Guests at a feast in the house of a wealthy Aztec noble would be presented with:
A. chocolate and pulque
B. flowers, tobacco, and clothing
C. tobacco, figurines, and hallucinogenic mushrooms
D. pulque, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and tobacco
Cern in El Salvador is tremendously important because:
A. its inhabitants survived the eruption of Loma Caldera
B. it provides a window into the lives of Mesoamerican commoners
C. its beautiful murals have survived through the centuries
D. evidence has been found there that shows how cacao was made into a drink
The heterogeneous nature of Teotihuacan is expressed archaeologically in:
A. the standardized layout of apartment compounds
B. the reconstruction of occupations at the city, which shows all residents were farmers
C. remains of egalitarian burials
D. the site’s ethnic diversity
You discover a site in the Tehuacn Valley of Mexico that contains a few broken ground
stone artifacts. It can be concluded that:
A. the site is the remains of a workshop
B. farmers lived here 1,000 years ago
C. this site has ties to other sites in Oaxaca
D. either foragers or farmers could have used the tools
The maguey plant:
A. is a delicate species that survives in only frost-free lowland areas
B. was the first domesticated plant species in Mesoamerica
C. takes at least twenty-five years to mature
D. can be used to produce a drinkable sap
Cern is unique among Classic Maya sites because:
A. it has exceptionally preserved evidence of quotidian activities
B. it is the largest Classic Maya center
C. there is evidence to suggest that it had contact with Teotihuacan
D. maize was grown there
During the Middle/Late Formative, as the occupation of the Olmec heartland declined,
the population of the Guatemala highlands:
A. declined as well
B. stayed the same
C. doubled in size
D. increased tenfold
In comparing Mesoamerica with other cradles of civilization in the world, it can be said
that:
A. the main river in Mesoamerica served to unify the region, just as rivers did in the
Old World
B. the environments of all cradles of civilization are similar throughout the world
C. the lack of a central river system hampered the development of complex societies in
Mesoamerica
D. there is no central drainage system in Mesoamerica, yet complex societies
nevertheless developed
Classic Maya pyramids:
A. were identical in use to those of ancient Egypt
B. were rarely visible due to the tropical jungle environment
C. functioned as temples, but did not house burials
D. served as temples, burial monuments, or the bases for palaces
The Aztec New Fire Ceremony occurred every:
A. 4 years
B. 52 months
C. 13 years
D. 52 years
The founder of the Copn dynasty, Yax K”uk Mo”:
A. came from Calakmul, the city that won a battle over Copn
B. most likely hailed from the Intermediate Area of Costa Rica
C. may have been from central Mexico
D. established himself in the 8th century ad
The tecpan at Cihuatecpan was discovered:
A. because of its size and layout
B. thanks to manuscripts that described its location
C. because none of it had been destroyed by conquistadores
D. when Aztec writing was found on its walls that identified it
During the Terminal Formative, work began at Cholula on the New World’s largest:
A. ball court
B. palace
C. pyramid
D. road system
If you were a Mexica commoner, you might improve your status by:
A. excelling at a particular craft
B. having an outstanding career in farming
C. marrying someone of lower status
D. building temples to different gods and goddesses
A cave site in Mexico contains milling stones and perishable items (baskets, sandals,
spear throwers) and the remains of plants, all of which are wild. The occupation of the
cave most likely dates to the:
A. Early Archaic
B. Middle Archaic
C. Late Archaic
D. Formative
Central place models are used in archaeology because:
A. they help to find where sites may be located and why
B. they always reveal exact locations and features on the landscape
C. every type of society falls into one model or another
D. These models are not used in archaeology because they have not been helpful.
Similarities in the architecture of San Jos Mogote and Monte Albn indicate that:
A. San Jos Mogote had conquered Monte Albn
B. both sites were ruled by a larger and more important site
C. Monte Albn controlled San Jos Mogote
D. Monte Albn was built before San Jos Mogote
In the sociopolitical form known as a chiefdom:
A. villages remain independent from each other
B. the chief has the same functions as a tribal leader
C. the chief is almost always a war leader
D. society is most often lead by a female ruler
The Mokaya of Mazatn:
A. depended mostly on maize for subsistence
B. were an early complex society, dating to around 1500 bc
C. were organized into egalitarian tribal villages
D. lacked cooperative labor, and items such as figurines or mirrors that were typical of
contemporaneous cultures
When Corts first met Motecuzma II he was assisted by:
A. Marina, who is also known as Malinalli
B. the Tlaxcala lords
C. Geronimo de Aguilar
D. Gonzalo Guerrero
The murals at the Classic Maya site of ______ depict scenes of sacrifice and celebration
among the elite.
A. Bonampak
B. Copn
C. Tikal
D. Quirigua
MATCHING 2
1) Winal
2) Tun
3) K”in
4) K”atun
5) Bak”tun
A. Unit of approximately 20 years
B. Unit of 20 days
C. Unit of approximately 400 years
D. Unit of 1 day
E. Unit of approximately 1 year
The Itz Maya had a stronghold in the Petn at their capital of ______, which was
unconquered until 1697.
A. Tenochca
B. Tayasil
C. Teozacoalco
D. Tenochtitlan
The art and architecture of _______ in the Gulf lowlands prospered during the Late
Classic/Epiclassic period, with typical features being the step-fret motif and flying
cornices.
A. Teotihuacan
B. La Venta
C. El Tajn
D. Cerro de las Mesas
A Mesoamerican farmer plants maize that may be subject to little rainfall and frost. The
farmer is most likely to live in the _______ climate region.
A. tierra caliente
B. tierra fra
C. tierra templada
D. nearctic
When a person draws blood from his or her own body it is called:
A. automated sacrifice
B. autosacrifice
C. a sacrificial rite
D. automaton
Estimates of construction costs for monumental Mesoamerican buildings:
A. indicate that an enormous workforce would have been needed to complete the large
structures
B. take into consideration the fact that almost all buildings were constructed in one
episode over a short time span
C. have to factor in the fact that most building materials came from long distances
D. reveal that fairly simple technology and a modest workforce could accomplish the
task
The consequence of sedentism for humans compared to mobile foraging is:
A. better nutrition for sedentary groups
B. fewer diseases for sedentary groups
C. accumulation of goods for sedentary groups
D. less mobility for foragers
Many towns in modern Mexico and Central America have Nahuatl names because:
A. the Aztecs conquered all of these places
B. Aztec guides translated local names into Nahuatl when accompanying the Spanish
conquerors
C. modern historians changed local names into one language for easy reference
D. local peoples adopted the Nahuatl language when they were conquered by the Aztecs
A Terminal Formative farming village in the Tetimpa region, western Puebla (in
Mexico), is well preserved because:
A. it was buried under a massive landslide
B. of a volcanic eruption
C. of careful archaeological excavation
D. of its waterlogged location
Analogous to the Aztec calpulli, the Mayan word for residence/neighborhood/existence
is:
A. cah
B. batab
C. balch
D. tun
Lapidaries at Tula were skilled at:
A. digging effective irrigation ditches
B. carving hieroglyphics into stone monuments
C. long-distance trading relations with northern Mexico
D. incorporating precious stones into jewelry and artwork
Pottery vessels in Mesoamerica:
A. came primarily in two or three shapes with little variation from region to region
B. can be used to indicate chronology
C. do not easily reveal their function
D. are rare in the archaeological record of this culture area