Topic Test: Civilizations of the Americas

According to their religion, the Maya believed that

• A. kings and priests could communicate with the gods.

• B. their kings should be worshipped as living gods.

• C. priests and nobles should not mix together.

• D. human sacrifice was forbidden by the gods.

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

• Northwest

• Northeast

• Southeast

• Southwest

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.

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

• The climate of the Aztec empire was generally cooler.

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

Why was the mita system important to the Incan empire?

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

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

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

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

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

• They produced trade goods that made them wealthy.

At its peak, the Aztec empire controlled

• all of present-day Mexico.

• an area extending from central Mexico to Guatemala.

• several isolated cities in the forests of Central America.

• a vast region connected by roads in the Andes.

The first Mesoamerican civilizations began

• right after people crossed the Bering Land Bridge.

• when nomadic hunters settled in the Valley of Mexico.

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

• 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.

What archaeological evidence taught scholars about the culture of the Mississippians?

• housing complexes built into the side of cliffs

• kayaks designed to hunt animals over long distances

• large earthen mounds built for religious purposes

• totem poles decorated with animal symbols