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2025 > Maya, Aztec, and Inca > Flashcards

Maya, Aztec, and Inca Flashcards

1
Q

When did the Maya civilization thrive?

A

200-900 CE

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2
Q

Where is Mesoamerica located?

A

Central America

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3
Q

True or false: The Maya invented the wheel.

A

False: The wheel was invented in Mesopotamia

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4
Q

What ball game did the Maya play?

A

Pok-ta-pok

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5
Q

What was the name of the Mayan’s sacred book?

A

Popul Vuh

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6
Q

What was a possible consequence for losing pok-ta-pok?

A

Human Sacrifice

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6
Q

What structures did the Maya build that rose above the forest treetops?

A

Temples

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6
Q

How were the Mayans able to figure out an accurate calendar?

A

They studied the stars.

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7
Q

In which region was the Maya civilization primarily located?

A

Mesoamerica

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8
Q

What did the Maya create that was nearly as accurate as the one we use today?

A

A calendar

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9
Q

What did archaeologists find carved into Maya ruins and monuments?

A

Hieroglyphs

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10
Q

What was the main purpose of the Maya pyramids?

A

To worship gods

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11
Q

What was the name of the giant staircase that was discovered in Copan?

A

The Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway

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12
Q

T or F: The Mayans believed that the first people could see everything

A

True

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13
Q

The Mayans believed that the Gods gave the first people too much power so they clouded later people’s vision like ____.

A

Breath on a mirror.

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14
Q

What ball game did the Maya play?

A

Pok-ta-pok

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15
Q

How were the Mayans able to figure out an accurate calendar?

A

They studied the movement of the stars.

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16
Q

What structures did the Maya build that rose above the forest treetops?

A

temples/pyramids

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17
Q

In which region was the Maya civilization primarily located?

A

Mesoamerica/Central America

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18
Q

What did the Maya create that was nearly as accurate as the one we use today?

A

calendar

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19
Q

What did archaeologists find carved into Maya buildings and monuments?

A

Hieroglyphs

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20
Q

What did the Maya use to track time?

A

Solar calendar

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20
Q

Which Mayan temple has a shadow that looks like a serpent is going down the stairs on the spring and fall equinox?

A

Chichen Itza

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21
Q

The Mayans knowledge of astronomy was impressive. What is astronomy?

A

The study of the stars and other celestial bodies.

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22
Which crop was most important to the Maya?
Corn
23
What symbol represented zero for the Maya?
Shell
24
Why did the Maya children have two birthdays?
They had two calendars and they celebrated a birthday from each calendar.
25
What was the purpose of the Sacred Round calendar?
Religious Events
26
How many months were on the Mayan solar calendar?
18 months
27
What did the Mayans use for writing?
hieroglyphs
28
What did Maya priests consult for guidance?
Stars
29
How did the Maya view beauty in children?
Crossed eyes and flat heads
30
What happened to the Maya cities around 900 CE?
They were abandoned
31
What did the Maya use to redirect water for farming?
Waterways
32
How many days long was the Maya Sacred Round calendar?
 260
33
What did the Maya do to make their children's heads flat?
Strapped a board to their heads
34
Why did the Maya hang something in front of a baby's nose?
To develop crossed eyes
35
Why did the Maya civilization end?
Nobody knows for sure.
36
True or false: The Aztec believed in multiple suns.
True
37
What was the Aztec capital city?
Tenochtitlán
38
Which animals were part of the Aztec sign?
Eagle and snake
39
What did the Aztec believe about the sun?
It needed sacrifices
40
What does the word Tenochtitlan mean?
The Place of the Prickly Pear
41
What was the Aztec's view on dying in battle?
It was a great honor
42
What was the Aztec's main reason for war?
To expand territory
43
What lake did the Aztecs find the Eagle with a snake in its mouth on a prickly pear cactus?
Lake Texcoco
44
How many suns did the Aztecs believe there were?
5
45
T or F: The Aztecs believed that the world and the sun had been destroyed four times in the past.
True
46
According to the Aztecs, who ruled the world under the first sun?
Giants
47
According to the Aztecs, how did the first world end?
A jaguar devoured the giants.
48
According to the Aztecs, how did their second world get destroyed?
The second sun was swept away by a great wind.
49
According to the Aztecs, how did the third world and sun get destroyed?
It was set on fire by the ash of volcanoes.
50
How did those living under the fourth sun die?
People drowned in floods.
51
Who was the Aztec emperor in the early 1500s?
Moctezuma II
52
What connected Tenochtitlan to the mainland?
Causeways
53
True or false: Tenochtitlan had a population of 200,000.
True
54
What did Aztecs use for transportation?
Canoes
55
What was the special book that Aztec scribes wrote their pictograms on?
Codex
56
True or false: Aztec boys learned military drills in school.
True
57
What was the largest temple in Tenochtitlan called?
The Great Temple
58
What did the Aztecs use to keep soil fertile?
They dug up new mud from the bottom of the lake and put in on top of the garden.
59
Moctezuma II and the Aztecs had fear of a natural disaster, but what can we infer will be their downfall?
Disease brought from Spanish Soldiers
60
What did the Aztecs use for writing?
Codices
61
Who were the smaller temples that surround the Great Temple dedicated to?
The Aztec Gods
62
True or false: The Sapa Inca was the son of Inti.
True
63
Which animal was used as a pack animal for the Incas?
Llama
64
What was the main crop for the Inca?
Potato
65
What was the role of He-Who-Sees-Everything?
Tax collector and matchmaker
66
True or false: The Inca Empire was the largest in the Americas.
True
66
What did Inca women use to make clothing?
Alpaca Wool
67
What was the purpose of the Inca census?
To count people for tax purposes.
68
Which region did the Inca primarily inhabit?
Andes mountains
69
What was the name of the 2,000 mile road that the Inca built?
Royal Road
70
True or false: The Inca had a written language.
False
71
What tool did the Inca's use to count and record?
Quipu
71
True or false: The Inca used horses for transportation.
False: They used llamas.
72
What famous Inca village is located in the Andes Mountains in Peru?
Machu Picchu
73
What was the main purpose for the Inca's to build roads?
Military Movement
74
How did Inca messengers deliver news?
By memorizing messages delivering messages to new runners.
75
How many miles did each Inca message deliverer run at a time?
One mile
76
What did the Inca use to farm on mountainsides?
Terraces
77
Who was the main god worshipped by the Inca?
Inti the sun god
78
How did the Inca connect their empire?
Through a road network
79
What was the purpose of the Inca's roadside storehouses?
To provide food
80
Who was the Aztec emperor in 1519?
Moctezuma II
81
What did the Aztecs call the Spanish ships?
Floating mountains
82
What were the 'magic sticks' that the Aztecs saw?
Cannons on the Conquistador's ships
83
True or false: The Aztecs welcomed the Spaniards as friends.
True
84
What were the giant dogs that the Aztecs spotted?
horses
85
Who was the Spanish explorer that led the conquest of the Aztecs.
Hernan Cortez
86
Who was the Spanish Conquistador who led the conquest against the Incas?
Francisco Pizarro
87
True or false: Moctezuma II sent gifts to Cortés.
True
88
What did Atahualpa offer for his freedom?
Gold
89
True or false: The Inca had contact with the Aztecs.
False: The two empires never met or knew the other existed.
90
What was the outcome of the Spanish conquest in the Americas?
The Aztec and Inca empires were destroyed.
91
What did the Aztecs think of the Spaniards?
They were Gods.
92
True or false: The Inca were unprepared for the Spanish invasion.
True
93
What happened to Atahualpa?
He promised Francisco Pizarro gold, and when he delivered it, Pizarro double-crossed him and executed him.
93
What disease did the Spaniards bring to the Aztecs?
small pox

2025 (29 decks)

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