GRAPES Geography (G):
The continent where both the Maya and Aztec civilizations developed.
What is North America (or the Western Hemisphere)?
In the Maya civilization, power was organized around many small, independent regions, known as these.
What are city-states?
These large, stone structures were built by both civilizations and used for religious ceremonies and sacrifices.
What are pyramids (or temples)?
The Aztec invention used to create small rectangular islands in the lake for farming.
What are chinampas (floating gardens)?
This was the highest social class, which included the ruler and his family.
What are the nobles (or royalty)?
The Maya built their cities in this type of thick forest environment.
What is the rainforest (or jungle)?
The military of the Aztec Empire fought wars primarily to gain these two things from conquered peoples.
What are people (for sacrifice) and tribute (goods/taxes)?
The sun god whom the Aztecs believed they had to feed with human blood to ensure the sun would rise each day.
Who is Huitzilopochtli?
The advanced mathematical concept the Maya developed that is essential for modern math.
What is the concept of zero?
This food item was so valuable that both civilizations used its beans as a form of currency.
What is cacao (or chocolate)?
This body of water was essential for the Aztec capital, as their entire city was built upon it.
What is Lake Texcoco?
The highest-ranking leader of the Aztec civilization was called this.
What is the Tlatoani?
The religious practice that served as the primary connection between the Aztecs and their gods.
What is human sacrifice?
The name for the sacred, 260-day calendar used by the Maya to schedule religious ceremonies and events.
What is the Tzolkin calendar?
The type of economy both the Maya and Aztec used, which involved trading one good directly for another.
What is a barter economy?
The name of the region that includes southern Mexico and Central America, where the Maya lived.
What is Mesoamerica?
What is the term for the system where the Aztecs forced conquered cities to regularly pay them with goods, labor, or currency?
What is tribute?
Besides the ruler, this specific class of people often held significant political power because they could interpret the gods' will.
What are priests?
The name for the folding books made from bark paper that the Maya used to write down their history.
What are codices?
This specific occupation was the most reliable way for a commoner's son to raise his status in Aztec society.
What is a warrior?
The geographic reason why the Aztec and Maya had to rely on human labor instead of horses or oxen to move goods.
What is a lack of suitable large pack animals?
A government system where the ruler is believed to be chosen by or descended from a god is called this.
What is a theocracy?
The name of the feathered serpent god who was worshipped by both the Maya and the Aztec (under different names).
Who is Quetzalcoatl (or Kukulkan)?
The three ways the Maya and Aztec recorded their history and knowledge.
What are written records, oral tradition, and artifacts (like architecture)?
The development of surplus (extra) food led directly to the formation of distinct social groups, a process known as this.
What is social stratification (or specialization)?