Topic 6 Test Review: Civilization of the Americas

According to their religion, the Maya believed that

• kings and priests could communicate with the gods.

• their kings should worshipped as living gods.

• priests and nobles should not mix together.

• human sacrifice was forbidden by the gods.

In what North American culture area did the people who formed the Iroquois League live?

• Northwest

• Southeast

• Northeast

• Southwest

Look at the map.Which conclusion is best supported by this map?

• The Aztec empire conquered the Olmec civilization.

• The Olmec civilization depended on slash-and-burn agriculture.

• The Aztec empire expanded across a variety of landforms.

• Food production was easier for the Aztecs than it was for the Olmecs.

Based on the map, how was the geography of the Aztec empire different from the geography of the Olmec civilization? Choose the TWO correct answers

• In the Aztec empire, rivers from highlands watered farm fields.

• The climate of the Aztec empire was generally cooler.

• In the Aztec empire, wings from the drylands caused droughts.

• The coastal villages of the Aztecs empire traded with other groups.

Why was the mita system important to the Incan empire?

• It helped Incan astronomers calculate the movement of the stars.

• It helped the emperor keep strict control over faraway lands.

• It allowed the government to collect taxes in the form of physical labor.

• It kept order by forming a strict social hierarchy.

Why were the Aztecs able to take control of the basin known as the Valley of Mexico?

• They were the first people to settle in the area.

• They had a powerful army that allowed them to conquer their neighbors.

• They built a strong defense that protected Lake Texcoco from invasion.

• They produced trade goods that made them wealthy.

At its peak, the Aztec empire controlled

• all of present day Mexico

• several isolated cities in the forests of Central America.

• an area extending from central Mexico to Guatemala.

• a vast region connected by roads in the Andes.

The first Mesoamerican civilizations began

• once people learned how to farm in the tropical forest.

• right after people crossed the Bering Land Bridge.

• when the nomadic hunters settled in the Valley of Mexico.

• when the Maya built the first cities in Central America

The building and use of observatories allowed the Maya to develop

• complex calendars

• hieroglyphic writing

• slash-and-burn agriculture

• stone pyramids and temples

Look at the photograph. Which of the following is a way that the Incas used objects like the one pictured?

• to show that the wearer was a member of the nobility

• to track the movements of the stars and planets

• to predict the best time to plant crops

• to keep records of goods traded