Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AP World History > Mayans And Aztecs > Flashcards

Mayans And Aztecs Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
AP® World History flashcards AP® U.S. History flashcards European History 101 flashcards AP® European History flashcards World History 102 flashcards U.S. History 102 flashcards World History 101 flashcards U.S. History 101 flashcards
0
Q

Similar to the Olmec, classic-period civilizations were centered on what?

A

Raised platforms and pyramids devoted to religious functions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Describe the classical period

A

A Mesoamerican mix of achievements in math, astronomy, agriculture, and political organization, built on Olmec foundation.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

People during the classical period made advancements in what 4 major areas?

A

Agriculture, astronomy, political organization, and mathematics.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What 3 major agricultural innovations were already in place thousands of years before the classical period?

A

Irrigation, draining of wetlands, and terracing of hillsides.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What did political and cultural innovations depend on in the classical period?

A

Elites to organize laborers and soldiers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

The Teotihuacan people expanded the use of what agricultural innovation?

A

Chinampas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

A powerful city-state in Central Mexico. Population was 150,000 at peak in 600.

A

Teotihuacan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What was the largest city in the Americas around 450 CE?

A

Teotihuacan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Teotihuacan was larger then all but a small number of cities where?

A

Contemporary Europe and Asia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Members of the elite controlled which 3 areas?

A

State bureaucracy, tax collection, and commerce

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Religious architecture in Teotihuacan was in alignment with what?

A

The path of the stars

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

More than 100 Teotihuacan sacrificial victims were found where?

A

Excavation of the temple of Quetzalcoatl

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What 2 main differences occurred in Mesoamerican civilizations during the classical period?

A

Difference in language and absence of regional political integration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Who was Quetzalcoatl?

A

A culture-God responsible for origin of agriculture and the arts.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What 3 main similarities occurred between civilizations during the Mesoamerican classical period?

A

Similarities in material culture, religious beliefs and practices, and social structures.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Which 2 lesser gods were also central figures in Teotihuacan’s religious life?

A

Tlaloc (storm-God), and a female associated with fertility.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Raised fields constructed along lake-shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields

A

Chinampas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Which civilization occupied

Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and southern Mexico?

A

The Maya

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Like the Olmec, people of Teotihuacan practice what religious ritual?

A

Human sacrifice

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Some stories written in the complex Mayan language show the importance of what?

A

Marriage in politics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Maya women of elite groups played indirect, yet important roles in which 2 areas?

A

Politics and religion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Religiously, what happened during the decline and collapse of Teotihuacan ?

A

Religious temples and images were destroyed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Rapid growth of Teotihuacan urban areas resulted from what originally?

A

A series of volcanic eruptions that disrupted agriculture

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

People of the classic period built of the ideas of who?

A

The Olmec

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

In the later Teotihuacan urban growth, what caused farmers to abandon their farms and move to the urban core?

A

Pressure from city elites

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

The elite did what to organize the draining of swamps, bringing of marginal lands into production, construction of irrigation canals, and building of hillside terraces?

A

Organized labor resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Which agricultural innovation allowed for year-round agriculture?

A

Chinampas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

The absence of defensive walls before 500 BC suggests what about Teotihuacan?

A

They enjoyed relative peace during early development

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

How did farmers create chinampas?

A

Healed lake muck onto beds of reeds and anchored them to the shore

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What 3 events preceded Maya collapse in some areas?

A

Urban decline, social conflict, and increased levels of warfare.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Politically, how did Teotihuacan differ from other classic-period civilizations?

A

They did not concentrate power in the hands of a single ruler

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Residents of Teotihuacan held what 2 beliefs about human sacrifice?

A

It was a sacred duty to the gods and promoted the well-being of society.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What major defensive event occurred in Teotihuacan in 500 CE?

A

The beginning of building defensive walls

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Most classical-period civilizations were controlled by who?

A

Hereditary political and religious elites.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Temple and palace murals make the importance of what class of people clear?

A

The priestly class

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

What main factor led to the decline and collapse of Teotihuacan?

A

The mismanagement of resources by elites, and resulting conflict when elites and the general population divided.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

What happened to elite palaces during the fall of Teotihuacan?

A

They were burned and their residents killed.

38
Q

What type of agriculture do the Mayas engage in today?

A

Shifting cultivation (Slash-and-burn/Swidden)

39
Q

In addition to their own agricultural plots, the Mayans also relied on what as a food source?

A

The forests

40
Q

Describe the hierarchy of Maya city-states during the classical period.

A

Powerful cities controlled groups of smaller dependent cities using religion

41
Q

Conflict in Mesoamerica was based on what primarily?

A

Competition for resources

42
Q

In Teotihuacán, largest pyramids were dedicated to who?

A

Sun, Moon, and Quetzalcoatl.

43
Q

What 2 agricultural conditions did the Mayans face?

A

Tropical climate and fragile soils

44
Q

During Teotihuacan’s decline in the north, which civilization developed further south?

A

The Maya

45
Q

What 2 religious practices did powerful classical Maya cities use to control smaller cities?

A

Building religious temples (and pyramids) and creating rituals linking the power of kings and gods.

46
Q

What was the effect of classic Mayan proliferation?

A

The masses were drawn to certain centers for political and religious rituals.

47
Q

Mayan architecture often featured what aspect?

A

Elaborate decoration

48
Q

Near major temples, Mayas erected what 2 architectural features?

A

Carved altars and stone monoliths (statues)

49
Q

What event disrupted Maya trade and undermined the legitimacy of their rulers?

A

The fall of Teotihuacan

50
Q

Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras, but never unified into a single empire.

A

The Maya

51
Q

How did the Mayas manage the forests?

A

Favored trees and shrubs that were useful to them and conserved game animals such as deer.

53
Q

Scholars suggest that who ruled Teotihuacan?

A

Alliances of elite families

53
Q

Which civilization shared a common culture but never unified to a single state?

A

The Maya

54
Q

What happened to many pilgrims who traveled to Teotihuacan?

A

They became permanent residents

55
Q

What made Maya architecture so unique?

A

It was built without the use of wheels or metal tools.

56
Q

What three resources helped create Maya architecture?

A

Mass labor, levers, and stone tools

57
Q

How many days, months, and days per month were in the Maya ritual calendar?

A

260 days/13 months of 20 days

58
Q

The Mayas living near urban centers used which 2 practices to improve agricultural productivity?

A

Irrigation (draining swamps) and terraced hillsides (elevates fields)

59
Q

The temple precincts of Maya cities represented what?

A

Their cosmology (the 3 “layers”)

60
Q

What ultimately led overall to the collapse of the Maya?

A

The growing scale and destructiveness of warfare.

61
Q

Many Maya cities were destroyed with what?

A

Violence

62
Q

Describe the Mayan religious foundation.

A

Cosmos divided into 3 layers connected along a vertical axis tracing the course of the sun. Sacred tree growing through the 3 layers.

63
Q

The most common Maya themes in decoration where what 3 things?

A

Religious allegories (references), the genealogies of rulers, and important historical events.

64
Q

What was the third calendar kept by the Maya?

A

A long count calendar, beginning with creation in 3114 BCE

65
Q

Maya mathematics were limited by what?

A

Lack of notational signs

66
Q

Open classic Mayan plazas were surrounded by what?

A

High pyramids and elaborately decorated paces built on high ground or on constructed mounds

67
Q

In addition to taking part in rituals, Maya women were also what?

A

Healers and shamans

68
Q

Name each of the three Maya calendars

A

1) Ritual calendar
2) Solar calendar
3) Long count calendar

69
Q

Describe the 3 Mayan “layers” of cosmology

A

1) Heavens
2) Earth
3) Dark underworld

70
Q

What happened to elite Maya captives?

A

They were almost always sacrificed

71
Q

What two areas of study were the foundation of calendars and the astronomy they were based on?

A

Writing and mathematics

72
Q

What happened to Maya commoner captives?

A

They were forced into labor.

74
Q

Why did the classic Mayas not use shifting cultivation?

A

High population levels required more intensive forms of agriculture

75
Q

Why did Maya women participate in rituals?

A

It helped legitimize their husband’s rule

76
Q

What shattered the delicate agricultural system of the Maya?

A

Rising regional population, climatic change, and environmental degradation.

77
Q

How did Maya cities trace their lineage?

A

Through male ancestors (patrilineal)

78
Q

Maya elite deified royal ancestors with what 2 practices?

A

Bloodletting and hallucinogenic trances

79
Q

Evidence suggests that Teotihuacan built an army for what 2 main reasons?

A

Protection of long-distance trade and to compel agriculturalists to send surplus products to the city.

79
Q

The Maya identified each day with how many calendars?

A

Three

80
Q

Their system of math incorporated which 2 main concepts?

A

The concept of zero and place value

82
Q

Maya military forces sought what?

A

Captives, rather than land.

82
Q

How many days, months, and days per month were in the Maya solar calendar?

A

365 days/18 months of 20 days, plus 5 unfavorable days at the end of the year

84
Q

What did the Maya believe about the days when the two calendars (solar and ritual) coincided?

A

The survival of humanity was threatened (every 52 years)

86
Q

What major event occurred with the Maya between 800 and 900 CE?

A

They abandoned many of their urban cities

87
Q

Describe Maya writing

A

A form of hieroglyph inscription that signified whole words or concepts as well m as phonetic cues or syllables.

87
Q

Where did scribes record Maya records?

A

On pottery and the stone columns of buildings of urban centers.

88
Q

What was the central concern of the Maya society?

A

Time

89
Q

Under what condition did Maya make rulers trace their lineage through the female line?

A

When the female line held higher status

89
Q

Why were women essential to the household economy and family life?

A

They maintained essential garden plots and weaved.

89
Q

In what way was every Maya city a sacred text?

A

Scribes engraved records onto pottery and the stone columns of buildings in urban centers.

AP World History (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions