The Mesoamerica

Question 1

How did the Incas keep track of everyone who lived in their massive empire?

Answer 1

The Incas used a quipu, a series of knotted strings which symbolized different things they needed to keep track of like births, deaths, and harvests.

Question 2

How was Francisco Pizarro able to conquer the Incan Empire?

Answer 2

Taking advantage of a civil war, he and his compatriots toppled the ruler, Atahualpa, in 1532.

Question 3

Why did the Aztecs build their capital in the middle of a swamp?

Answer 3

The Aztecs built their city, Tenochtitlán, in the middle of a swampy lake, Lake Texcoco, for several crucial reasons. To begin with, this location was strategically advantageous for defense, transportation, and agricultural practices.

Question 4

In what ways were the Aztecs similar to the Mayans?

Answer 4

While distinct in many aspects, the Maya and Aztecs shared intriguing similarities, such as their grand temples and advanced agricultural techniques.

Question 5

Imagine you are a Mayan farmer. Explain how your special farming technique works. What kind of crops do you grow?

Answer 5

Mayan farmers used a slash-and-burn technique of cutting down trees and setting the stumps on fire. They used the ashes as fertilizer and grew beans, papayas, avocados and maize.

Question 6

How did the Mayans appease their gods?

Answer 6

In Maya culture, sacrifice was an important part of their religious practices. The Maya believed that the gods could be appeased through offerings of material goods or the sacrifice of a human life.

Question 7

What trait did the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas have in common?
A. They spoke the same language
B. They were polytheistic
C. All three build pyramids
D. B and C

Answer 7

B. They were polytheistic

Question 8

Which civilization lasted the longest, the Mayan, Aztec, or Incan?

Answer 8

The Mayan Civilization

Question 9

What is the height of Manchu Picchu?

Answer 9

Manchu Picchu is about 8,000 feet Sea above

Question 10

How tall are the Andes Mountains and how were they formed?

Answer 10

The Andes Mountains stand about 23,000 feet tall and were formed by volcanoes.

Question 11

What is important to the Incan people of the Andes Mountains?

Answer 11

The Andes Mountains are such a fascinating and important part of South America’s geography and history. They are home to a unique ecosystem, rich in mineral resources, and provide freshwater for millions of people and other supplies.

Question 12

Where was the Incan Empire?

Answer 12

At its height, the Inca Empire included modern-day Peru, what are today western and south central Bolivia, southwest Ecuador and Colombia and a large portion of modern-day Chile, at the north of the Maule River.

Question 13

When did the Incan Empire flourished?

Answer 13

The Inca Empire, which flourished from approximately 1200 to 1533 AD, was the largest ancient civilization in pre-Columbian America.

Question 14

How did the people get around the Incan Empire?

Answer 14

Troops and Inca officials moved throughout the empire on a system that included two main highways, one along the coast and another along the Andes. Many smaller roads connected the two.

Question 15

What type of buildings did the Incan construct?

Answer 15

The most common shape in Inca architecture was the rectangular building without any internal walls and roofed with wooden beams and thatch, usually made from Ichu.

Question 16

Along which major body of water does the Inca road system extend?

Answer 16

The Inca road system runs the entire length of Peru and beyond, from Ecuador to Chile and northern Argentina

Question 17

What was the native language of the Incan people?

Answer 17

Quechua

Question 18

Who was Huitzilopotchli?

Answer 18

Chief among these gods were Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war.

Question 19

Why did tributes not like having to pay?

Answer 19

They had fewer resources for their own people.

Question 20

What did the Aztec believed in the current world?

Answer 20

The Aztec believed that the current world was one in a series of four worlds, called suns, which had existed before it.

Question 21

What were the combinations of practices in the Aztec religion?

Answer 21

The Aztec religion was a combination of many beliefs and practices from other Mesoamerican cultures.

Question 22

Children whose parents were skilled warriors or wealthy merchants were allowed to join ….?

Answer 22

The upper class school

Question 23

What is an “earthen mound”?
Where can you find them?

Answer 23

Living in the areas that today make up the Midwest and Southeast United States. Floodplains and river valleys were good for farming, so villages and towns developed in these areas.These societies used the mounds in several ways. Round or conical mounds were individual homes or burial sites.

Question 24

What does it mean to have a “non centralized/decentralized” government?
How does this affect/benefit the Mayan people?

Answer 24

The Mayans’ decentralized system allowed for flexibility in decision-making at the local level. Different city-states could adapt to local conditions and respond more effectively to challenges or changes.

Question 25

Describe Inca geography.

Answer 25

The Inca Empire had to govern not just north and south across a large empire, but also vertically along the Andes Mountains. The Inca Empire was geographically small in size, but the height of the Andes Mountains made it difficult to govern.

Question 26

How were the Incas able to overcome the challenges of the geography?

Answer 26

To solve this problem, the Inca used a system known as terrace farming. They built walls on hillsides and filled them with soil to make terraces. Terraces are wide steps on the side of mountains. Without the terraces, the mountainous landscape would have been too steep for farmers to water, plow, and harvest. The terrace system increased the amount of land that the Inca could use for agriculture. It also kept the topsoil from washing away down the hillside in heavy rains.

Question 27

How are the Andes Mountains connected to the development of the Inca Culture?

Answer 27

The geographic features of the Andes Mountains significantly influenced how the Inca Empire was organized. The rugged terrain necessitated the development of an extensive network of roads to connect various regions, which facilitated efficient administration and control over their vast territory.

Question 28

What factor contributed to Tenochtitlan’s population growth?

Answer 28

Aztec engineering skills helped them build bridges and aqueducts.

Question 29

Explain how Itzcoatl was able to create a powerful empire?

Answer 29

Itzcóatl came to power in 1428 CE and created a powerful empire by joining with two neighboring peoples to form the Triple Alliance.

Question 30

How were the spanish able to conquer the Aztec empire?

Answer 30

Cortes's army besieged Tenochtitlan, and a combination of superior weaponry and a devastating smallpox outbreak enabled the Spanish to conquer the city. Cortes's victory destroyed the Aztec empire, and the Spanish began to consolidate control over what became the colony of New Spain.

Question 31

How is the Aztec Empire able to gather so much wealth?

Answer 31

The basis of Aztec success in creating a great state and ultimately an empire was their remarkable system of agriculture, the high productivity of which made for a rich and populous state.

Question 32

Explain the Aztec education system.

Answer 32

Every child was educated, no matter his or her social status, whether noble, commoner or slave. Two different schools taught the young—one for the noble class and one for commoners, although bright, talented commoners might be chosen for advanced learning at the noble school.

Question 33

How does the conquest of other people benefit the Incan Empire?

Answer 33

The Inca conquered some regions through the use of their strong army. Incan soldiers remained in the conquered lands to help collect tribute and to keep order among the citizens. Local governments offered tributes of gold and silver to the central Inca government.

Question 34

Which statement best explains the design of the adobe buildings located in Taos in present-day New Mexico?

Answer 34

The buildings were made out of materials that were abundant in the region.

Question 35

How is the Inca emperor able to control such a large empire?

Answer 35

As the empire expanded, the structure of the government and the organization of the empire became more important in order to maintain control. The Inca had a central capital in Cuzco and regional capitals in four other cities. The empire as a whole was known as Tahuantinsuyu, a Quechua word which means “Land of the Four Quarters.” Each of the four quarters was called a suyu. The Antisuyu quarter was made of deep, heavily forested valleys east of Cuzco. The Cuntisuyu was west of Cuzco. South of Cuzco was Collasuyu, the largest of quarters, which touched present-day Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Chincasuyu was comprised of the land north of Cuzco. Each quarter was further divided into smaller provinces.

Question 36

How are people able to stay connected and trade in the Inca Empire?

Answer 36

In addition to the challenges it created for Incan agriculture, the extreme mountain terrain of the Andes also presented many obstacles to travel and trade. The Inca created a network of roads throughout the empire. In order to create this network, a labor tax was enforced. The labor tax forced peasants to provide free labor for public works projects such as roads, forts, and bridges. Peasants were also forced to work mining precious metals.

Question 37

How is the Inca Empire able to expand over time?

Answer 37

The Inca Empire gained power through conquest or the diplomatic threat of conquest.