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Semester II Midterm Study Guide
Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas
Directions: Use your Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas packet
to find the answers! On a separate sheet of paper, write
the answers in complete sentences and SKIP LINES. In
your packet, highlight where you found the answer.
1. Draw a basic map of North America and South
America. Shade in the location of: (page 7)
 the Mayan civilization of city-states
 the Aztec Empire
 the Inca Empire
2. The Mayans lived in a jungle, so the Mayans did not
have much open land to farm. How did the Mayans
solve this problem? Was this an effective solution?
Why or why not? (page 9)
The Mayans used slash-and-burn agriculture, which means that the Mayans
cut down trees and burned them in order to clear a field for crops. This
strategy was not effective because, without tree roots in the soil, the soil no
longer holds onto nutrients.
3. The Aztec city of Tenochtitlan was on an island in the middle of a lake, so the
Aztecs did not have much open land to farm. How did the Aztecs solve this problem?
Was this an effective solution? Why or why not? (page 12)
The Aztecs built chinampas (“floating gardens”) in the swamp. This strategy
was effective because it increased the area available for farming.
4. The Incas lived in the Andes Mountains, so the Incas did not have much flat land
to farm. How did the Incas solve this problem? Was this an effective solution? Why
or why not? (page 21)
The Incas built terraces, which were steps carved into the mountainside. This
strategy was effective because it increased the area available for farming.
5. Were the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas monotheistic or polytheistic? Name some of
the Mayan gods (page 10), Aztec gods (page 13), and Inca gods (page 22). What do
these gods have in common?
The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas were polytheistic. The Mayans prayed to the
corn god and the death god, the Aztecs prayed to the rain god, and the Incas
prayed to the sun god. These are all gods of nature.
6. The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas have similar religious rituals. Name one. (page 10,
page 18, page 25)
The Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas all perform human sacrifice to please the
gods.
7. The Mayans and the Aztecs used two calendars:
o The Tzolk’in was a sacred calendar that contained 260 days.
o The Haab’ was a solar calendar that contained 365 days.
Which calendar would be used to plan when to perform a religious ceremony such
as sacrifice? Which calendar would be used to plan when to plant crops? (page 10)
The sacred calendar would be used to plan when to perform a religious
ceremony. The solar calendar would be used to plan when to plant crops.
8. The Mayans and the Aztecs had a nearly identical 5-tiered social structure (page
6), while the Incas had a 3-tiered social structure (page 24). Who is on the top of the
Mayan and Aztec social structure? On the bottom? Who is on the top of the Inca
social structure? On the bottom?
On the top of the Mayan, Aztec, and Inca social structure is a ruler. On the
bottom of the Mayan and Aztec social structure are slaves. On the bottom of
the Inca social structure are commoners.
9. Describe the legend that explains how the Aztec Empire began. (page 11)
An Aztec man named Tenoch saw an eagle, with a snake in its mouth,
perched on a cactus. He knew this would be the place to build the capital city
of Tenochtitlan.
10. Describe the legend that explains how the Inca Empire began. (page 22)
The son of the sun god threw his magical staff, and when the earth swallowed
the staff, he knew he had found the place to build the capital city of Cuzco.
11. Mayan civilization can best be described as a collection of independent citystates (Tikal, Palenque, Chichen Itza, etc.), each ruled by a king (page 4-5, page 8).
Aztec civilization each best be described as an empire, ruled by one emperor who
lives in a capital city (Tenochtitlan) (page 11). Inca civilization can best be described
as an empire, ruled by one emperor who lives in a capital city (Cuzco) (page 21).
Draw a simple diagram of Mayan civilization. Draw a simple diagram of Aztec
civilization. Draw a simple diagram of Inca civilization.
Mayan
Aztec
Inca
12. How did Aztec Empire gain its wealth? Would you want to be from the city-state
of Xochonochco? Why or why not? (page 17)
The Aztec Empire gained its wealth by collecting tribute from tributaries.
Xoconochco is a tributary of the Aztec Empire, so I would not want to be from
Xoconochco because I’d have to give the Aztec Empire many gifts just so the
Aztecs would not attack.
13. Why did the Spanish conquistadors want to conquer the Aztecs and the Incas?
List 3. (mostly page 33, but also 31-32 and 34-35)
The Spanish wanted to take gold from the Aztecs and the Incas. The Spanish
wanted to spread the word of the Catholic god. The Spanish wanted to get
glory, or fame, for having conquered land for the King of Spain.
14. What advantages did the Spanish conquistadors have over the Aztecs and the
Incas? List 5. Which advantage led to the death of most Aztecs and Incas? (mostly
page 31-32, but also 33-35)
The Spanish conquistadors were believed to be gods. The Spanish
conquistadors had advanced weapons. The Spanish conquistadors had
immunity to diseases. The Spanish conquistadors had an Aztec traitor
named Malinche who served as an interpreter. The Spanish conquistadors
formed alliances with many tributaries of the Aztecs.
Immunity to diseases was the top advantage since many Aztecs died of
smallpox.
15. Who built the building(s) in each image? In which city can you find the
building(s) in each image? (page 4, page 13, page 23)
Image A
Image B
Image C
Image A is a building in the Mayan city of Tikal. Image B is a building in the
Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. Image C is a building in the Inca city of Machu
Picchu.
16. Which civilization did not have a system of writing? What did this civilization
use instead of writing? (page 26)
The Incas did not have a system of writing. Messengers used a set of knotted
strings called a quipu to remember a message.
Imperial China
17. Emperor Qin unified China. What does it mean to unify? (Hint: a unicorn has one
horn, a unicycle has one wheel, there is only one universe, etc.) (page 5)
Unify means to bring together as one.
18. Emperor Qin standardized Chinese culture, including the writing, money, and
laws. What does standardize mean? (page 5)
Standardize means make everything the same.
19. Why did Emperor Qin build the Great Wall of China? (page 5)
Emperor Qin built the Great Wall of China to keep out invaders, such as the
Mongols.
20. Emperor Qin was a Legalist. How did he treat the Confucian scholars who
disagreed with him? (page 6)
Emperor Qin buried over 460 Confucian scholars alive.
21. Why did Emperor Qin order people to build him a terra-cotta army? (page 6)
Emperor Qin wanted to be buried with the terra-cotta army because he
believed the terra-cotta army would protect him in the afterlife.
22. Emperor Qin and Emperor Han both ruled with the help a bureaucracy. Emperor
Qin had an aristocracy, while Han had a meritocracy. What is the difference between
an aristocracy and a meritocracy? (page 8-9)
Aristocracy is a system in which rich people are chosen for a position.
Meritocracy is a system in which smart people are chosen for a position.
23. China once was isolated from other cultures because of geographical barriers
such as mountains to the west, deserts to the north, and an ocean to the east.
However, China eventually learned about other cultures. Why was China able to
learn about other cultures? (page 10)
China started to trade on the Silk Road.
24. Did the Silk Road help or hurt the Roman Empire? Why? (page 11)
Trading on the Silk Road hurt the Roman Empire. The Romans lost much
their gold and gained only silk, which is much less valuable than gold.
25. During the Han Dynasty, which religion traveled along the Silk Road from India
to China? (page 10, 12-13)
Buddhism traveled from India to China.
26. During the Tang Dynasty, which religious group was persecuted, and why? (page
14-15)
Buddhists were persecuted. Many Chinese people disliked Buddhists
because Buddhists did not pay taxes to the government.
27. Which Mongol leader conquered China? During his rule of China, was the Silk
Road safer or more dangerous to travel? (page 16-17)
Kublai Khan conquered China. The Silk Road became safer to travel now
that one unified empire controlled this trade route.
28. During the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin chose the richest to work for the
government. During the Han Dynasty, the emperors chose the smartest to work for
the government. During the Yuan Dynasty, who did the emperors choose to work for
the government? (page 16-17)
During the Yuan Dynasty, emperors chose foreigners such as Marco Polo to
work for the government.
29. Where was Marco Polo from, and what was his job? How did his book The
Travels of Marco Polo change the relationship between China and Europe? (page 1617)
Marco Polo was an Italian merchant. After reading the book The Travels of
Marco Polo, many Europeans became interested in trading with China.
30. Why did Zheng He go on seven naval voyages? (page 20-21)
Zheng He went on seven naval voyages to collect tribute for China.
31. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese emperor decided that China’s
foreign policy would be isolationism. What does this mean? (Hint: isolate = to make
something separate or alone) Give three examples of isolationism. (page 21)
The Chinese emperor decided that China should be alone in the world; in
other words, the Chinese emperor decided to reject all contact with
foreigners. The Chinese emperor ordered the following actions:
 the burning of Zheng He’s ships
 the lengthening and strengthening of the Great Wall to keep the
Mongols out once and for all
 the construction of the Forbidden City, a palace for Chinese royalty
and no one else
32. Historians sometimes talk about the Four Great Inventions of China. These
inventions are: compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing. (page 23, 24, 26)
Fill in the blanks below with these inventions.
 When the Chinese had a copper coin shortage, they used paper and
woodblock printing to make paper money.
 When the Mongolians invaded Japan, they used gunpowder to frighten the
Japanese horses.
 When Zheng He went on a naval voyage, he needed a compass to help
navigate the ocean.
33. Name a Chinese farming strategy and a Chinese farming tool that led to a surplus
of food. (page 28)
The Chinese used terraces and the chain pump.
34. In order to increase commercial activity, how did the Chinese improve water
transportation? How did the Chinese increase the money suppgly? (page 29)
The Chinese built the Grand Canal to connect two rivers. The Chinese started
to use paper money instead of copper coins.
Medieval Japan
35. Japanese culture was most influenced by culture from China (page 2-4).
36. Name three reasons why the Golden Age might be called the Golden Age.
(Consider accomplishments in literature, art, and drama!)





Poems such as tanks and novels such as The Tale of Genji
Music such as gagaku and dances such as bugaku
Theatre such as Noh
Buildings such as pagodas
Sports such as kemari and sumo wrestling
37. Why did the Golden Age end? (page 6)
The emperor became too weak to provide protection for the people, but the
people needed protection from bandits who stole from farms, so the shogun
took over and provided protection.
38. The most important characteristic of medieval Japan was feudalism. In a feudal
system, a lord gives land to a vassal if the vassal agrees to give the lord protection
(page 6).
39. Who would say the following: emperor, shogun, daimyo, samurai, or peasant?
(page 6-10)
 “I now control all of the land of Japan. My vassals bring me taxes so that I can
build a castle and supply my warriors with better weapons.” shogun
 “I was so weak that I could not provide an army to protect my people. A
military dictator kicked me out of power!” emperor
 “My lord gives me a place to stay and he even provides me with food. It may
get tired of boiled rice and dried tuna, but it gives me enough energy to fight.”
samurai
 “The daimyo took ½ of my rice again. I shouldn’t complain—it’s better than a
bandit taking all of it!” peasant
 “I must find warriors to protect the land my lord gave me!” daimyo
40. Imagine you are a samurai. You have just dishonored your lord by telling a friend
where jewelry is hidden in the castle. What do you do? (page 11)
A samurai would commit seppuku.
41. A samurai might practice a blend of which two religions? (page 2, 12)
A samurai might practice a blend of Shinto and Buddhism.
42. In World War II, kamikaze pilots from Japan flew planes into American
battleships. Which samurai values may have influenced these kamikaze pilots?
(page 11-12)
Like the samurai, kamikaze pilots took their own life rather than face
dishonor.