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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

Name: Arielle Percer Date: March 8th, 2018

Main Idea:
Students compare and contrast the geographic, political, religious,

and social structures of the MesoAmerican civilizations.

Critical Thinking Questions

Lesson #1 (Introduction and Cultural Universals)

★ Compare a cultural universal that the Olmecs had which is similar to another
ancient religion you studied in 6th grade?
They both focussed on religion. The Olmecs had a step pyramid and the
Mesopotamians had ziggurats. This is similar because they both looked the small, but
weren’t.
★ How did the need to improve Maya farming (agriculture) lead to an interest in
astronomy and mathematics?
The need to improve farming affected astronomy and mathematics because the
Mayans need to figure out the seasons. They then figured out the seasons by using
astronomy and mathematics. Because farming was essential to live the Mayans
became interested in learning more about astronomy and mathematics.
★ How did the Aztec belief system lead to advancements in medical treatments?
Aztecs believed that their gods required human sacrifice to be happy. Because of this
they made human sacrifices. They would make certain cuts in the body and then role
the body down the steps of their temple. When they landed at the bottom of the
temple their limbs would have fallen off because of the cuts made in their body. This
then lead the Aztecs to surgery. They learned how to make certain cuts in the human
body and at certain part, thus they learned surgery.
★ How did the Inca Empire’s geography lead to a system of ancient highways?
The Incas lived on top of the Andes mountains. Because of this it was harder to move
from mountain to mountain. Their solution was to create a system of highway like
bridges. These bridges lead from mountain to mountain so that the Incas could travel
across them to a neighboring mountain.

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

Lesson #2 (Geography)
★ Why is geography important when studying cultures?
Geography in cultures affects the way the cultures had to live. For example because
the Incas lived in the mountains they had to build retaining walls to build on. Another
example of this is the resources they had. The Incas had a lot of gold and silver because
the Andes mountains were filled with gold and silver.
★ How did the Maya Empire’s geography lead to a government system of
independent city-states?
The Mayan lived in the jungle. Because of this their empire was very separated. They
were spread out into city states. This cause them not to be very connected and they
would even conquer each other.
★ Contrast the Maya and Aztec societies in terms of geography and government.
The Aztecs were surrounded by mountains and a lake. They had one empire that ruled
over them all. The Mayans on the other hand lived in the jungle. Their government was
very spread out in a way where they would even conquer each other.
★ Why is agriculture so important to a civilization?
Agriculture is key for civilizations because without it the civilization would not be able
to live and grow. Without agriculture the civilization would not have enough food to
trade or even eat.

Lesson #3 (Art and Language)

★ What can the study of a culture’s art tell you about that society?
A culture’s art can tell you a lot about a culture. For example it could tell which
materials the culture had and could use for art. It could also tell you the time period in
which they existed. You can determine this by what is in the picture. One other thing
it can tell you about a culture is their religion. They art might show picture of things,
people, or items they viewed as gods or just worshiped.
★ How does the art produced by the Mayan society indicate its people were
intelligent and artistic ?
The Mayans’ art showed how intelligent and artistic they were because they were able
to make it into a written language of 500 characters. Each character was different
from the others thus making it harder to learn. The written language was so hard only
a few people could read it. This shows how intelligent they were because they were
able to read a language of 500 characters. It also shows how artistic they were because
they were able to come up with 500 different characters.
★ How does the art produced by the Aztec society indicate its people were
intelligent and artistic ?

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

Their art showed how intelligent they were because they were able to make it in a way
that represented things, but only a few people could read it.
★ What does the fact that the Inca never wrote their language down tell you about
their oral traditions?
It tells you how strong the Incan’s oral traditions were. I know this because the only
way they could pass information from generation from generation without a written
language, they need to tell very detail and a lot of stories.
★ How do the religious beliefs of each MesoAmerican culture impact their social
hierarchy?
Based on your religion, different social classes got different things and different
classes where higher up on the social hierarchy. For example in a very religious
culture priest would probably be higher up on the social hierarchy where in a not very
religious priest wouldn’t be very high. Another example of how religion affected
classes is what the classes got to wear. For example in the Aztec religion the kings
would wear feathers as a sign of power.

Lesson #4 (Culture and Society)

★ What can the study of a culture’s architecture tell you about that society?
One thing a culture architecture can tell you is what materials they have. It can also
tell you where they live. For example if you lived in the middle of a lake you wouldn’t
create terriers to stop a mountain from farming and so you could live on top of it.

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

★ Infer which culture is depicted below. Then, prove your choice by analyzing
elements of the picture.
The picture below is most likely from a Mayan society. I infer this because of what
they are wearing. They seem to be wearing leopard skin. This made me think of the
Mayans because leopard are much more likely to be found in the jungle rather than on
a lake or in the mountains.

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

★ Infer which culture is depicted below. Then, prove your choice by analyzing
elements of the picture.
I infer the picture below is from the Aztecs. I believe this because the powerful looking
people at the bottom are wearing feathers. This made me think of the Aztecs because
feathers in the Aztec religion was a symbol of a high class because they believed in a
feather snake god.

D. Nicoll World History 2018

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

★ Infer which culture is depicted below. Then, prove your choice by analyzing
elements of the picture.

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

I infer this statue is from the Inca culture. I believe this for multiple reasons. One: the
Incas believed in a sun god a worshiped it regularly. Two: the Andes mountains (where
the Incas lived) where filled with gold and silver giving the Incas the materials they
need to build a statue like the picture below.

Lesson #5 (Science and Architecture)

★ Why might the Mayas be so concerned with astronomy?
The Mayans were so concerned with astronomy because it helped them farm. Because
of were the Mayans lived it was hard for them to farm for food. Astronomy helped
them because it helped them figure out the seasons.
★ Why do many of the religious practices, buildings, and social hierarchy of the
Aztecs look similar to the Mayans?
Because the Aztecs were influenced by the Mayans.

★ Why might perfect stone cutting for buildings be important?

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Unit 5 Exam: MesoAmerica

You don’t have to waste materials on morder and your structure is more secure.

Lesson #6 (Fall of Empires)

★ Why do historians study the fall of empires? (What might it tell us about the
modern era?)
It could tell historians were we got everything we have, why we worship certain gods,
and even how the environment has changed.
★ Why did the Mayan empire disappear?
The Mayans disappeared for many different reasons. One of the reason is because the
Spanish conquered some of them. Smallpox also killed off a large number of them.
There are many other reasons such as droughts, famine, and war.
★ Contrast the fall of the Aztec and Inca empires.
One example of this is that Aztecs empire was conquered in a relatively short amount
of time where the Incas were conquered over decades.

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