Review Of The Early Americas

1.

What does this picture depict?

The floating gardens of Tenochtitlan.

The canals of Venice.

The canals of Lake Texcoco.

2. Document 3: The Scale of SacrificeSource: Friar Diego Duran, The History of the lndies of New Spain, 1581, Doris Heyden, translator, University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.The prisoners taken at Teuclepec were brought out. Motecuhzoma and Chihuacoatl began to sacrifice them, slicing open their chests and extracting their hearts. First, they raised the hearts to the sun, then they threw them into the shrine before the gods. This sacrifice began at midday and ended at nightfall. Two thousand three hundred men were killed and their blood bathed the entire temple and stairway. Each time the priest cut out a heart, they rolled the body down the stairs.The above description shows that the Aztec...

Were very wealthy and clean

Were very powerful and religious

Believed in equality

3. What empire is shown on the map?

The Inca

The Maya

The Aztec

4. What does the picture depict?

A Mayan ballplayer, who understands the movement of the planets and stars.

An Inca thief, who has been executed by getting thrown off the Andes mountains.

An Aztec priest, who is preparing to sacrifice a captured enemy.

5. Many structures have been unearthed in these cities including public buildings, palaces, ball courts, and pyramids with temples on top. These buildings have lasted due to a special cement the Mayans made, mixed with limestone. What can be deduced from the passage above?

The Maya were advanced architects.

The Maya made human sacrifices.

The Maya lifestyle was one of hardship.

6.

What does the picture depict?

The last Aztec emperor, Montezuma, greeting the conquistador, Hernan Cortes.

The last Inca emperor, Atahualpa, greeting the conquistad, Pachacuti.

The first Inca emperor, Pachacuti, surrendering to the Chanka.

7. What part of the world is shown in the map?

Africa

Meso-America

South America

8. How did the Inca alter their environment?

They created terraces and roads in the mountains.

They cut down trees to reinforce the ground below their empire.

They cut down the jungle so that their enemies had no cover.

9. The _______ live in the _______ located in _______.

Aztec, jungle, South America

Inca, Andes Mountains, South America

Maya, jungle, South America

10. What people altered their faces as shown in the picture?

The Maya

The Inca

The Aztec

11.

What does the picture reveal about life in an Inca ayllu?

The Inca practiced a type of government similar to a democracy.

The Inca ate potatoes and guinea pigs.

Due to the mountains, the Inca lived in city-states.

12. What is the peninsula shown on the map and who built an empire in this peninsula?

The Yucatan Peninsula, the Maya

The Yucatan Peninsula, the Inca

The Arabian Peninsula, Mohammed

13. Others have viewed the Aztec practice as the intentional manipulation and expansion of a widespread phenomenon that had long existed among many American peoples. In other words, the Aztec rulers, priests, and nobility used the cult of war and largescale human sacrifice for political purposes to terrorize their neighbors and subdue the lower classes. Another possible explanation is demographic. If central Mexico was as densely populated as we believe, then the sacrifices may have been a kid of population control.According to the passage, what is one possible reason the Aztec sacrificed people?

To gain the respect of Aztec rulers, priests, and nobility.

To gain control over the Rio Grande, which was irrigated for their crops.

14. How did the Inca adapt to the cold environment of the Andes Mountains?

They grew crops that could survive in freezing temperatures.

They used horses as food and work animals.

They wore heavy coats made of cowhide.

15.

What does the picture depict?

The conquistador Hernan Cortes, murdering the last Aztec emperor.

The conquistador Francisco Pizarro, murdering the last Inca emperor.

Knights of the Roman empire, burning and looting Constantinople.

16. What were some of the accomplishments that demonstrate the Inca's sophistication?

Observatory towers, the invention of the wheel, and the invention of paper

Sky high temples, human sacrifice, and a ball game that mimicked the movement of the stars

Thousands of miles of roads, suspension bridges, and cranial surgery

17. Where did the Aztec build their empire?

In Meso-America, what is today Mexico, and on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

In South America, what is today Peru, and on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco.

In Central America, what is today Guatemala, and in the jungles.

18. In what ways were the Maya similar to the Ancient Egyptians?

Both worshiped cats, written language, and were polytheistic.

Both built pyramids, were weakened by drought, and were polytheistic.

Both performed human sacrifice, were monotheistic, and worshiped the sun.

19. How did the Aztec alter their environment?

They created terraces into the surrounding mountains for farmland.

They drained the lake so that it was half its depth, and used the water for their agriculture.

The reinforced the marshy land of Tenochtitlan with wooden poles taken from the surrounding forest.