Aztec & Maya Test Flashcards
At the beginning of the documentary is a depiction of the important Maya city of Tikal, which had a population of 40,000. It reached its peak in 750 A.D. and was abandoned within a century thereafter. What message do these Maya ruins reveal?
It shows how fragile society and empires really are
What question about the ancient Maya has haunted archaeologists?
Why did they abandon their cities?
Where are the Maya originally believed to have come from?
Descendants of Greeks and lost tribe of Egypt. Today they really believe they are from Siberia.
What time frame is considered to be their “classical period?” How many centuries did they thrive?
250 AD -950, 400 most powerful but sudden decline
In which present-day countries did the empire of the Maya exist?
Belize, Guatemala, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Honduras, Southern Mexico
Before they were identified as a unique Maya civilization, from where did explorers of the region believe the Maya originated?
Greeks, lost tribe of Egypt, fugitives from Atlantis
The Maya had an “independently invented” writing system. What do you think is meant by an “independently invented” writing? How many independent writing systems does the documentary say the world has produced?
5 independent Writing Systems in the history of the World. It means that the language is not based on any other language
Why did the world of the classic Maya become a mystery despite the fact that they had a sophisticated writing system?
A European came and burned all of their books and only 4 books remained? A Russian soldier grabbed a book in Berlin when they burned all of them. A European Bishop came to teach them Christian religion but the Maya did not care to learn it and kept sacrificing and the European got mad so he burned all of their pieces of parchment which were their books
To what subject was the Maya mathematical system directly tied or linked? By what amount of time is the Maya calculation off from the modern-day calculation of the moon’s cycles?
Astronomy, 33 seconds off
What is the exact date that the Maya predicted the world (really the end of their present calendar) would end?
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Why were women and children subjected to physical deformity? What types of manipulation were mentioned in the documentary?
To make them look more like they wanted them to. Skulls being deformed and jewels put into teeth
What did the Maya believe about the blood of kings? Why was bloodletting practiced by Maya kings and queens?
Blood must be paid to their Gods and it was the king and queens that had to do it. This would cause the sun to rise, the rains to fall, and the corn to grow. King’s blood is more potent than other people’s because they were offspring of deities and when they died they came back more powerful
What does the documentary speculate may have caused the downfall of the Maya civilization and the abandonment of their cities – what caused the Maya to lose faith in their king’s blood power?
Their crops might have started dyeing and the king’s blood stopped working. 14 years of drought so they could have left because the king’s blood stopped working. Losses in wars, crop failure, and overpopulation. The people lost faith in their kings and religion and so they abandoned their temples and cities
The first Aztecs were farmers who migrated from the north to the central part of this area.
Mexico
According to Aztec legend, the gods told the migrating Aztecs to search for this bird perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak.
Eagle
The Aztecs settled on a swampy island in the middle of this lake.
Lake Texcoco
In 1325 the Aztecs began to build their capital and do this to nearby towns.
Conquered, forced to pay tribute
The Aztecs demanded this kind of payment from the people they conquered.
Regular Tributes. Asked for sacrifices. Food, Gold, Silver, Slaves
The cotton, gold, and food that the Aztecs received as tribute from conquered peoples made the Aztecs very what?
Wealthy
Through conquest and the creation of an empire, the Aztecs controlled a vast one of these.
Territory
By the early 1400s the Aztecs ruled the most powerful state in this area.
State of Mexico
By 1500 the Aztec empire ruled over this many people.
5 million
At its height, the Aztec empire stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to this body of water.
Pacific Ocean
This was the name of the Aztec capital.
Tenochtitlan
The Aztecs built these raised roads to connect their island city to the shore.
Causeways
The Aztecs built these to link different parts of their city.
Canals
Aztec farmers created these by growing crops on large rafts anchored to trees.
Chinampas
This was the name for the “floating gardens” of the Aztecs.
Xochimilco
This huge pyramid stood at the heart of Tenochtitlan and was used for sacrifices.
Templo Mayor (Main Temple)
This was comprised of warriors, priests, and nobles who chose the Aztec emperor from among the members of the royal family.
Council of Nobles for Moctezuma. 600 nobles, warriors, and priests
The Aztec believed that the sun god Huitzilopochtli battled these forces every night.
Forces of Darkness
To give the sun strength each day to rise again, the Aztecs offered this kind of sacrifice.
Ritual Blood Sacrifice and Human Hearts
Most of the victims of Aztec sacrifice were slaves or these people.
Captives Warriors
To supply people to be sacrificed, the Aztecs would wage frequent battles with these peoples.
Everyone around them but Tlaxcala in particular
The Aztecs would offer thousands of these each year for sacrifice.
Human Sacrifices blood and hearts
In the late 1400s these people from Europe arrived in the Americas.
Spaniards/Spanish
Name for Spanish soldiers who arrived in the Americas.
Conquistadors
This man arrived in Mexico in 1519 leading a group of conquistadors in search of gold.
Hernan Cortes
He was the Aztec emperor at the time of the arrival of Cortes.
Moctezuma II
Montezuma believed that Cortes was this Aztec god who had promised to return in 1519.
Quetzalcoatl
Cortes was able to make these with people the Aztecs had conquered.
Alliances
These two things brought from Europe gave the Spanish an advantage over the Aztecs.
Weaponry and Horses, Smallpox – horses, war dogs, guns armor, alliances with Indian warriors, Smallpox
In 1521 Cortes conquered the Aztecs and this Spanish city was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.
Mexico City
Where did the Maya civilization live?
The island of Texaco or Texcoco
The Central Valley of Mexico
South America by the Andes Mountains
The Yucatan Peninsula
The Yucatan Peninsula
Which of the following modern day countries are not part of where the Mayan civilization was located?
Belize
Mexico
Hondrus
Peru
Peru
Which group was NOT considered part of the Mayan nobility?
architects
scholars
farmers
merchants
Farmers
Most of the Mayan population was made up of
nobility
slaves
peasants
merchants
Peasants
What was the most important crop to the Mayans?
apples
maize
avocado
chili pepper
Maize
What type of farming was used in the mountains?
slash and burn
no farming was possible
chinampas
terraced
Terraced
What type of agriculture allowed the Mayans to make more land for farming?
slash and burn
terraced farming
no farming was possible this way
chinampas
Slash and Burn
What people of the Mayans social class lived in houses with palm leaf roofs?
nobles and priests
merchants and architects
farmers and laborers
kings and their families
Farmers and Laborers
Who of the Mayan social class lived in stone houses
merchants
farmers
nobility
architects
Nobility
What unique accomplishment did the Mayans have that was different then every other Mesoamerican civilization?
they built their capital on a lake
they built massive temples in the Andes mountains
they made agriculture
they made their own writing system
They made their own writing system
When and where did Aztecs live?
In Mesoamerica in 1300 A.D. - 1521 A.D.
In South America in 1900 A.D. - 1999 A.D.
In Mesoamerica in 1500 A.D. - 1521 A.D.
In Mesoamerica in 1300 A.D. - 1521 A.D.
What was the capital city of the Aztec empire?
Tenochtitlan
Cancun
Belize
Thenochtitlan
How many months has the Aztec calendar had?
18 months
30 months
40 months
18 months
What is the name of the unique and agricultural system of the Aztec?
Chinampas
Pochtecas
Maguey
Chinampas
How did this Aztec empire fall?
Spanish people conquered the empire in 1521
English people conquered the empire in 1900
French people conquered the empire in 1600
Spanish people conquered the empire in 1521
How many days each month of the Aztec calendar had?
20 days
18 days
30 days
20 Days
The Aztecs had lived in the territory of modern …
Canada
Mexico
Peru
Mexico
What was the language of the Aztec empire?
Chinese
Hindi
Nahuatl
Nahuatl
What was the major sustaining crop of the Aztecs?
Cattle
Maize
Wheat
Maize
What was the term for Aztec royalty?
Czar
Pharaoh
Tlatoani
Tlatoani
