Download The Early Americas Study Guide

The Early Americas Study Guide
The Maya
1. What was the name of the crop that the Maya cleared parts of the forest to grow?
(Hint-It’s another word for corn.)
2. Which two crops were grown in the Mayan highlands? Which were grown in the
lowlands?
3. Why did Mayan kings hold both religious and political authority?
4. What led to the decline of the Maya?
5. What area of land does Mesoamerica cover?
6. In what modern day country was the Mayan civilization located?
7. What is the term for the buildings that the Maya built to study astronomy?
8. Did the Maya live in large cities or small towns?
9. How did the Maya get the resources that they needed to construct their grand
buildings?
10. Know that temple-building was a way for the Maya to reinforce social structure!
11. Was the population divided evenly between the upper and lower classes?
12. Did the Maya have metal tools or wheels to help them construct buildings?
13. Was the decline of the Maya rapid or gradual?
14. How did Maya benefit from living around forests (What did the forest provide?)
15. What could have happened if the Maya cities had stopped fighting with each other?
16. Describe some characteristics of Maya cities.
17. Why did Maya cities fight with one another? (Hint- the answer is for LAND)
18. Which natural resource (Cacao, rubber, obsidian, or jade) would have been important
for Maya warfare?
19. Describe Maya social structure, the roles of each social class, and how they interacted
with one another.
20. What happened to soldiers after Maya captured them in battle?
The Aztecs
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What was the Aztec capital built on?
What social class was just below emperors and nobles?
How did the Aztecs view Hernan Cortes when he first arrived?
What is the name for a group of Spanish soldiers?
What is the term for a floating garden built by the Aztecs?
What is the term for a raised road across water or wet ground?
7. Who was the Spanish leader who invaded Aztec lands?
8. Which god did the Aztecs believe Cortes to be?
9. Who was the last Aztec emperor?
10. Was Aztec society centered around war?
11. Know that the geography of the Aztec Empire made farming difficult.
12. Could Aztecs move up the social ladder? Or was social structure more rigid?
13. Around how many sacrifices did the Aztecs make per year?
14. What technology did that Spanish have that the Aztecs did not?
15. Did the Aztecs value learning?
16. What were the first Aztecs like?
17. What was a tribute?
18. Describe the role of merchants in Aztec society.
19. Name the factors that contributed to the rise of Aztec society?
20. Why did the Spanish conquistadors come to the Americas?
21. Why did some of the natives join Cortes and the Spanish?
22. What role did horses play in the conquest of the Aztecs?
23. Why were the sons of Aztec nobles sent to special schools?
The Inca
1. Who was the Inca ruler that began expansion of Inca territory in the mid-1400s?
2. The Incas were experts in ___________________, or stonework.
3. Which conquistador defeated the last of the Incas?
4. What was the Inca capital?
5. What was the official language of the Inca Empire?
6. What was the name of the labor tax system used by the Inca?
7. Which Inca leader was captured by the Spanish?
8. Where was the Inca Empire located?
9. Where did the first Inca tribe live? (Where did the Inca Empire begin?)
10. Was the government controlling of the economy?
11. Who was the last Inca emperor?
12. What did the Inca do to help free their leader (Atahualpa) from the Spanish?
13. Were Inca farmers rich?
14. Know that lower-class Incas did not live in the capital. (Cusco)
15. What event occurred right before the Spanish arrived that caused the Empire to be
weaker?