GEOGRAPHY
Which civilization lived in the rugged Andes Mountains and had to adapt to steep cliffs and high altitudes?
The Inca Tribe
What type of religious system did the Maya, Aztec, and Inca share?
Polytheism
Which civilization independently developed the concept of zero?
What is the Maya
Were the Maya organized as one unified empire? Yes or no and why?
No, they were independent city-states
Who occupied the highest level of Maya and Aztec society?
Who are kings and royal family
The Aztec built their capital city, Tenochtitlan, on an island located in which lake?
Lake Texcoco
The Maya built large temple-pyramids where priests performed rituals connected to what important part of life?
What is agricultural fertility
What was the name of the Aztec agricultural system involving floating gardens?
What are chinampas
What was the name of the powerful coalition created by the Aztec?
What is the Triple Alliance
What group made up the majority of the Maya and Aztec populations?
What are the peasant farmers
What physical environment presented the Maya with dense rainforests and porous limestone terrain?
What is Mesoamerican lowlands and highlands
Which civilization believed that the sun required constant nourishment and therefore practiced large-scale human sacrifice?
What system of knotted and colored strings did the Inca use to record numerical and historical information?
What is the quipu
What type of activity formed the economic foundation of all three civilizations?
What is agriculture
What were the family clans that organized Inca society called?
What are the ayllus
Why did the Inca need advanced engineering to build and maintain their empire?
Because their empire stretched across the rugged Andes Mountains, requiring them to overcome steep terrain, high elevations, and extreme temperature changes?
Who was Inti, and which civilization worshipped him?
What is the Inca sun God.
The Maya created a precise 365-day calendar using mathematics and observations of what?
What are astronomical observations
What economic system required conquered Aztec territories to send food, textiles, and luxury goods to the capital?
What is tribute
Which group occupied the lowest level of Maya and Aztec society according to the article?
Who are enslaved prisoners of war
Compare the geographic challenges faced by the Aztec and Inca. How did each civilization use engineering to turn a difficult environment into an advantage?
The Aztec transformed a swampy island environment into a productive capital through chinampas, causeways, and aqueducts, while the Inca adapted to the Andes using roads, terraces, and suspension bridges.
How did religion influence the political or social structure of at least one of these civilizations?
The Inca viewed the Sapa Inca as a living connection to the divine, while the Maya were ruled by god-kings. Religion therefore helped legitimize political authority.
Which civilization's achievements most directly demonstrate its ability to overcome geographic challenges? Use at least two specific examples from the article.
The Inca provide strong evidence because they constructed a 14,000-mile road network, suspension bridges, and agricultural terraces to overcome the challenges of the Andes.
Explain one major difference between the Aztec and Inca economic systems.
Aztec economy relied heavily on tribute and market exchange, while the Inca economy was state-controlled and did not use money or independent merchants.
How was Inca social organization different from the Maya and Aztec social hierarchies?
Maya and Aztec society followed a more traditional pyramid structure, while the Inca organized much of the population into ayllus, or family clans that lived and worked together. Although freedom was restricted, the Inca system was designed to ensure that people were fed, housed, and protected.