Random
Which civilization built Machu Picchu?
✅ The Inca
The Olmec are often called the “______ culture” of Mesoamerica.
✅ Mother Culture
What systems did the Maya develop to record dates and events?
✅ The Mayan calendar and hieroglyphic writing system
What was the capital city of the Aztec Empire?
✅ Tenochtitlan
What was the capital of the Inca Empire?
✅ Cuzco
Which civilization invented the first known Mesoamerican calendar?
✅ The Olmec
What large stone monuments are most associated with the Olmec?
✅ Colossal stone heads
The Maya lived mostly in what geographic region?
✅ The Yucatán Peninsula and parts of Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras)
The Aztecs practiced this form of farming using “floating gardens.”
✅ Chinampas
What language did the Inca use to unite their diverse empire?
✅ Quechua
Which two civilizations built city-states instead of empires?
✅ The Maya and Olmec
In which two modern Mexican states did the Olmec mainly live?
✅ Veracruz and Tabasco
What crop was the most important to the Maya and considered sacred?
✅ Maize (corn)
Who was the Aztec emperor when the Spanish arrived in 1519?
✅ Montezuma II (Moctezuma II)
What type of labor tax required Inca citizens to work on public projects?
✅ Mita system
Which empire fell to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1533?
✅ The Inca Empire
Which later civilizations borrowed ideas like calendars and ceremonial centers from the Olmec?
✅ Maya and Aztec
What is the name of the ancient Mayan city with the pyramid El Castillo?
✅ Chichén Itzá
Which god did the Aztecs believe required human sacrifices to keep the sun rising?
✅ Huitzilopochtli
What geographic challenges did the Inca overcome with terrace farming?
✅ Steep mountain slopes and thin Andean soil
Compare the Maya and Aztec political structures. How were they different?
✅ Maya: independent city-states ruled by kings; Aztec: centralized empire under an emperor in Tenochtitlan.
What do archaeologists believe about Olmec jaguar-human hybrid figures (were-jaguars)?
✅ They may represent gods, rulers, or shamanic transformation, showing the Olmec focus on fertility and spiritual power.
How did the Maya’s understanding of astronomy shape their architecture?
✅ They aligned temples and pyramids with celestial events like solstices and equinoxes.
What was the significance of Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan?
✅ It was the main temple and religious center, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.
How did the Inca manage to control such a vast empire without a written language?
✅ Through quipus, oral traditions, messengers (chasquis), and an extensive road system.