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WorksheetsCh.1.2. Mesoamerican Civilizations practice questions
Total questions: 65
Worksheet time: 36mins
The Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica pre-dated the Maya and Aztec civilizations in the same region.
What contribution did the Olmec people make to the Maya and Aztec civilizations?
A. the development of quipu
B. the development of the calendar
C. the development of wheat farming
D. the development of cattle ranching
This 16th-century illustration shows an Aztec taking a prisoner of war after a battle.
What role did war prisoners take in Aztec society?
A. War prisoners were sacrificed to the sun god.
B. War prisoners were held for ransom from Aztec enemies.
C. War prisoners were used to carry messages along the extensive network of Aztec roads.
D. War prisoners were encouraged to become Aztec warriors to fight other Aztec enemies.
How did both the Maya and Inca adapt to their physical environments in order to successfully develop agriculture?
A. The Mayas built chinampas for farming and the Incas built terraces for farming.
B. The Incas built chinampas for farming and the Mayas built terraces for farming.
C. The Mayas built chinampas for farming and the Incas used crop rotation for farming.
D. The Incas used slash and burn and the Mayas built terraces for farming.
This map shows the location of the main Inca roads with the locations of modern states and cities.
What was the primary purpose for the building of the Inca road system?
A. to allow for easy trade into and out of the empire
B. to allow armies and news to move quickly through the empire
C. to allow farmers to move their products to the market before they spoil
D. to increase the speed of travel to religious festivals in the northern part of the empire
What conclusion can be drawn from the evidence about the Maya and Inca record-keeping systems?
A. The Incas were better mathematicians than the Maya.
B. Both the Maya and Inca developed effective record-keeping systems.
C. The Maya record-keeping system was more reliable than the Inca record-keeping system.
D. The Maya had a written record-keeping system, but the Inca were unable to keep any records.
The map shows Aztec city-states in the Mexico Valley around the year 1519 CE.
Which Aztec ruler is credited with uniting Tlacopan and Texcoco with Tenochtitlan to form the Triple Alliance in order to increase Aztec military power?
A. Moctezuma I
B. Hernan Cortes
C. Huayna Capac
D. Pascal the Great
What is an example of the changes caused by the Columbian Exchange?
A. world population declined
B. European power quickly declined
C. American diseases spread to Europe and China
D. American foods like corn and potatoes were introduced to European diets.
The illustration of Aztec people was produced by a Spanish priest in Mexico, circa 1585.
What was the effect of the Columbian Exchange on the Native American population?
A. an increase in the average global temperature
B. an increase in oral storytelling to pass down Native American history
C. the spread of higher calorie food that allowed Native Americans to rest more
D. the spread of Old World diseases to which the Native Americans had no immunity
What is an example of a belief system that was spread to the Americas as a result of the Columbian Exchange?
A. Islam
B. Hinduism
C. Buddhism
D. Christianity
Which statement describes an impact that the Columbian Exchange had on the lives of Africans?
A. Cross-cultural trade between Africa and Asia declined.
B. New diseases were brought to Africa and resulted in massive deaths caused by a plague.
C. The transfer of Africans to Europe supported the developments that led to the Industrial Revolution.
D. The forced enslavement and transportation of Africans to the Americas by Europeans resulted in a captive labor force for more than 200 years.
The map shows the maritime trade network between Europe, Africa, and the Americas known as triangular trade.
A. Middle Leg
B. Mercantilism
C. Middle Passage
D. Vertex Passage
The graph shows the number of slaves brought to the Americas grouped in 25 year periods.
Which of the following was not an effect of the forced removal of African people on African societies?
A. increased trade with Europeans for firearms
B. increased tensions among neighboring peoples
C. rise of new states that battled for control of the slave trade
D. a shift towards trade with Asia instead of the Europeans and the Americas
How did both the Maya and Inca adapt to their physical environments in order to successfully develop agriculture?
A. The Mayas built chinampas for farming and the Incas built terraces for farming.
B. The Incas built chinampas for farming and the Mayas built terraces for farming.
C. The Mayas built chinampas for farming and the Incas used crop rotation for farming.
D. The Incas used slash and burn and the Mayas built terraces for farming.
This photo of quipu was taken at the Machu Picchu Museum in Cusco, Peru.
How was quipu used by the Inca?
A. to symbolize the sun god
B. to clean the floors of public buildings and spaces
C. as a three-dimensional art form to beautify religious temples
D. to keep records of tax collections, census records, and other data
The game where players could not use their feet or hands to hit a rubber ball into a hoop? The losers were often sacrificed to the gods.
Tenochtitlan
Tok-A-Pok
Pok-A-Tok
Tikal
The Maya civilization is well known for its advancements in what field?
Agriculture
Astronomy
Metallurgy
Maritime trade
Which Mesoamerican civilization built the famous city of Tenochtitlan?
Maya
Aztec
Inca
Toltec
The Inca civilization was primarily located in which modern-day country?
Mexico
Peru
Colombia
Guatemala
Which civilization is known for the creation of colossal head sculptures?
Maya
Aztec
Olmec
Toltec
The Toltec civilization was eventually assimilated into which later civilization?
Maya
Aztec
Inca
Olmec
What was the primary writing system used by the Maya civilization?
Hieroglyphics
Quipu
Cuneiform
Alphabetic
Which of the following was a major city of the Inca civilization?
Chichen Itza
Tenochtitlan
Cuzco
Tula
The Mesoamerican ballgame was played with a rubber ball. What was unique about the way the game was played?
It was played on water
Players could only use their feet
Players could only use their hips
It was played in complete darkness
Which Mesoamerican civilization were made up of independent city-states run by local rulers
Toltecs
Maya
Inca
Aztecs
Which geographical region served as a natural barrier for the Inca Empire?
The Andes Mountains
The Amazon jungle
The coastal desert
The Great Plains
Which Mesoamerican civilization used warfare to unify its neighboring city-states in an empire?
Aztecs
Maya
Inca
Zapotecs
Which of the following led to the demise of the Aztecs?
Drought and Famine
Disease and Warfare
Migration and Taxes
Civil war and Overpopulation
The Mayans were able to create accurate
Wheels
Calendars
Statues
Maps
Where was Mesoamerica? Mention the countries that make up Mesoamerica.
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica.
Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador
Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic
Where was the Aztec Empire located?
Tenochtitlan
Lake of Texcoco
Valley of Mexico
All of the above
3) By what other name did the Aztecs recognize themselves?
Mexica
Mixtec
Maya
Totonac
The Aztecs were good warriors and had conquered the entire central region of Mexico.
True
False
7) Which physical region did the Maya civilization inhabit?
Peninsula de Yucatan
The Andes Mountains
The Amazon Basin
True or False? The Maya built a complex system of roads to connect the different Maya city-states.
True
False
What was the staple crop (most important food source) for the Maya people?
Corn (Maiz)
Rice
Potato
Bean
The great stepped pyramids of the Mayans served as ______________ to worship the gods.
trade buildings
temples
military headquarters
The Maya were the first recorded civilization to feature the concept of ________ in their number system.
infinite
digits
zero
The Maya recorded their history on stone columns called?
stelae
Temples
Ball courts
In modern day, the main area where the Maya lived is now?
Caribbean Islands
Yucatan Peninsula, Chiapas and Centro America
Amazons Jungle
The Mayans were skilled in various disciplines. What were the main?
astronomers
farmers
mathematicians
all of the above
______ is an ornamental mineral, mainly known for its green varieties, the Olmecs used it to make masks. Exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.
Gold
Jade
Malachite
The Aztec people originally migrated from Aztlán through the central highlands before reaching _________, where they established “The Great Tenochtitlan”.
Valley of Mexico
Platform of Yucatan
Amazon rain forest
Which civilization developed around 1000 BC and consisted of some 10 million people spread among 40 cities?
Olmec
Zapotec
Toltec
Mayan
What were the main crops grown by the Mesoamerican civilizations?
Rice, beans, and yams
Wheat, barley, and rice
Maize, beans, and squash
Potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers
What method of farming involved burning the vegetation to clear land for planting?
Irrigation farming
Terrace farming
Crop rotation
Slash and burn agriculture
Who ruled with absolute power in the Mayan society and was believed to communicate with the gods?
Priests
Warriors
Merchants
Kings
What was the service tax in the Inca Empire paid with?
Gold and silver
Crops and livestock
Physical labor
Money
Which geographical region served as a natural barrier for the Inca Empire?
The Andes Mountains
The Amazon jungle
The coastal desert
The Great Plains
What did the Incas use to connect their empire with 14,000 miles of well-built roads?
Footpaths and trails
Bicycles and motorcycles
Boats and canoes
Horses and carriages
What was the purpose of the stone walls built along the edge of some Inca roads?
To prevent landslides
To prevent people from falling off the cliff
To provide shade
To mark the territory
What was the primary building material used by the Inca civilization?
Wood
Stone
Clay
Metal
The Maya civilization...
Came to a mysterious end
Developed in South America
Hit its peak about 750BC
Lasted about 1,000 years
In what year did the Olmecs appear?
1800 BCE
1200 BCE
1100 BCE
400 BCE
Which were the Olmec legacies?
Symbols
Calendars
Writing
Monuments
Which civilization appeared after the Olmecs?
The Aztecs
The Mayans
The Olmecs
The Incas
The Incan empire was located in:
Peru
Spain
Mexico
Guatemala
Which Mesoamerican society lived on the Yucatan Peninsula?
Aztec
Incas
Mayans
Spanish
What was the purpose of building terraces?
to use as meeting places
for future generations
to convert usable land into farmland
to create land for the wealthy
Chinampas...
provided Mayan kings a place to go in times of trouble
were an innovative agricultural technique used by the Aztecs
failed as a Mayan method of fighting off outside invaders.
served as an Incan method of keeping unwritten records
Machu Picchu is an example of...
a huge pyramid built by the Mayans
a large floating garden in Mexico
a massively built fort of the Inca
an elaborately built Aztec city
________ used floating gardens to increase their food production.
Aztecs
Mayans
Spanish
Incas
What color represents where the Inca civilization was?
blue
red
gray
green
Most Aztecs belonged to which class?
emperor
priests
warriors
commoners
