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WorksheetsOlmec Civilization Review
Total questions: 22
Worksheet time: 11mins
What time period did the Olmec Civilization exist?
From 1500 BCE to 400 BCE
From 500 BCE to 100 CE
From 2000 BCE to 1000 BCE
From 1000 BCE to 500 BCE
What does the word "Olmec" mean?
People who live where rubber is made
People of the sun
People of the stone
People of the earth
How did the Olmecs make rubber?
By tapping rubber trees and combining the sap with Moonflower vines
By extracting sap from cactus plants
By using synthetic materials
By melting rocks
Why do we have no written records of the Olmec’s culture and beliefs?
Because they left no written records
Because their writings were destroyed by invaders
Because their writings have not yet been deciphered
Because they used a language unknown to us
What type of stone art did the Olmecs leave behind?
Giant stone heads
Pyramids
Small figurines
Stone tablets with inscriptions
Where were the giant stone heads primarily found?
In civilization centers like San Lorenzo and La Venta
In the deserts of Mexico
Along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico
In the mountains of Mexico
How many colossal heads have been discovered?
17
10
5
20
What do archaeologists theorize about the colossal heads?
They might be images of important rulers
They represent deities
They are symbols of the sun
They were used for rituals
In what ways do the colossal heads vary?
Height, circumference, and weight
Material, color, and location
Age, condition, and purpose
What did the Olmecs build that today looks like mounds or small hills?
Pyramids
Temples
Houses
Fortresses
What crops did the Olmecs farm?
Apples, pears, cherries, and plums
Peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots
Rice, wheat, barley, and oats
Maize, squash, sweet potatoes, cotton, and beans
What items did the Olmecs trade with other peoples throughout Central America?
Fish, salt, meat, and grain
Pottery, cloth, spices, and incense
Rubber, jade, obsidian, mica, feathers, and polished stone mirrors
Gold, silver, copper, and silk
What invention did the Olmecs leave behind that suggests they had a concept of time?
A calendar
A sundial
A clock
An astrolabe
What type of images did the Olmecs carve into stone, indicating they had a written language?
Glyphs (symbolic images)
Numbers
Letters
Pictograms
What type of games did the Olmecs invent?
Card games
Games using rubber balls
Racing games
Board games
What is El Manati, discovered in 1987?
An archaeological site used for ceremonial rituals
A residential area
A marketplace
A pyramid
What items have been found at El Manati?
Shells, beads, and textiles
Tools, weapons, and armor
Gold jewelry, pottery, and coins
Preserved wooden figures, rubber balls, axes, and infant bones
What do we know about the Olmec religion?
They worshipped gods connected to nature
They worshipped a single deity
They did not practice any religion
They practiced ancestor worship
How are the images of Olmec gods usually shown?
As only animal figures
As ony human figures
Mixing human and animal features
As abstract symbols
How are the Olmec gods referred to since their actual names are not known?
By colors and shapes
By the names of animals
By numbers or by their features
By celestial bodies
What happened to the Olmec population around 400 BCE?
It relocated entirely
It grew rapidly
It remained stable
It declined
What are some theories for the decline of the Olmec population?
Environmental change, volcanic activity, and being absorbed into other cultures
Famine, drought, and civil war
Alien invasion, divine punishment, and mass migration
Invasion by foreign armies, disease, and economic collapse
