Chapter 13

Question 1

Mesoamerica

Answer 1

is a region in Mexico and parts of Central America whose ancestral indigenous inhabitants shared a number of cultural traits

• a complex calendar
• Emphasis on bloodletting
• A ball game played on a special court

Question 2

Urbnism and social complexity

Answer 2

• Teotihuacan
• Maya cities
• Aztec Empire

Question 3

Olmec sites

Answer 3

earliest complex society on Mesoamerica is found along the Gulf Coast of Mexico

Question 4

Major ceremonial centers

Answer 4

between 1200 B.C. and 300 B.C. Olmec peoples constructed a series in towns with populations in the thousands

Question 5

Human heads

Answer 5

Olmec peoples developed a highly sophisticated artistic tradition that included monumental sculptures carved out of volcanic rock

Question 6

colossal heads

Answer 6

possibly depict leaders and could represent competition in a ball game due to their helmet-like head covering

Question 7

Clay sculptures of infants with adult heads

Answer 7

are often found on Olmec sites and could represnet leaders of deities

Question 8

La Venta

Answer 8

16 male figures carved from jade and serpentine were found and possibly representing a town council

Question 9

Monte Alban

Answer 9

in Oaxaca Valley in the Mexican highlands is the first city and thus, the oldest city in Mesoamerica

Question 10

Central plaza

Answer 10

the population grew from 5,000-17,000 between the period of 500 B.C. and 350 B.C. and came to consist of neighborhoods

Question 11

Teotihuacan

Answer 11

starting 2,000 years ago, grew into an enormous city covering 20 sq km (12.42 sp miles) with a population of over 80,000

Question 12

Valley of Mexico

Answer 12

site is 2,169 meters (7,282 Feet) about sea level in the highlands, which is a rich agricultural area dotted by lakes

Question 13

Teotihuacan

Answer 13

was laid out along a road known as the Avenue of the Dead, which stretches 5 km and enters the city from the south

Question 14

The line up of three great mounments

Answer 14

Avenue of the Dead
Pyramid of the Sun
Pyramid of the Moon

Question 15

Pyramid of the Sun

Answer 15

is the largest monument and has a cave that runs below it (contents in the cave have long been looted)

Question 16

Temple of the Feathered Serpent

Answer 16

was named for carved heads of the deity that adorn the monument’s surface and it also was lined by burials of sacrificial victims distributed symmetrically along the four side of the temple

Question 17

high-status positions

Answer 17

Items found with the male victims related to the milltary and reveal the role of human sacrifice on Teotihuacan ritual

Question 18

Advance their power

Answer 18

It is likely that the great monuments were built by rulers that were

Question 19

Temple of the Feathered Serpent

Answer 19

Around 400 A.D., the facade was smashed and burnt, and then it was re-covered with a new layer of construction

Question 20

Apartment complexes

Answer 20

also were built around 200 A.D., lining the avenue and possibly indicating a gradual increase in the power of kin (family) group at the expense of the centralized ruler

Question 21

Corporate (group) political structure

Answer 21

The construction of apartment complexes was likely a strong reaction against centralizing power on favor

Question 22

Maya peoples

Answer 22

in Mesoamerica first began developing a state society with complex writing system in large urban centers around 2,000 years ago

Question 23

Codices

Answer 23

much of Maya written history was lost under Spanish rule when Spaniards burned most of Maya books

Question 24

Mayan hieroglyphs

Answer 24

had afforded great insight into the detailed history of early Mayan cities

Question 25

Modern Maya

Answer 25

oral traditions and cultural practies also plays a major role in understanding the remins and pasts of ancestral Maya peoples

Question 26

Developed along the Rivers and Swamps

Answer 26

most early Maya cities in the southern zone and may have been related to the arrival of ta ruler from Teotihuacan

Question 27

Cenotes

Answer 27

The northern zone is flat scrubland and became the dominant focus of Maya settlement in later periods; sites in the northern zone were located near (sinkholes) that were a critical source of water

Question 28

Slash-and-burn agriculture

Answer 28

which is a shifting system of agriculture that requires fields be used at different times after vegetation is burned and the land is left to rest

Question 29

3 Early complex Maya periods

Answer 29

• Preclassic period (era up to 250 A.D.): settlements began to coalesce around a ceremonial complex
• Classic Period (250-900 A.D.): cities developed as large-scale settlements
• Postclassic period (900- arrival of Spanish in 1519 A.D.): large cities were abandoned in the “Maya Collapse” and most large settlements were located in the northern Yucatan Peninsual

Question 30

Steep pyramids

Answer 30

became a defining feature of Maya cities in the Classic period and cities may have included population up to 20,000 people

Question 31

Central area

Answer 31

pryamids typically sit in the city, along with royal residences, ball courts and open plazas