Deck 6: Early Societies in the Americas and Oceania

Question 1

The most flexible and sophisticated system of writing found in the ancient Americas was created by the

A) Olmecs.
B) Maya.
C) Teotihuacan society.
D) Chavín cult.
E) Incas.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following mathematical concepts,essential for positional notation and the manipulation of large numbers,was invented by Maya mathematicians?

A) infinity
B) zero
C) long division
D) exponential notation
E) negative numerals

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The Maya calendar interwove a solar year of 365 days and a ritual calendar of ________ days.

A) 100
B) 260
C) 730
D) 1,000
E) 1,243

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Later Mesoamerican societies used calendars derived ultimately from the model created by the

A) Maya.
B) Mochica.
C) Olmecs.
D) Aztecs.
E) Incas.

Question 5

Ritual bloodletting was crucial to Maya rituals because

A) it pleased their god Indra.
B) the flow of blood terrified their enemies.
C) it was associated with rain and agriculture.
D) they had copied the technique from the earlier Aztecs.
E) blood was considered taboo.

Question 6

The Maya attributed great significance to the amount of time it took the solar and ritual calendars to simultaneously return to their respective starting points.This event took place every ________ solar years.

A) 10
B) 26
C) 52
D) 76
E) 88

Question 7

The term Olmec means

A) "lords."
B) "masters of the middle earth."
C) "rubber people."
D) "wanderers."
E) "noble people."

Question 8

The first society of Mesoamerica,which founded traditions followed by all later societies,was the

A) Maya.
B) Olmec.
C) Teotihuacan.
D) Mochica.
E) Aztec.

Question 9

The Popol Vuh was the

A) most important of the Maya gods.
B) largest Olmec ceremonial center.
C) Maya creation myth.
D) greatest Austronesian epic.
E) Olmec law code.

Question 10

The most important political center of the Maya realm at its height was

A) Kaminaljuyú.
B) Teotihuacan.
C) Tikal.
D) Chavín.
E) San Lorenzo.

Question 11

According to the Popol Vuh,the gods created the first successful version of humans out of

A) wood.
B) clay.
C) the flesh of the gods.
D) maize.
E) blood.

Question 12

The Pyramid of the Sun was located in

A) Tikal.
B) La Venta.
C) San Lorenzo.
D) Cuzco.
E) Teotihuacan.

Question 13

How much written material survives from the Maya?

A) a massive library at Tikal
B) four books
C) none
D) a small library at the ceremonial center of Kaminaljuyú
E) roughly a thousand books captured by the Aztecs

Question 14

Which of the following devices did the ancient Maya build in order to trap silt carried by the numerous rivers passing through the Mesoamerican lowlands?

A) dams
B) massive irrigation tunnels
C) terraces
D) primitive water purification filters
E) moats

Question 15

The most prominent early ceremonial center of the Maya was

A) Tikal.
B) San Lorenzo.
C) Mochica.
D) Kaminaljuyú.
E) Tres Zapotes.

Question 16

The Olmecs traded extensively in all of the following items EXCEPT

A) horses.
B) jade.
C) obsidian.
D) small works of art.
E) animal skins.

Question 17

The Olmec common people

A) labored regularly on behalf of the Olmec elite.
B) were exclusively the subject of human sacrifice.
C) lived alongside the elite in the major ceremonial centers.
D) lived a much more privileged life than their European counterparts did.
E) enjoyed a basic democracy.

Question 18

The first ceremonial center of the Olmecs was

A) San Lorenzo.
B) La Venta.
C) Teotihuacan.
D) Kaminaljuyú.
E) Tikal.

Question 19

The Olmec ceremonial centers of San Lorenzo and La Venta were destroyed by

A) earthquakes.
B) the Maya.
C) the Teotihuacan.
D) the Olmecs themselves.
E) volcanic eruptions that trapped the survivors and left distinctive archaeological records.

Question 20

The most characteristic artistic creations of the Olmecs were

A) pyramids.
B) elaborate murals.
C) temples.
D) ziggurats covered with a limestone finish.
E) colossal human heads sculpted from basalt.

Question 21

The Chavín cult was a new religion that appeared in the central Andes around 1000 B.C.E.

Question 22

Austronesians brought human settlement to islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Question 23

The first Mesoamerican society was the Maya.

Question 24

The largest single building in Mesoamerica was

A) the Maya Temple of the Giant Jaguar.
B) the Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun.
C) the Olmec Temple of the Sun.
D) the Maya Imperial Palace.
E) the Olmec Temple of the Moon.

Question 25

The Chavín cult

A) was the Teotihuacan worship of an earth god and rain god.
B) was the primary Olmec religion.
C) represented deities with the features of humans and wild animals.
D) was practiced in the Maya Temple of the Giant Jaguar.
E) is the best known religion of the Americas.

Question 26

One of the earliest Andean states,which left a remarkable artistic legacy through its ceramics,was

A) Chavín.
B) Teotihuacan.
C) San Lorenzo.
D) Mochica.
E) Maya.

Question 27

The state of Teotihuacan was famous for its orange pottery,and it built on the Olmec calendar and graphic symbols.

Question 28

The Pyramid of the Moon was a Teotihuacan temple and largest in Mesoamerica.

Question 29

The political center of the Maya between the fourth and ninth centuries C.E.was Tikal.

Question 30

The Maya were a Mesoamerican society that developed writing and made advancements in math.

Question 31

The Austronesian-speaking peoples became the first human settlers on which large island off the east African coast?

A) Madagascar
B) Sri Lanka
C) Sicily
D) Easter Island
E) New Guinea

Question 32

Mochica was one of the earliest Andean states that left a remarkable artistic legacy.

Question 33

Mochica was one of the Olmec ceremonial centers.

Question 34

In the Popol Vuh,humans were created from maize and water.Why would this explanation have made sense to the Maya? What did the gods want from their human creations? What were the earlier attempts?

Question 35

The Popol Vuh is the Maya creation myth.

Question 36

Which statement correctly describes the relationship between the aboriginal peoples of Australia and New Guinea?

A) The aboriginal peoples of Australia maintained hunting and gathering societies,while in New Guinea they turned to agriculture.
B) The two fought a centuries-long civil war.
C) The aboriginal peoples of New Guinea maintained hunting and gathering societies,while in Australia they turned to agriculture.
D) The aboriginal peoples of Australia learned their written language from New Guinea.
E) The aboriginal peoples of New Guinea learned their written language from Australia.

Question 37

The population of Teotihuacan rose to

A) 5,000.
B) 7,500.
C) 10,000.
D) 12,500.
E) 200,000.

Question 38

Malayan,Indonesian,Filipino,Polynesian,and other Oceanic languages are derived from

A) aboriginal Australian.
B) Chinese.
C) Hindi.
D) Indo-European.
E) Austronesian.

Question 39

The Lapita peoples

A) spread the concept of the wheeled chariot.
B) worshipped the Chavín cult.
C) traded with the Mesopotamians.
D) introduced bronze technology to China.
E) were the earliest Austronesian migrants to establish human settlements in the Pacific islands.

Question 40

Obsidian is the material out of which the Olmec fashioned tools.

Question 41

Examine the influences of the Austronesians in the history of Oceania.What factors might have driven the Austronesians to explore and colonize the Pacific Ocean?

Question 42

Examine Map 6.3,Early societies of Oceania,1500 B.C.E.-700 C.E.How were the inspirations for exploration and colonization linked to the geography of the area? Discuss the role played by the Austronesians in this process.

Question 43

Examine the Popol Vuh.What can this work tell us about the religious world of the Maya? Compare it to other creation stories studied so far in the class.

Question 44

Look at Map 6.1,Early Mesoamerican societies,1200 B.C.E.-1100 C.E.What was the geographical relationship between the Olmecs,Maya,and Teotihuacan? Were the contributions of these societies influenced by geography?

Question 45

Compare and contrast the political and social structures of the Americas and Oceania.Were these societies shaped differently by isolation?

Question 46

Describe Olmec societal structures.What cultural and societal traditions did the Olmecs pass on to later Mesoamerican societies?

Question 47

Explore the political and social diversity of Oceania.What factors allowed for these differences?

Question 48

Look at the picture of Teotihuacan on page 120.How populous and powerful was this city? Discuss the importance of the Pyramid of the Sun.

Question 49

Examine the relationship between Mesoamerica and South America.Why was there not more contact between the two areas?

Question 50

How did the state of Chichén Itzá change Mesoamerican society? How did its strategy for expansion differ from other states and kingdoms?

Question 51

What factors help to explain the relative scarcity of information about the early history of the Americas and Oceania? What tools do historians use to study these societies?

Question 52

Compare and contrast the political,social,and religious diversity of Mesoamerica and South America.How did government,social structure,and religion differ from region to region?

Question 53

How did a changing climate affect the earliest inhabitants of Mesoamerica?

Question 54

In what fundamental ways did the Mesoamerican and South American societies differ from those of Oceania? What did they have in common?

Question 55

What factors allowed for the exploration and settlement of Oceania? Did these societies change over time?

Question 56

What would have caused the societies of the Americas and Oceania to be so different from other societies studied so far? What areas did they have in common?

Question 57

Discuss the richness and complexity of Maya culture,centering on their accomplishments in writing,astronomy,and math.

Question 58

Explore the influence of the Olmecs on Mesoamerican society.What were the major foundations of Olmec civilization? How did they influence other societies?

Question 59

What factors might explain the decline and collapse of Mesoamerican societies such as the Olmecs and the Maya? Why is the decline of these two societies so mysterious?

Question 60

Look at Map 6.2,Early societies of Andean South America,1000 B.C.E.-700 C.E.Discuss the relationship to water of these early South American societies.Discuss the problems of communications between Mesoamerica and South America as well as within South America itself.

Question 61

Look at the representation of mariners on page 125.What part did these mariners and their double hulled voyaging canoes play in the exploration and colonization of Oceania? What lands did they colonize?

Question 62

Describe Maya religious beliefs and practices.What was the purpose of their bloodletting rituals?

Question 63

Examine the picture of Mochica pottery on page 123.Why would pottery like this be important to scholars as they study South America?

Question 64

Describe the origins,development,and decline of the Lapita society.

Question 65

Although there is little direct evidence left of the form of government of Teotihuacan,how do scholars believe the huge population of the city was managed? What role did priests likely play?

Question 66

Describe the Maya ball game.Why did the Maya play it? What role did it serve in society?

Question 67

Compare and contrast the societies that existed under the Chavín cult and the Mochica State.

Question 68

Read the section drawn from the Popol Vuh (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: The Popol Vuh on the Creation of Human Beings).Compare this creation story to others studied in the class.Why did the gods create humans in the first place? Why would it make sense for humans to be made of maize?