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Worksheets

Mesoamerican & South American Empires

Total questions: 45

Worksheet time: 45mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which society was considered to be the "Mother Culture"?

a)

Zapotec

b)

Inca

c)

Maya

d)

Olmec

2.

Giant stone heads belong to which civilization?

a)

Olmec

b)

Maya

3.

Which Mesoamerican civilization came first?

a)

Inca

b)

Olmec

c)

Aztec

d)

Maya

4.

Mesoamerica was on which continents?

a)

North America

b)

Oceania

c)

Africa

d)

South America

5.

Which Mesoamerican culture had an island capital?

a)

Olmec

b)

Maya

c)

Aztec

d)

Inca

6.

The region of Mexico and Central America where diverse

civilizations developed in pre-Columbian times.

a)

pre-Columbian

b)

Mesoamerica

c)

historic quarter

d)

Middle America

7.
The peninsula that the Maya lived upon.
a)
Floridian Peninsula
b)
Andes Peninsula
c)
The Mexico Peninsula
d)
The Yucatan Peninsula
8.
The Mayans created very accurate ones to help them keep track of their days and know when to plant and harvest crops.
a)
Temples
b)
Pyramids
c)
Pok-ta-pok
d)
Calendars
9.
The Aztecs were a _________ society, meaning they worshipped more than one God
a)
Monotheistic
b)
Ditheistic
c)
Polytheistic
d)
Bitheistic
10.

When the Aztec arrived in Central Mexico the area was

a)

dominated by city-states

b)

dominated by the Maya

c)

Empty, ready for them to build a grand empire

d)

a wall of skulls

11.

What were chinampas?

a)

the name for Aztec city-states

b)

people who lived in Tenochtitlan

c)

farmlands built in the swamps where the Aztec settled

d)

walls of skulls at temples

12.

Building chinampas allowed the Aztec to

a)

farm in swamp land

b)

defeat the other city-states

c)

carve skulls into stone wall

d)

create intricate green masks

13.

What is the name of the lake where the Aztec settled?

a)

Lake Texcoco

b)

Lake Tahoe

c)

Lake Templo

d)

Lake Cusco

14.

What's the name of the Aztec Capital?

a)

Texcoco

b)

Chinapa

c)

Templo Mayor

d)

Tenochtitlan

15.

The name for a government official who works to carry out the business of the government is

a)

conquistador

b)

codex

c)

glyph

d)

bureaucrat

16.

A city with its surrounding territory forms an independent state is

a)

a city state

b)

a chinapas

c)

a temple

d)

a city capital

17.

What was one reason the Aztec became weak?

a)

they demanded high tributes that city-states couldn't and wouldn't pay

b)

the chinampas fell apart

c)

too much money was spent on the Templo Mayor

d)

all of the above

18.

Who was Moctezuma II?

a)

Spanish conqueror who was greedy for gold and riches from Central and South America

b)

An important Aztec priest

c)

Aztec ruler who considered himself equal with the gods. The ruler when Hernan Cortes first arrived.

d)

Aztec leader who built Tenochititlan

19.

What is one way we know about the legacy of the Aztec civilization?

a)

the Aztec made codices (like books) with glyphs describing their history

b)

The Spanish were very careful with Aztec goods and artifacts and have preserved them

c)

Carvings in caves

d)

Moctezuma II's Instagram

20.

The Andes

a)

are a mountain range where the Inca Empire was established

b)

are a civilization that was built in central Mexico

c)

are a series of lakes in Peru

21.

The capital of the Inca Empire was at

a)

Tenochtitlan

b)

Texcoco

c)

Copan

d)

Cusco

22.

The Empire that developed in the Andes Mountains of South America lasting from the 1400s to the 1530s was the

a)

Aztec

b)

Inca

c)

Maya

d)

Conquistadors

23.

Whats the name of the stone city built high up in the Andes including religious temples, royal residences, and houses for workers?

a)

Andes

b)

Cusco

c)

Machu Picchu

d)

Nahuatl

24.

Who was the Inca emperor whose name means "he who changed the world"?

a)

Priest

b)

Pachacuti

c)

Cortes

d)

Moctezuma II

25.

Quechua was the

a)

language spoken by the Inca

b)

corn recipe used by the Inca

c)

city built by the Inca high in the Andes

d)

ruler of the Inca

26.

Cutting flat steps or terraces into the side of a mountain to have more land to cultivate is known as

a)

tribute

b)

quechua

c)

terrace farming

d)

chinampas farming

27.

Even though the Inca had a large and strong army, the Spanish successfully defeated them because they had

a)

Atahualpa

b)

horses and superior metal weapons

c)

terraced farming

d)

Francisco Pizarro

28.

Their bridges built of wood, stone, and thick rope, as well as their extensive network and roads, plus their entire cities built out of stone show us that the Inca were

a)

lazy

b)

gifted engineers and builders

c)

using a lot of help from the Maya

d)

skilled readers and writers

29.

The people of the Inca empire

a)

all spoke ONLY 1 language

b)

were all very similar

c)

were diverse and spoke over 20 languages

d)

were diverse but spoke ONLY one language

30.

What allowed stones to carry water to the city (like in Rome!)?

a)

terraced farming

b)

aqueducts

c)

Machu Picchu

d)

quarried stone

31.

Francisco Pizarro

a)

was a conquistador from Spain. He invaded the Inca.

b)

Had only 180 men, but superior supplies compared to the Inca

c)

conquered the territory of the fallen Inca Empire

d)

all of the above

32.

Conquistador is a spanish word that means.....

a)

crazy man

b)

soldier

c)

conqueror

33.

The continent was rich in natural resources, especially precious metals like__________ and _________.

a)

silver and gold

b)

iron and aluminum

c)

copper and bronze

34.

Conquistadors saw a fantastic opportunity to gain___________and ____________.

a)

real estate and equity

b)

stocks and bonds

c)

wealth and power

35.

The Conquistadors were able to defeat the native people because they had steel swords, ____________ and firearms.

a)

horses

b)

good lawyers

c)

large armies

36.

The native people were ______________.

a)

recruited to become spanish citizens

b)

enslaved and made to work in mines.

c)

given jobs and encouraged to buy homes.

37.

The enslaved native people were forced to work on large plantations called_____________.

a)

farms

b)

grasslands

c)

encomienda's

38.

Which legend did Coronado hear about that he wanted to find?

a)

New Spain

b)

The Zuni Pueblo

c)

Seven Cities of Cibola

d)

North America

39.
I am the first European to walk into Texas? I was shipwrecked there and lived among the natives for several years?
a)
Cabeza de Vaca
b)
Pineda
c)
De Soto
d)
Fray Marcos
40.

Which explorer was looking for 'cities of gold'?

a)

Pineda

b)

Cabeza de Vaca

c)

Coronado

d)

Cortez

41.
Which explorer made the very first map of the Gulf of Mexico and the Texas Gulf Coast?
a)
Coronado
b)
Pineda
c)
Cabeza De Vaca
d)
La Salle
42.

Which explorer was the first to make 'first contact' with the Texas Native Americans (Coahelticans and Karankawas)?

a)

Columbus

b)

Cabeza De Vaca

c)

Coronado

d)

Cortez

43.
Which explorer discovered and named Florida?
a)
Christopher Columbus
b)
Juan Ponce de Leon
c)
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
d)
John Cabot
44.
What country gave Christopher Columbus money for his trip?
a)
Italy
b)
Spain
c)
France
d)
England
45.
What did all of these explorers want to discover?
a)
Native Americans
b)
gold and riches
c)
new friends
d)
new towns