Crash Course History of Science: The Americas & Timekeeping

Multiple Choice

Why do we know more about the ancient history of Europe and Asia than we do about Mesoamerica?

• Mesoamericans did not have a writing system.

• All of their records were destroyed in an earthquake.

• Their records were destroyed by Spanish imperialists.

Dropdown

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Select answer

are written documents made of folded bark paper. ​

Select answer

survive today.

Multiple Choice

Which Mesoamerican people group is most known for their huge human head carvings like this one?

• The Olmecs

• The Maya

• The original inhabitants of what is now Bali.

Hotspot

Where is Mesoamerica on this world map?

Before the Olmecs, every culture had a way to say "nothing," but the Olmecs are credited with being the first to create a symbol specifically for the number zero.

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This innovation made algebra and advanced mathematical equations possible.

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On this slide you can see how digits in the Olmec's base-20 counting system were represented. Zero is represented by a shell.

​The History of Zero

Multiple Choice

What is most notable about the Olmecs' contribution to the study and understanding of mathematics?

• They used constellations to compute large sums.

• They were the first to develop a symbol for the numeral zero.

• Today's algebra is based on the base-20 counting system they invented.

Multiple Choice

What did people use instead of a zero before the Olmecs?

• A blank space

• Nothing. Before Spanish imperialism, everyone had enough stuff so there was never a need to write zero.

• Historians don't know because there are no surviving records.

Mayan pyramids were typically the focal point of a city or ceremonial center, often housing temples or shrines dedicated to gods and goddesses, or tombs for rulers and nobles.

Mayan Pyramids

​Mayan pyramids also served as astronomical observatories and were used to track the movements of the sun, moon, and stars.

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Pictured above is the Temple of Kukulcán, a pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán.

Multiple Select

Which three celestial bodies were at the center of the Mayan calendar system?

• the Sun

• the Big Dipper

• the moon

• Jupiter

• Venus

Multiple Choice

What technology did the Maya use to build their cities and farms?

• Horses and carts

• Hydraulics

• Human-powered vehicles similar to the cars on the Flintstones.

The Aztecs built the pyramid so that its peak would align with the horizon and serve as a marker of the sun's position, ensuring their caldenar's accuracy.

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The Temple of the Sun in the Aztec Capital, Tenochtitlan

Multiple Choice

What's the connection between the Nahuas and the Aztecs?

• The Nahuas were a sub-group of Aztecs.

• The Aztecs were a sub-group of Nahuas.

• Nahuas were animals the Aztecs domesticated for farming.

Multiple Choice

What kind of farming technology did the Aztecs develop?

• They didn't have farms because they were hunter-gatherers

• Aqueducts, canals & floodgates

• Farm machines pulled by horses

Multiple Select

What kind of bureacracies did the Aztecs develop. Choose 3.

• Judicial systems

• Census-tracking systems

• Tax-collecting systems

• Medical record keeping systems on bark paper

Multiple Choice

How did the Aztecs change the 52-year calendar round they adopted from the Maya?

• They aligned their great temple with the setting sun instead of Venus.

• They changed the shape to a hexagon.

Multiple Choice

Who had a longer life expectancy, the Aztecs or the Spanish colonizers?

• The Spanish, because they had a more sophisticated understanding of medicine.

• The Aztecs, because they stayed away from the polluting toxins the Spanish brought.

• The Aztecs, because they had an advanced understanding of medicine.

• The Spanish, because they had horses, so there was less wear and tear on their bodies.

Machu Picchu was an astronomical observatory, and its sacred Intihuatana stone indicates each year's two equinoxes, when the sun sits directly over the stone creating no shadow.

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Machu Picchu, Center of the Incan Empire

Intihuatana stone

Multiple Choice

Why do today's historian have a diffult time understanding Incan science?

• The Inca did not have a system of writing, so there are no records.

• The Incan writing system is similar to the hieroglyphs of ancient Polynesians

• The recorded all of their scientific data on stone tablets that were destroyed in an earthquake.

Multiple Choice

What is Khipu?

• A decimal system of counting using strings and knots.

• A watercraft developed by Incan slaves.

• A prayer

Match

Match each location with its creators.

• Machu Picchu

• Tenochtitlan

• Chichen Itza

Incans

Aztecs

Mayans

• Incans

• Aztecs

• Mayans

Labelling

Label each image.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Machu Picchu

Chichen Itza

Tenochitlan

Reorder

Put the following Mesoamerican civilizations in order from oldest to most recent.

• Olmecs

• Maya

• Aztecs

• Incas

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Poll

Did you ever do learning games like this one before you got to prison?

• yes

• no

Poll

Learning games like this one are ______ other learning experiences I've had outside prison.

• better than

• the same as

• worse than