Archaeologists infer that Cuetlajuchitln was a Terminal Formative trading center in
Guerrero from:
A. the drainage ditches at the site
B. some materials and artifacts that came from other parts of Mexico
C. the plan of the site, which was built on a grid system
D. the recovery of residential and ceremonial areas at the site
During the Middle Formative in the Basin of Mexico:
A. it was impossible to farm owing to the lack of rainfall
B. the population more than tripled in size
C. the Aztec capital of Tenochtitln was established
D. a major drought wiped out farming villages
The largest pre-Columbian pyramid in Mesoamerica is at:
A. Tenochtitlan
B. Cholula
C. Teotihuacan
D. Tlaxcala
You are an archaeologist who is digging a cave site in Mexico. You uncover a grinding
stone. It is true that:
A. this artifact indicates that these people were definitely agriculturalists
B. the ancient occupants were definitely hunter-gatherers who ground wild nuts
C. a grinding stone is not an artifact known to Mesoamerica and cannot tell you
anything about the way of life at this site
D. more information is needed to confirm subsistence practices
Late Classic Maya centers were identified in texts by writing in symbols called:
A. emblem glyphs
B. king lists
C. k”atun
D. stelae
A settlement survey conducted at Copn estimates that _______ people lived in the
polity during its peak.
A. 5,000
B. 15,000
C. 25,000
D. 250,000
The stelae incorporated into Monte Albn’s South Platform indicate that:
A. the architects were experimenting with different construction techniques, placing the
stelae backwards for structural support
B. royal ancestors were buried here, and are represented on the stelae
C. Zapotec and Teotihuacan writing is identical
D. dignitaries from Teotihuacan are highly likely to have visited Monte Albn
Apartment compounds at Teotihuacan:
A. were built solely for craftspeople
B. were constructed of wattle and daub
C. were sometimes decorated with murals
D. showed little or no internal variation
Motecuzma II made contact with the Spaniards before they reached Tenochtitlan:
A. by sending them a continuous flow of gifts and inviting them to the city
B. through emissaries, who brought the Spaniards gifts but discouraged their visit
C. by traveling to the coast where the Spaniards had first landed to greet them in person
D. through the Tlaxcalans, who kept an eye on the Spaniards for him
Maya kings, as powerful intermediaries with supernatural forces, evolved from a long
tradition of:
A. farmers
B. craftspeople
C. shamans
D. spirits
During the Early Classic in the Maya Highlands, Kaminaljuy, in Guatemala:
A. successfully defended itself against Teotihuacan, defeating the invaders
B. was the largest site in the Guatemalan highlands
C. was destroyed by a volcanic eruption
D. was the regional capital of all the Maya
Archaeologists have concluded that the ball game was a widespread activity in ancient
Mesoamerica because:
A. there are murals depicting the game at nearly every major Mesoamerican site
B. the game is still played today
C. there are remains of more than 1,500 ball courts in the culture area
D. the Classic Maya constructed figurines in the shape of ball players
________ were a common medium of exchange in the Aztec empire.
A. Jaguar skins
B. Rabbit pelts
C. Cotton mantles
D. Pottery vessels
The bird that represents the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli is a:
A. hummingbird
B. macaw
C. quetzal
D. eagle
A Mesoamerican shaman:
A. performs in an altered state of consciousness
B. is always the highest-ranking female of the group
C. holds a recently created position in Mesoamerican indigenous religion
D. most likely existed in foraging societies, but not in any other type of society
The materials that define the Clovis Culture of Mesoamerica:
A. date to 11,000″8200 bc
B. represent the very earliest Archaic-period remains in Mesoamerica
C. date to 30,000″11,000 bc
D. indicate a settled way of life practiced by early inhabitants
The Mesoamerican ball game:
A. was always played for religious reasons
B. was probably played solely by elites, since they are the only ones depicted in
Mesoamerican art
C. may date from the Archaic period
D. most often resulted in human sacrifices
Temples dedicated to the wind god Ehcatl:
A. have a unique shape in the form of an “X”
B. were the only temples built at Tula
C. are thought to have originated with the Olmecs
D. are usually round
During the Early Archaic, subsistence practices of the dry season:
A. depended primarily on collecting ripe fruits
B. were performed by macrobands
C. depended heavily on collecting grass seeds
D. took place in small encampments
The Tehuacn Valley sequence is one of the most well-known chronologies for
Mesoamerica because:
A. the valley was explored early on in the 1800s
B. numerous cave sites contain ancient hieroglyphs with dates
C. excavations catalog the rise of states and urban life
D it documents the transition from mobile foraging to settled farming life
The statue type found at Chichn Itz that portrays a reclining male figure with his head
turned is known as:
A. Tlaloc
B. a stela
C. a crested serpent
D. a chacmool
About ______ Spaniards first met Motecuzma II in 1519.
A. 100
B. 200
C. 300
D. 400
El Tajn’s supplier of pulque may well have been the site of:
A. Tajn Chico
B. Las Higueras
C. Paxil
D. Cantona
One of the reasons for conducting a Flower War was:
A. to parade about in finery
B. to obtain sacrificial victims
C. to visit other lands
D. to establish new chinampas
Contemporary archaeologists define western Mesoamerica’s Epiclassic period as
militaristic because:
A. numerous bodies of soldiers have been found at several sites across the region
B. hieroglyphs record the details of ongoing conflicts between centers
C. several types of indirect evidence support this reconstruction
D. chacmools were found at many sites
During the Early Classic, the Intermediate Area, south of Mesoamerica, was:
A. dominated by the Maya, who extended their culture as far as Costa Rica
B. populated by tribes and chiefdoms
C. beginning to be populated by humans
D. home to empires that were larger than those in Mesoamerica
An effective tool for successfully hunting a mammoth is:
A. a large fluted point
B. a grinding stone
C. an axe
D. a net
Cholula’s relationship with Teotihuacan:
A. was one of dominance (Teotihuacan controlled Cholula throughout the Early
Classic)
B. was probably one of interaction, but not dominance
C. is not evident at either site
D. has as yet gone undetected by archaeologists
We can identify Coyotlatelco pottery by its:
A. olive-colored vessels with red designs
B. red-colored vessels with buff designs
C. buff-colored vessels with olive designs
D. buff-colored vessels with red designs
Adulterers in Aztec society were punished by:
A. being sacrificed to Xochiquetzal
B. being stoned to death
C. having their heads shaved to identify them in public
D. being made to return to their house of birth instead of living with their in-laws
The great Tikal earthwork was most likely built during:
A. the 5th century ad
B. the 6th century ad
C. the 7th century ad
D. the 8th century ad