Deck 9: American Complexities, 900 B.C.E-900 C.E

Question 1

In which three regions was a positional system of expressing numbers developed?

A) Greece, China, and Australia
B) Persia, Egypt, and Nubia
C) Southern Mexico, Babylonia, and the Ganges valley
D) the Island Pacific, Inner Eurasia, and Rome

Answer 1

Southern Mexico, Babylonia, and the Ganges valley

Question 2

Which of the following best describes Mesoamerica from the first millennium B.C.E.?

A) Though culturally, linguistically, and geographically diverse, Mesoamerica constituted a distinct zone of trade and exchange.
B) Though densely populated, the various communities of Mesoamerica interacted little with one another.
C) A single culture prevailed in the region, and as a result, exchange did not lead to greater social complexity.
D) As a result of constant warfare, the region's development was dramatically slowed.

Answer 2

Though culturally, linguistically, and geographically diverse, Mesoamerica constituted a distinct zone of trade and exchange.

Question 3

The centralized states of Mesoamerica were most similar to which of the following?

A) the Achaemenid empire
B) the Han dynasty
C) the Parthian empire
D) the city-states of the Aegean basin

Answer 3

the city-states of the Aegean basin

Question 4

The initial growth of Teotihuacán was likely prompted by

A) a volcanic eruption that forced large numbers of people to flee their homes and resettle in the city.
B) a drought that forced people from the countryside to seek food and supplies in the city.
C) the discovery of vast gold deposits in the region surrounding the city.
D) the rise of a great military, which brought in many prisoners of war to the city.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the city of Teotihuacán?

A) a sprawling jumble of structures, constructed at different times and with different purposes in mind
B) an architecturally well-planned city that was structurally aligned with aspects of nature
C) a type of trading post that hosted many travelers but very few permanent residents
D) a large village that only gained importance because of its central location and easy access to surrounding areas

Question 6

Teotihuacán served largely as a center of

A) trade and commerce.
B) art and education.
C) religion and ritual practices.
D) military training.

Question 7

Which of the following groups constituted the majority of Teotihuacán's inhabitants?

A) soldiers
B) civil servants
C) artisans
D) farmers

Question 8

Which of the following likely originated in Teotihuacán and diffused throughout Mesoamerica?

A) a system of writing
B) religious beliefs, including belief in Quetzalcoatl and the Great Goddess
C) the practice of human sacrifice
D) iron metallurgy

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a likely explanation for Teotihuacán's drive to expand?

A) Teotihuacán's rising population compelled its rulers to seek out more resources to sustain its inhabitants.
B) Teotihuacán's religious leaders sought to spread their beliefs far and wide.
C) Teotihuacán's rulers sought to establish control over the supply of cacao.
D) Teotihuacán's rulers sought to increase their control over trade in and out of the city.

Question 10

One important difference between the empires of Mesoamerica and those of Afroeurasia is that

A) the states of Mesoamerica relied heavily on cavalry to carry out military campaigns, while Afroeurasian states relied solely on the ability of soldiers to move on foot.
B) Mesoamerican states tended to incorporate new territories through marriage alliances, while Afroeurasian rulers used military conquest as their primary means of expansion.
C) Afroeurasian rulers sought to impose their cultures on their conquered populations, while Mesoamericans welcomed diversity.
D) Afroeurasians used cavalry and transport animals to expand their empires, while Mesoamericans relied on armies on foot.

Question 11

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding the decline of Teotihuacán?

A) Teotihuacán declined after a volcanic eruption destroyed most of the city.
B) Teotihuacán elites abandoned the city after they found greater sources of riches in neighboring regions.
C) Deforestation may have contributed to the ecological collapse of Teotihuacán.
D) Teotihuacán collapsed after a violent struggle among its ruling elites.

Question 12

The capitol of the Zapotec state was

A) Monte Albán.
B) Teotihuacán.
C) Norte Chico.
D) Oaxaca.

Question 13

Stone depictions of prisoners found at Zapotec sites suggest which of the following?

A) Zapotec rulers kept careful records of their prison population.
B) The Zapotecs used a logographic system of writing.
C) Zapotec artists attempted to depict all aspects of society.
D) Zapotecs engaged in frequent fighting.

Question 14

One distinct feature of Monte Albán is its

A) religious temples.
B) ball court.
C) well-organized cityscape.
D) structurally advanced sewage system.

Question 15

Which of the following best describes the relationship between Teotihuacán and Oaxaca?

A) The two states engaged in frequent warfare that lasted centuries.
B) The two states were far enough apart to sustain any ongoing contact with one another.
C) The two states traded with one another and sent diplomatic envoys to each other's capitals.
D) Teotihuacán absorbed Oaxaca into its imperial realm during its period of expansion.

Question 16

Which of the following helped to unite the Mayan people?

A) a written language
B) a single ruler
C) attacks by non-Mayan peoples
D) military conscription for all Mayan males

Question 17

Which of the following best describes the political structure of Mayan civilization?

A) A single ruler controlled all of Mayan territory.
B) The Maya employed a type of republican rule similar to that found in the Greek city-states.
C) The Maya were matriarchal and chose to follow only female leaders.
D) Mayan civilization was composed of a network of city-states that allied as well as fought with one another on a regular basis.

Question 18

The Maya reacted to environmental pressures by

A) abandoning settlements when ecological conditions proved unfavorable.
B) praying to various deities to change weather patterns.
C) employing a host of innovations to account for periods of drought.
D) ritually sacrificing a portion of the population to ease food shortages.

Question 19

Mayan rulers avoided chaotic transitions of power from one ruler to another through which of the following?

A) Mayan rulers chose their successors when they came to power and made their choices known to the greater public.
B) The Maya practiced primogeniture, thus preventing siblings from contesting one another for the throne.
C) Mayan rulers were elected by a class of wealthy aristocrats.
D) Mayan rulers were determined through a lengthy series of religious rituals, thus giving the rulers the blessings of the gods.

Question 20

The Maya believed that their ruler could be overthrown if he was ruling unjustly or had fallen out of favor with the gods. This concept is most similar to which of the following?

A) the Chinese Mandate of Heaven
B) the Greek concept of natural philosophy
C) the Daoist view of rulers
D) the Egyptian belief in the king as divine being

Question 21

Depictions of Lady Xoc suggest what about Mayan society?

A) Women participated frequently in Mayan religious rituals and were numerous among Mayan priests.
B) Women only held importance in Mayan society in the types of alliances they helped to forge through marriage.
C) Women held some type of religious and political authority in Mayan society.
D) Only women could communicate with Mayan deities.

Question 22

The term corvée labor refers to which of the following?

A) a requirement of all Mayan citizens to devote a portion of their time working in temples or other religious institutions
B) a system in which Mayan commoners were required to work on public construction projects as a type of tax
C) the process by which Mayan slaves might work long enough to buy their freedom
D) a system in which Mayan aristocrats retained the same family of laborers from generation to generation

Question 23

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the Mayan writing system?

A) The Maya learned the practice of writing from the Olmec.
B) Scholars have as yet been unable to decipher Mayan writings.
C) The Maya used an alphabet rather than a logographic system of writing.
D) The Maya were one of three early human civilizations to develop a system of writing on their own.

Question 24

The development of writing in Mayan society was closely associated with which of the following?

A) the rise of widespread literacy among the Maya
B) the development of complex calendars
C) an increase in the authority of women, as most scribes were female
D) a decrease in artistic output, as rulers preferred to preserve their victories in writing rather than in visual depictions

Question 25

Which of the following is an important achievement of the Maya?

A) the concept of zero
B) the discovery of iron metallurgy
C) the cultivation of corn
D) an accurate measurement of the sun's distance from the earth

Question 26

Trade both within and beyond Mayan states led to which of the following?

A) a widening in the gap between the rich and poor of Mayan society
B) the dependence of Mayan states on the goodwill of neighboring communities that supplied them with vital resources and supplies
C) the domestication of large mammals to more easily transport goods from one place to another
D) the urbanization of Mayan territory

Question 27

Which of the following is a possible explanation for the precipitous decline of Mayan civilization?

A) A massive attack resulted in the exile and enslavement of millions of Mayan people.
B) A series of plagues transmitted from animals to humans swept away large portions of the Mayan population.
C) A combination of ecological pressures, climatic shifts, and poor leadership led to the rapid deterioration of Mayan civilization.
D) A disease spread among the corn crops of the Mayan zone of rule, and the Maya were consequently denied a staple of their diet.

Question 28

The adoption of the bow and arrow by peoples living along North America's Pacific coast in the first millennium C.E. resulted in which of the following?

A) the rise of large states, as communal leaders sought to expand their power through the help of this new weapon
B) a rise in conflict between different groups of people and the construction of fortifications to fend off attacks
C) rapid deforestation, as communities needed more wood to construct their bows and arrows
D) a decline in matriarchy and a rise in patriarchal societies

Question 29

The Hohokam inhabited which territory?

A) the Sonoran Desert
B) the territory once inhabited by the Maya
C) the Pacific Northwest of North America
D) the Eastern Woodlands of North America

Question 30

The Adena and Hopewell peoples are evidence that without large-scale farming,

A) societies were unlikely to grow more complex.
B) life was harsh and short.
C) societies were unlikely to form permanent settlements.
D) societies could still achieve a high level of social complexity and maintain permanent settlements.

Question 31

The Serpent Mound in southern Ohio suggests what about Hopewell society?

A) The Hopewell worshiped some type of serpent deity.
B) The Hopewell likely made great use of slave labor.
C) The Hopewell had contact with the Maya, who passed on their knowledge of math and astronomy.
D) The Hopewell possessed a level of social complexity well-developed enough to organize the construction of a complicated structure with cultural significance.

Question 32

The discovery of Adena and Hopewell burial sites containing goods tells us what about these peoples?

A) Some type of social hierarchy likely prevailed in these societies.
B) The Adena and Hopewell believed that in order for a person to pass into death peacefully, the individual needed all of his or her earthly belongings.
C) The Adena and Hopewell believed that by burying their loved ones with their belongings they would gain blessings from ancestral spirits.
D) The belongings of the dead were viewed as tainted and needed to be discarded.

Question 33

Farming was introduced to the Caribbean by peoples from which of the following regions?

A) North America
B) Mesoamerica
C) South America
D) the Island Pacific

Question 34

Chav'n de Huántar is an example of which of the following?

A) an early system of writing developed in the Andes
B) a large and impressive temple complex developed in the Andes
C) an Andean city clearly modeled after Mayan capitals
D) a large fortification constructed by Andean peoples

Question 35

Which of the following best describes the religious beliefs of the Chav'n people?

A) The Chav'n were monotheistic and believed in a single god known as the Jaguar King.
B) The Chav'n believed it was blasphemous to visually depict their gods.
C) The Chav'n solely worshiped female deities.
D) The Chav'n believed in a host of deities represented in sculpture as part animal and part human.

Question 36

The discovery of concentrations of wealth in parts of Chav'n suggests which of the following?

A) A distinct gap existed between Chav'n's rich and poor.
B) The inhabitants of Chav'n developed a primitive banking system in which people sought to protect their valuables.
C) Only the wealthy were permitted to live in Chav'n.
D) Chav'n's rulers frequently displayed their wealth to impress diplomats and foreign merchants.

Question 37

One important difference between Chav'n and Teotihuacán is that

A) Teotihuacán remained a city-state, while Chav'n ruled over a vast regional empire.
B) The people of Teotihuacán were capable of planning a well-organized city, while Chav'n's main city consisted of a jumbled collection of disparate structures.
C) Teotihuacán ruled over a regional empire, while Chav'n remained a single city-state.
D) Teotihuacán was a religious center, while Chav'n was largely a trading post.

Question 38

Which of the following best characterizes Chav'n's relationship with surrounding communities?

A) The people of Chav'n had little interaction with other peoples, as few outsiders entered the city.
B) Evidence of Chav'n's cultural and religious influence can be found in sites far to the north and south of the Chav'n city-state.
C) The people of Chav'n spread their culture through a series of violent military conquests.
D) Chav'n drew heavily on the cultural styles of neighboring communities to emulate their wealth and prosperity.

Question 39

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding Chav'n's decline?

A) Archaeologists can trace Chav'n's decline with a large amount of certainty to a series of ecological disasters.
B) Chav'n fell after a brutal attack by a neighboring city-state.
C) Chav'n fell due to a prolonged civil war.
D) Chav'n may have fallen due to its inability to sustain reliable sources of food.

Question 40

The collection of guano by Moche people to improve crop yields is an example of which of the following?

A) a practice driven by religious beliefs
B) a practice derived after careful scientific experimentation
C) an innovation likely discovered by chance
D) evidence that the Moche people understood the enriching properties of nitrates

Question 41

Which of the following best describes the relationship between Moche's elite and poorer classes?

A) Poorer classes likely owed a type of corvée labor to the aristocratic classes and lived very differently from Moche elites.
B) Moche elites and poorer classes mingled to an unusual degree for the time.
C) Moche's poorer classes had an unusually large amount of power regarding the administration of cities and religious sites.
D) Unusual for its time, Moche's elites drew upon their culture from the habits of the poorer classes.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the Moche people?

A) We know little of the lives of everyday Moche men and women.
B) The Moche were the only South American people to develop a complex writing system.
C) We can discern much about Moche elites through their distinctive pottery styles.
D) The Moche used a system of glyphs impressed onto dried lima beans to communicate with one another.

Question 43

The discoveries made at Sipán tell us what about Moche society?

A) Moche women were revered for their religious piety.
B) The Moche rejected human sacrifice as an offense to the gods.
C) Unusual for its time, Moche elites were buried simply and with little adornment.
D) Moche's elites regularly displayed their great wealth and power.

Question 44

Which of the following best describes the political structure of the Moche people?

A) The Moche constituted a single empire that sought to constantly expand its territory and sphere of influence.
B) The Moche had a single monarch whom they believed to be divinely blessed.
C) Like the Maya, the Moche were composed of a group of states and communities with a common culture and language.
D) The Moche were the only South American people to develop a type of republican government similar to that of Greece.

Question 45

The Nazca site of Cahuachi can best be described as a

A) ceremonial center.
B) bustling city.
C) military fort.
D) sprawling palatial complex.

Question 46

Which of the following is a distinct feature of the Nazca people?

A) a writing system
B) geoglyphs
C) the invention of the concept of zero
D) large sculpted heads

Question 47

The Nazca differed from the Moche in which way?

A) The Nazca were monotheistic, while the Moche prayed to a host of deities.
B) The Nazca had a bustling capital city, while the Moche did not.
C) The Nazca developed a system of writing, while the Moche had more limited means of communication.
D) The Nazca functioned as a loose confederation of clans, while the Moche had a more centralized ruling elite.

Question 48

Which of the following contributed to the decline of the Moche and Nazca peoples?

A) unrelenting attacks from the Chav'n people
B) drastic climatic changes
C) the inability of both peoples to manipulate the environment
D) their ultimate destruction of one another through constant warfare

Question 49

The structure of Moche society may have led to which of the following?

A) unparalleled cooperation between the ruling and common classes to solve pressing ecological issues
B) the granting of certain civic rights to the common classes
C) social tensions between the elite and common classes that may have contributed to Moche's decline
D) the periodic redistribution of wealth throughout Moche society

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT true of all the civilizations of Mesoamerica and South America discussed in this chapter?

A) They all developed a system of writing and recorded a great deal of information about their rulers and religious practices.
B) They all constructed important centers of religion, rule, and trade.
C) They all engaged in a high level of regional trade.
D) They all collapsed, due in part to ecological pressures and social unrest.

Question 51

Discuss the rise of the Teotihuacán empire. How was Teotihuacán society organized, and what type of ruling structure prevailed? What were some of the notable achievements of the Teotihuacán empire, and what factors contributed to its ultimate demise?

Question 52

Describe the Mayan civilization. What were the guiding political, social, economic, and religious principles of Mayan society? What type of relationship did the Maya have with neighboring peoples in Mesoamerica? What are some of the theories scholars have proposed to explain the decline of the Maya?

Question 53

Examine some of the achievements of the Mayan people. What were some of the notable cultural and scientific discoveries of the Maya, and what do these discoveries tell us about Mayan society?

Question 54

Compare and contrast the communities of the Adena and the Hopewell to those of Mesoamerica and South America. In what ways were these societies similar, and what ways were they different? What do their similarities and differences tell us about life in the early Americas?

Question 55

Explore the people of Chav'n de Huántar. What does archaeological evidence tell us about Chav'n society? How did Chav'n interact with other regional powers? How did Chav'n society differ from communities in Mesoamerica?

Question 56

Describe the rise and fall of the Moche and Nazca people. What are some of the notable features of these societies? What can we discern about the ruling and social structure of the Moche and Nazca? What factors may have contributed to their eventual collapse?

Question 57

Compare the rise of complex societies and empires in Mesoamerica and South America to those of Afroeurasia. What did these societies share in common, and how did they differ? What do comparisons between these two regions tell us about the nature and character of early complex civilizations?