The drinking of alcoholic beverages:
A. was not permitted by ancient Mesoamerican societies
B. cannot be accurately detected in the archaeological record because it leaves no trace
C. is evidenced by drinking cups found at Teotihuacan and Cholula
D. did not occur until the Late Classic, once manufacturing techniques had been refined
In archaeology, the term “horizon” refers to:
A. the widespread manifestation of the same kinds of traits over very large areas
B. the level platforms on top of ancient structures
C. the uppermost soil layers which contain organic matter
D. the orientation of buildings toward the rising sun
Teotihuacan rulers had a keen interest in the area to the northwest of the Basin of
Mexico because it was a source of:
A. exotic Oaxacan pottery
B. defensible hilltop centers
C. limestone for plaster
D. water for the city’s large population
If you were born an Aztec, your name was determined by:
A. the name of the current ruler
B. your parents’ names
C. the date of your birth
D. the deity you most resembled
During the Late Classic, _______ emerged as a regional capital of northeastern Yucatn.
A. Chichn Itz
B. Tulum
C. Uxmal
D. Cob
Along the Northern Arid Zone and the Northwestern Frontier of Mesoamerica,
________ suggest that sedentism emerged during the Late to Terminal Formative.
A. houses and storage facilities
B. large corn cobs
C. trade items from the south
D. ball courts
By the end of the Formative period:
A. all Mesoamericans lived in hierarchical societies
B. the Olmecs had conquered much of Mesoamerica
C. there was still a heavy reliance on wild species for subsistence
D. small autonomous agricultural villages were the norm
The Great Famine experienced by the Aztecs in the 15th century ended in:
A. 1425
B. 1455
C. 1465
D. 1490
A shaman conducts a ceremony to ensure the survival of a hunter who was gored by a
mammoth. This ritual is an example of a:
A. rite of passage
B. rite of increase
C. rite of propitiation
D. rite of incorporation
The founder of the Aztec empire during the 1440s was:
A. Tizoc
B. Axayactl
C. Motecuzma I
D. Motecuzma II
After its removal, the heart of an Aztec sacrificial victim was:
A. thrown into Lake Texcoco
B. consumed by the warrior who had captured the victim
C. offered to a deity
D. buried while it was still beating
The earliest Mesoamerican civilizations developed:
A. before the earliest Old World civilizations
B. later than the earliest Old World civilizations
C. at the same time as the earliest Old World civilizations
D. after contact with the Old World
MATCHING 1
1) Chinampas
2) Purpecha
3) Chalchihuitlicue
4) Altepetl
5) Acolhua
A. Aztec water goddess
B. Aztec group that became the strongest ally of the Mexica
C. Nahuatl term for city-state
D. Productive drained-field agriculture
E. Another name for the Tarascan language
During the Postclassic, _______ replaced Quirigua in controlling trade in the
southeastern Maya region.
A. Ro Claro
B. Viejo Brisas de Valle
C. Naco
D. Nito
The inhabitants of Teotihuacan were primarily:
A. elite and royalty
B. foreigners who set up their own enclaves
C. slaves that were captured from other polities
D. farmers and craftspeople
A Mesoamerican shaman is:
A. the same as a priest
B. part of an ancient Asian tradition
C. a religious position that evolved during Archaic times, but disappeared by the
Formative period
D. always a woman
A milpa is a:
A. swamp
B. farm plot
C. digging stick
D. type of maize
By the Middle Formative, intensification of agriculture in the Basin of Mexico occurred
with the advent of:
A. irrigation
B. a shift in the climate that brought more rainfall to the region
C. crop importation
D. the use of fertilizers
An advantage of settling down is:
A. groups get to move around frequently
B. the weak and infirm do not have to be mobile
C. it affords a healthier lifestyle than foraging
D. people lessen their chances of contracting communicable diseases
The mold-made spindle whorl revolutionized cotton spinning because:
A. it could be efficiently used by all
B. the resulting thread was of consistently fine quality
C. it replaced metal whorls, which rusted easily
D. it enabled both children and adults to quickly master the art of spinning
In the Nochixtln Valley of the Mixteca Alta in Oaxaca, the most important Late
Formative community was:
A. Yucuita
B. Llano Perdido
C. Ro Viejo
D. Tehuacan
The earliest domesticated plant in Mesoamerica was:
A. the bottle gourd
B. maize
C. maguey
D. beans
The name of the city of Teotihuacan, which means the “Place of the Gods,” is a
_______ word.
A. Spanish
B. Mayan
C. Nahuatl
D. Teotihuacano
MATCHING 2
1) 1370s”1420s
2) 1430″1455
3) 1455″1486
4) 1486″1520
5) 1521
A. Spanish Conquest
B. Period of imperial growth under Motecuzma I and Axayactl
C. When the Mexica spent time in service to Azcapotzalco
D. Duration of the Mexica-led Triple Alliance that was headed by Itzcotl
E. The reigns of the great Mexica emperors Ahuitzotl and Motecuzma II
The south-central Gulf lowlands were eventually conquered by the Aztecs, providing
them with _____, which was unique.
A. cacao
B. cotton
C. rubber
D. vanilla
The Chicanel phase (300 bc”ad 300) of _____ was a period of time when ______.
A. central Mexico / elite enterprises increased
B. the Maya lowlands / elite enterprises increased
C. the Maya lowlands / maximum population densities for the region were recorded
D. central Mexico / maximum population densities for the region were recorded
MATCHING 2
1) Mokaya culture
2) Olmec culture
3) Capacha culture
4) El Opeo culture
5) Teopantecuanitln
A. Civic-ceremonial precinct with sunken patio
B. Ball court
C. Shaft tombs
D. Gourd-shaped ceramics
E. Colossal heads
The national flag of Mexico’s central motif ” an eagle on a cactus ” represents the:
A. heart of Tenochtitlan, where the Aztecs settled
B. place where the Spaniards first came ashore in the 1500s
C. types of crops grown in arid areas
D. Eagle Warriors held in high esteem by the Aztecs
A particular type of figurine (ceramic models) common to West Mexico in the Terminal
Formative depicts:
A. community activities
B. all-female royal weaving groups
C. male farmers
D. royal pairs couples sitting on their thrones
MATCHING 1
1) El Mirador
2) San Bartolo
3) Nakb
4) Edzn
5) Cerros
A. Site of earliest-known Maya murals
B. Oldest Maya capital city
C. Civic-ceremonial center with canal on Chetumal Bay
D. Site on the Yucatn Peninsula with 27 reservoirs and set of canals
E. Early Maya site with “E-Group” complex
The Aztecs had difficulty conquering the Tarascans because:
A. the Tarascans had metal weapons
B. the river between the two territories was too wide
C. the Tarascans allied themselves with the Spanish
D. the Tarascans had a larger army than the Aztecs
The Aztecs in Tenochtitlan dedicated their Templo Mayor (Great Temple) to:
A. the founder of the their dynasty
B. Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of war
C. Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and Tlaloc, the god of rain
D. all the female deities in the Aztec pantheon
The Spaniards’ most effective weapon against the Mexica was:
A cannons and guns
B. horses
C. political savvy
D. disease