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Social Studies > MesoAmerica > Flashcards

MesoAmerica Flashcards

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1
Q

Where did the Maya live?

A

Yucatan Peninsula

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2
Q

What did the Maya build?

A

Small farms and villages.

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3
Q

What grew into cities by 200 CE?

A

Villages

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4
Q

What was Maya built around?

A

Religious Centers

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5
Q

What was at the top of the Pyramids made of Limestone?

A

Temples where the priests and kings held religious rituals.

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6
Q

Archaeologists believed the Maya began working the land as early as when?

A

1800 BCE (before current era)

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7
Q

What city was a major power city that bordered the highlands and lowlands?

A

Palenqu

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8
Q

As Maya cities grew, what did farmers need to produce more of?

A

Food.

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9
Q

Maya farmed in places they had not farmed before - they farmed the sides of hills that were carved into flat what?

A

Terraces.

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10
Q

The Maya dug what type of system to bring water to dry areas?

A

irrigation (water) systems.

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11
Q

By using these new farming techniques, the Maya grew what types of things?

A

Corn, Beans and Squash.

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12
Q

Who did the Maya trade with?

A

Highland and Lowland people and Central America and Mexico.

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13
Q

What foods did Maya receive that they could not produce themselves?

A

Jade, Feathers and Cacao Beans

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14
Q

What food held the greatest value used as money and was restricted to only the most important Maya?

A

Cacao Beans.

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15
Q

The name of a glass like volcanic rock that was traded and used as money is called what?

A

Obsidian rock

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16
Q

The Maya worshipping many gods is called what?

A

Polytheism (they also worshipped their rulers)

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17
Q

What did the Maya believe would keep the Gods happy?

A

royal blood (bloodletting)

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18
Q

The city of Palenque built a temple that was used to record pascal’s what?

A

Achievements

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19
Q

This priest-like King killed animals and sometimes people as an offering to the gods.

A

Pacal (a Mayan priest and ruler)

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20
Q

How long was Pacal a ruler of Maya?

A

68 years.

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21
Q

a writing system - each picture stood for an object or a sound is called what?

A

Hierglypic

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22
Q

What is it called when you know the exact moon phases?

A

Astronomy

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23
Q

The Maya created a number system called what?

A

Mathematics

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24
Q

What was the game called where players tried to hit a solid rubber ball through a stone ring by using their elbows, wrists and hips?

A

Pok-ta-pok

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25
Q

When playing Pok-ta-pok, people from all levels of Maya society watched and placed bets on the outcome of the game. What would be won and lost during a game?

A

Slaves, land and homes.

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26
Q

What happened to the Captain of the Pok-ta-pok team if they lost?

A

the losing team was sacrificed and the captain was beheaded.

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27
Q

How long did the Maya culture thrive?

A

about 600 years.

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28
Q

By 900 CE, where did the Maya abandon their cities?

A

the jungle

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29
Q

Long periods of what caused crop failure?

A

Drought (really dry weather)

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30
Q

Invaders from where helped destroy the city-states?

A

Invaders from central Mexico

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31
Q

What was a narrow strip of land linking North and South America called?

A

Isthums of Panama

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32
Q

What was the thumb on the eastern side of the region jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico?

A

Yucatan Peninsula

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33
Q

What connected city to the mainland?

A

Causeaways

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34
Q

What was a tall thin slab of rock called?

A

Stelae

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35
Q

What was the name of the building used for observing the night sky?

A

Observatories

35
Q

What was the writing code?

A

Hieroglyphs

36
Q

A calendar based on the movement of the sun is called a what?

A

solar calendar

37
Q

What was a long period without water?

A

A drought.

38
Q

What was the name of a large colorful bird with feathers throughout the empire?

A

Quetzal

39
Q

a wide, round open container for washing

A

A basin

40
Q

What was a group of many kings where they offered their own men to help each other rule empires?

A

Triple Alliance

41
Q

What was a system where one person has unlimited powers?

A

Absolute Monarchy

42
Q

What was war council made up of warriors?

A

Supreme Council

43
Q

What was gardens on raised beds built on Lake Texcoco?

A

Chinamps

44
Q

What was a wall to separate water?

A

A Dike

45
Q

What was a conduct built to convey water?

A

Aqueducts

46
Q

What was a natural glass-like rock?

A

Obsidian

47
Q

What was a book used for recording information?

A

Codex

48
Q

What was the geography of the Aztec empire like?

A

A moderate climate, interconnecting lakes, forests, wild game.

49
Q

What did the Aztec’s build?

A

Raised roads across water.

50
Q

The Aztec’s founded what Capital?

A

Tenochilitan

51
Q

What were the Aztec’s floating gardens called?

A

Chinamps

52
Q

What did the Aztec’s create canal’s for?

A

Irrigation and transportation of goods and people.

53
Q

What did canal’s serve as?

A

Roads for trade and travel between villages.

54
Q

What did the Aztec’s call themselves?

A

Mexica

55
Q

Describe the Mexica.

A

They were skilled warriors, 1 ruler ruled over the empire.

56
Q

Who was the leader of the empire?

A

Montezica

57
Q

What was the population of the Aztec empire?

A

25 million

58
Q

Aztec’s grew stronger through what 3 things?

A

War, Tribute and Trade

59
Q

The Aztecs made neighboring tribes pay them in order to not be attacked. This was called what?

A

Tribute (they did not like being bullied)

60
Q

Aztecs attempted to please the Gods by what type of sacrifice?

A

Human Sacrifice

61
Q

Sacrifices used to intimidate people and other tribes is called what?

A

Military Deterrent

62
Q

Where did typical sacrifices take place?

A

At the top of a high temple

63
Q

Approximately how many Aztec were sacrificed each year?

A

20,000

64
Q

The serpent god of creation was called what?
The Aztec’s predicted he would return in the early….?

A

Quetzcatal
1500’s

65
Q

When you worship many gods it is called what?

A

Polytheism.

66
Q

Who did the Aztecs worship?

A

Gods of Sun, Rain, Moon

67
Q

What year did the famine occur?

A

1450

68
Q

Why did the famine occur?

A

Because of poor weather and bad farming conditions

69
Q

The Aztec priests began to make many sacrifices to the Gods during the famine - why?

A

Because there was not enough food, so the more people they sacrificed the less people there was to feed.

70
Q

1 ruler ruled, wives held high positions and respect

A

Royal Family

71
Q

Priests, military officers and government leaders

A

Nobles

72
Q

They imported goods

A

Merchants

73
Q

They worked in the fields

A

Commoners/Serfs

74
Q

People could be sold into slavery

A

Slaves

75
Q

What is the correct order of the Aztec Social order?

A

Royal Family, Nobles, Merchants, Commoners, Slaves

76
Q

Who was Hernand Cortez?

A

He was a Spanish Conquistador that learned about the Aztec’s and their riches.

77
Q

Who did Cortez put in jail?

A

Monteczuma

78
Q

After the Aztec’s fought off the Spaniards, what did the Spaniards leave behind?

A

Small Pox

79
Q

Who did Cortez defeat?

A

the Aztecs

80
Q

What year did the Aztecs finally surrender?

A

1521

81
Q

How many Aztecs survived?

A

2 million

82
Q

Why did native tribes join Cortes?

A

Because they were tired of paying tribute to the Aztecs

83
Q

When Cortez arrived in 1519, who did Moctezuma think Cortez was?

A

He thought he was Queszalcoatl (the serpent god of creation)

84
Q

What Capital did they invite Cortez to?

A

Tenochititlan

Social Studies (4 decks)

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