The rise of modern archaeology occurred:
A. with the Spanish Conquest in ad 1521
B. during the Republican period of Mesoamerican history
C. in the 21st century in Mexico
D. in the Colonial period of Mesoamerican history
In _____ societies, there is virtually no accumulation of wealth.
A. egalitarian
B. civilized
C. ranked
D. stratified
You are visiting Mexico and the climate is very hot and humid with abundant rainfall.
The landscape is flat and you can see the Pacific Ocean. You are in:
A. the Northern Arid Zone
B. Southeastern Mesoamerica
C. the Gulf Lowlands
D. the Pacific Coastal Plain
During the Middle Formative, a major center in El Salvador that regulated obsidian
trade was:
A. Chalchuapa
B. San Lorenzo
C. Chalcatzingo
D. El Mesak
MATCHING 1
1) Xochiquetzal
2) Mayahuel
3) Cihuacoatl
4) Toci / Teteo Innan
5) Xilonen
A. Maize goddess
B. Maguey goddess
C. Moon goddess and the patroness of women
D. “Woman Snake” goddess and the patroness of midwives
E. Grandmother goddess; the comforter
After the collapse of El Tajn in the Gulf lowlands, migrants to Huasteca caused ______
to be renamed.
A. Toluca
B. Xochicalcoan
C. Teotihuacan II
D. Totonacapan
The Hieroglyphic Stairway (Temple 26) at the Classic Maya site of Copn is best known:
A. for its colorful murals
B. as the tallest Classic Maya building
C. as the largest Classic Maya building
D. for containing the longest Mayan script
Bronze is made by smelting together:
A. copper and tin or arsenic
B. tin with iron or arsenic
C. iron and copper
D. arsenic, tin, and gold
In 1519, the Spaniards became allies of the Tlaxcalans:
A. who were the enemies of the Aztecs
B. who lived to the southwest of Tenochtitlan
C. who also spoke Spanish
D. at the suggestion of the Aztecs
Olmec civilization:
A. can be considered to be emergent rather than fully developed
B. was best known for its complex writing system
C. was characterized by extreme stratification of the populace into several classes
D. developed the largest cities in Mesoamerica’s prehistory
On his trek to Tenochtitlan, Corts noted that the area of Cholula was suitable for:
A. mining gold
B. growing cactus
C. building houses
D. grazing cattle
Analysis of Teotihuacan’s population shows that:
A. almost all inhabitants were born in the city
B. infection and undernutrition were common
C. the urban diet was better there than in the rural hinterlands
D. its inhabitants came primarily from the Valley of Oaxaca and the Maya lowlands
The 1458 Aztec invasion of Mixteca kingdoms was precipitated at Coixtlahuaca by:
A. the marriage of a Mixteca princess to a Mexica huetlatoani
B. the murder of the pochteca, whom the Aztecs sent troops to avenge
C. the discovery of gold in the Mixteca Alta, which set off a gold rush
D. one of the Mixtec kingdoms sending scribes to Texcoco to study in the libraries there
Located in the Toluca Valley, the highest alluvial plain in Mexico’s Central Highlands,
is the Classic/Postclassic site:
A. Tula
B. Tilantongo
C. Xaltocan
D. Teotenango
A major environmental concern for the inhabitants of Teotihuacan was:
A. volcanic activity
B. the water supply
C. flooding
D. forest fire
After welcoming the Spaniards into Tenochtitlan, Motecuzma II and his lords escorted
the visitors:
A. promptly out of the city
B. directly up the staircase of the Templo Mayor to be sacrificed
C. to Axaycatl palace, where they would stay
D. to canoes for a water tour of the city
During the Classic period, succession in the Maya dynasty:
A. passed from parent to oldest child, regardless of gender
B. was patrilineal, often passing from father to son
C. was entirely male-dominated; female rulers were non-existent
D. was patrilineal in the southern lowlands and matrilineal in the northern lowlands
The Initial Formative era of Mesoamerica:
A. dates from 2000 bc to 1200 bc
B. is when agriculture was first adopted
C. is when the Olmecs reached their peak of complexity
D. is when all Mesoamericans were incorporated into chiefdoms and states
Even before Tenochtitlan was captured, Corts was able to exercise some control of the
Mexican power hierarchy by:
A. overtaking a number of polities by picking fights with them
B. meddling with the voting process and stuffing the ballots
C. destroying palaces and temples and taking statues of deities hostage
D. appointing his allies as the new rulers
The relationship between the sites of Cantona and Teotihuacan:
A. was dominated by Teotihuacan, as evidenced by the abundant talud-tablero
architecture at Cantona
B. may have been one of competition over the trade of obsidian
C. was probably centered around trade, as there are many examples of Thin Orange
pottery at Cantona
D. remains a mystery owing to lack of evidence
The culture area of Mesoamerica includes:
A. those states in the middle of the North American continent
B. Mexico and all of the Central American countries
C. only the Central American countries
D. some of the Central American countries and Mexico
A challenge to conducting archaeology in the Gulf Lowlands is that:
A. the steep mountains make access difficult
B. the waves on the beaches have eroded any trace of past habitation
C. a swampy environment negatively affects preservation and retrieval of materials
D. the scrub vegetation hampers walking over the landscape to locate remains
The _______ family is the most widely spoken set of indigenous languages in the
Americas.
A. Chibchan
B. Quechua
C. Otomanguean
D. Uto-Aztecan
During the 700s, an influential queen of Yaxchilan and the principal wife of “Shield
Jaguar” was:
A. Muwaan Mat
B. Lady Sak K”uk”
C. Lady Yohl Ik”nal
D. Lady K”av”al Xook
It was during the Archaic period in Mesoamerican prehistory that:
A. humans hunted primarily Ice Age animals
B. subsistence practices were characterized by broad-spectrum foraging
C. the Maya built grand cities with ornate temples and palaces
D. the Aztecs were conquered by the Spaniards
The fact that the Tarascan language is not related to other Mesoamerican languages may
indicate that the Tarascans:
A. came to Mesoamerica early in its prehistory
B. married and integrated with other ethnic groups in the region
C. remained isolated from some of the main influences in Mesoamerica
D. came from the Old World
During the Late Classic, the biggest rivalry in the southern Maya lowlands was
between:
A. Copn and Tikal
B. Tikal and Teotihuacan
C. Calakmul and Copn
D. Tikal and Calakmul
This small Guatemalan coastal village was important for salt production during the
Middle Formative:
A. Laguna Zope
B. La Blanca
C. El Infierno
D. El Mesak
Perched high on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea, the Late Postclassic Yucatecn
Maya site of _______is a major modern tourist attraction.
A. Tulum
B. Santa Rita Corozal
C. Ecab
D. Chichn Itz
Ideology is simply defined as:
A. what we actually do in practice
B. what we say we do
C. how we exploit the environment
D. what tools we use
The Chupcuaro people lived:
A. in the Basin of Mexico
B. along the Lerma River in western Mexico
C. in the Maya lowlands
D. among the Mixtec and Zapotec peoples of Oaxaca
Evidence that other Mesoamerican civilizations were in contact with Mixteca Alta
populations during the Early Classic is:
A. not found at any highland site
B. present in talud-tablero architecture
C. found at Monte Negro, which was conquered by Teotihuacan
D. reflected in pottery styles
The first Spanish expedition to explore the coast of Yucatn in 1511 resulted in:
A. the Spanish vessel being laden with goods which were subsequently shipped back to
Spain
B. the ship springing a leak and sinking with no survivors
C. the Spanish and the Yucatecans establishing friendly trade relations
D. ten men surviving a shipwreck, with one of them being eventually rescued by Corts