) potatoes
D) barley

Question 10

An atlatl can best be described as __________________.

A) a gourd that was heavily relied upon in times of drought
B) a small fish found in most North American streams
C) a special type of bow used only by the Maya
D) a spear thrower

Question 11

The two main island cities at the heart of the Aztec empire were __________________ and __________________.

A) Tlatelolco and Tenochtitlan
B) Tula and Tollan
C) Tlacopan and Azcapotzalco
D) Texcotzingo and Texcoco

Question 12

What were pochteca?

A) destitute commoners in the Aztec Empire
B) Tlaxcalan warriors
C) Mixtec polychrome pots
D) Aztec long-distance traders

Question 13

__________________, the capital of the Toltec Empire, was initially founded around 700CE.

A) Tula
B) Teotihuacan
C) Monte Alban
D) Cholula

Question 14

The imagery of Olmec monumental stone art found at San Lorenzo can be best described as depictions of __________________.

A) matrilineal lineages
B) hierarchical lineages
C) the coastal environment
D) traditional festivals

Question 15

Mesoamerican iconography and inscriptions are interpreted using a discipline known as __________________.

A) ethnography
B) calligraphy
C) petroglyphs
D) epigraphy

Question 16

The city of Palenque was built to include a sophisticated system of __________________.

A) channels, aqueducts, and stone bridges
B) agricultural fields
C) fortifications and military encampments
D) fountains and sewers

Question 17

As the result of __________________, only 13 of the countless books created by Maya and pre-Hispanic scribes from highland Mexico are known to have survived to the present day.

A) a great fire that destroyed the museum in which most of these books were housed in the early 1900s
B) the primitive types of pigments available in Mesoamerica
C) the tendency of deerskin to degrade over time
D) the efforts of the Spanish to systematically eradicate non-Christian texts

Question 18

The Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza was used as both a __________________ and a __________________.

A) water source; place for human sacrifice
B) water source; midden
C) temple; place for human sacrifice
D) temple; Colonial-period baptismal pool

Question 19

Only kings could partake in public rituals at the city of Copan.

Question 20

The highest tier of political organization during the Mayan Classic period was composed of independent polities best defined as __________________.

A) kingdoms
B) territories
C) calpulli
D) city-states

Question 21

The Maya collapse cannot be tied to a single event but was due to an extended process of interrelated reasons that unfolded over a span of at least 150 years.