Northeast,
Southeast, Plains
Southeast, Plains
Explain one way cold winters in the Northeast influenced clothing.
What is the use of warm garments made from layered animal hides/furs
Give one example of cultural diversity among North American Indian groups
What are different languages (e.g., Iroquoian vs. Algonquian) and customs.
State one geographic feature that influenced Maya agriculture.
What are rainforests and karst soil; slash-and-burn and terracing where needed.
Name one feature of class structure in these civilizations
What is rigid class systems with nobles/priests, commoners, and laborers/slaves.
Name one astronomical or calendrical achievement of the Maya
What are complex calendar systems and accurate astronomical observations.
Identify a typical housing type for Plains peoples and why
What are teepees (tipis) which were portable for following bison across grasslands
Explain how trade networks connected different tribes
What is trade routes exchanged goods (shells, copper, food), ideas, and technologies across regions.
Explain how highland plateau affected Inca settlement and farming
What is Andes highlands led to terraced agriculture and irrigation to farm steep slopes.
Give an example of a religious practice common to one of the civilizations.
What is Aztec human sacrifice to please gods; Maya rituals and offerings to deities.
Identify a mathematical advancement from these civilizations
What is Maya developed positional number system and used zero.
Describe how wetlands/coastal resources affected Southeast housing or food
What are raised houses/thatched homes and reliance on fishing, shellfish, and agriculture
Name one way political structures varied between tribes.
What is some had councils of elders/clans; others had chiefs with hereditary authority.
Describe how the valley/central plateau influenced Aztec agriculture
What is Lake Texcoco led to chinampas (floating gardens) to maximize arable land.
Describe the role of oral tradition or record-keeping among these groups
What is Maya used hieroglyph writing and codices; oral histories transmitted myths and genealogy; Aztec also kept records and pictographs.
Describe a technological innovation that supported agriculture.
What are Slash-and-Burn (Maya), Chinampas (Aztec), terraces (Inca), and irrigation systems.
Explain how geography shaped Plains agriculture or mobility.
What are open prairie supported bison hunting and less sedentary farming; some groups planted crops near rivers.
Describe how language diversity affected alliances or communication.
What is the need for interpreters/trade languages; alliances often formed through diplomacy or intermarriage.
Compare two environmental adaptations used by these civilizations to increase food production.
What is Maya: slash-and-burn/raised fields; Aztec: chinampas; Inca: terraces and irrigation — each adapted to local terrain and climate.
Explain how slavery or labor systems supported state projects (e.g., monuments, roads)
Use of slave labor, tribute labor, and mita-like labor (Inca) for construction, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Give an example of Inca engineering or infrastructure
What are extensive road network and suspension bridges across mountains.
Compare clothing and housing of a Northeast tribe vs. a Southeast tribe and explain geographic causes.
Northeast: heavier fur/leather clothing and wigwams due to forests/cold; Southeast: lighter woven garments and raised/thatched homes due to warm, humid climate and wetlands.
Explain an example of how economic structures differed (subsistence vs. specialized production).
What is some societies were largely hunter-gatherer; others had agriculture with surplus and craft specialization.
Explain how climate differences shaped the food sources of these civilizations
What is Tropical lowlands (Maya) supported maize, beans, squash; high Andes (Inca) cultivated potatoes and quinoa; Aztec valley grew maize and used chinampas.
Compare political organization of the Inca empire to the Aztec empire
What is Inca: centrally controlled, bureaucratic with governors and state-run labor; Aztec/Maya: alliance-based Triple Alliance with tribute from conquered city-states and powerful local rulers.
Explain how astronomy, mathematics, and calendars influenced religion or daily life.
What are calendars timed agricultural cycles and religious ceremonies; astronomy guided ritual timing and long-term planning.