Download Mesoamerica Test

Mesoamerica Test
Match the definitions to the terms:
1. Conquistador ___
2. Isthmus ___
3. Montezuma ___
4. Glyph ___
5. Cultural Hearth ___
A. A narrow strip of land with sea on either
side, forming a link between two larger
areas of land
B. A symbol intended to represent a
readable character for the purposes of
writing
C. An area where new ideas and innovations
spring up and spread to other parts of
the world. The Olmec civilization was an
example of this
D. A conqueror, especially on of the Spanish
conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the
16th century
E. Great Aztec king that was conquered by
the Spanish
6. Which Mesoamerican civilization would this sculpture have been created in?
a. Aztec
b. Olmec
c. Incan
d. Mayan
7. What purpose would this building have most likely served?
a. Religious ceremonies
b. Kings Palace
c. Grain silo
d. Place for aliens to land their spaceships
8. Which of the following crops became the most important food crop in the Americas before 1500 CE?
a. Maize (corn)
b. Manioc
c. Wheat
d. Squash
9. Which tactic was utilized by the Aztec empire to grow economic stronger?
A. the invention of new weapons
B. production of luxury goods
C. internal conflict among neighbors
D. increasing wealth from tax collection
10. A major agricultural advancement of the Aztecs was the
a. Domestication of cattle
b. Use of the steel plow
c. Terracing of mountains for farming
d. Development of floating gardens
Slavery in the Aztec Society
Different cultures enslaved people in different ways and for varied lengths of time. Some people were enslaved
for life, while others were freed after a specific debt was paid. In the Aztec culture of Mexico, slavery was common.
Enslaved people were the lowest rank in the social class system, yet they were very important to society.
There were four ways of becoming an enslaved person (tlacotin) in the Aztec culture. A person captured in war
could be enslaved. Slavery could be punishment for a crime. A person could also enter slavery voluntarily to pay off
debts. Surprisingly, a child could be sold by his or her parents to pay off their debts.
Aztec society had both permanently enslaved people and temporarily enslaved people. A person who
volunteered to be temporarily enslaved to pay off a debt was called an indentured servant. The Aztec court system had
to approve someone becoming an indentured servant. An indentured servant worked until all the money their labor
earned paid off their debt. Permanent slavery was different from indentured servitude in that there was no end time
frame for slavery. For a teenager who was sold into permanent slavery for a debt, there was no end date. This meant
that the teenager would always be enslaved unless freed by the owner or if he or she escaped. Discovery
Communications, LLC
11. In which situation would an Aztec be forced into slavery?
A. If a person wore cotton out of the palace and was not a noble.
B. If the Aztecs captured prisoners of war and brought them into the city.
C. If the Aztecs caught an enslaved person escaping in the marketplace that was not their own.
D. If an Aztec chose to marry an enslaved person.
12. How could a teenager who was sold into permanent slavery by his/her parents be freed?
A. They were freed by the owner or escaped
B. They were adopted into the owners family
C. They appealed being sold into slavery to the courts
D. They performed a human sacrifice to honor the gods.
13. Which might have been the most serious consequence of the Columbian Exchange?
a. Honeybees from Europe coming to the Americas because it brought stinging bees to America
b. Tobacco from America moving to Europe because of the introduction of cancer to the Old World
c. European diseases coming to the Americas and wiping out large portions of native peoples
d. Native American Civilizations overly influencing European nations
14. Which was the capital city of the Aztec empire?
a. Tenochtitlan
b. Ghana
c. Huitzilopochtli
d. Quetzalcoatl
15. Which was a feature of the Aztec capital?
a. advanced water systems for farming, transportation, and drinking
b. a marketplace where 60,000 people came daily to buy and sell food, clothing, pottery, jewels, and more
c. a shrine where human sacrifices were performed in public
d. all of the above
16. Based on the image above what can you infer about Mayan culture?
a. Human sacrifice was an important part of honoring their gods
b. Prisoners of war were brutally executed
c. Emperors killed all of those who did not comply with their orders
d. Mayan people’s hearts were so strong they would fly out of their chests upon being cut open
17. What allowed the Mayans to develop such highly accurate calendars?
a. their knowledge of mathematics
b. observatories they built to watch the heavens
c. charts they kept to track the movement of the moon, stars, and planets in view
d. all of the above
18. What did the Incan system of roads and bridges accomplish?
A. It helped the empire spread into new continents.
B. It provided employment for many peasants.
C. It gave the government a major source of revenue.
D. It allowed the government to control a large territory.
19. A major agricultural advancement of the Incas was the
a. Domestication of cattle
b. Use of a steel plow
c. Terracing of mountains for farming
d. Development of floating gardens
20. Incans did not have a written language. In order to record records they used quipus. What are quipus?
a. a headdress with a special arrangement, color, and number of feathers
b. a bag of jewels with a certain number, color, and size of stones
c. a stick with a particular pattern of symbols and shapes carved into it
d. a set of strings with knots tied at different places, which stood for numbers
21. What does this drawing above indicate about the Inca civilization?
a. Religious influence on architecture
b. Cooperation & planning in agriculture
c. Superior military technology used for defense
d. Role of government during a natural disaster
22. Inca & Aztec societies were similar in that both
a. Developed from Mayan civilization
b. Had fierce warrior cultures and acquired empires by means of military conquest
c. Independently developed iron technology
d. Were both located on the Yucatan Peninsula
23. In Mesoamerica, the Maya & the Aztec civilizations were similar in that they
a. Showed little evidence of urbanization
b. Lacked a strong central government
c. Developed complex mathematical & calendar systems
d. Used military weapons superior to those of the Europeans
24. Based on the above chart you could conclude that:
a. Native Mesoamerican governments were all monarchies
b. The Spanish ended all of the Mesoamerican civilizations
c. Priests were at the top of the social class
d. All of the religions were monotheistic
25. Based on the above chart which civilizations were known for their monumental architecture?
a. Inca
b. Maya
c. Aztec
d. all of the above