Name Regina Castillo Class 8A Date 09/23/22

7
FORMAL Chapter 16: Mesoamerica

UNIT
ASSESSMENT chapter test A

Part 1: Multiple Choice Choose the best answer for each question from the choices available.
1 How might the highlands be described?
A poor soil that cannot be used for farming
B rugged and rocky terrain
✔ C fairly flat with fertile soil
D very hilly with little topsoil
2 W
 hy is the Olmec culture often thought of as the
mother civilization of Mesoamerica?
A T
 he Olmec taught the Zapotec and Maya people
how to farm.
B A
 ll later cultures used the Olmec’s written
language.
C P
 eople from other cultures, such as the Zapotec
and Maya, studied in Olmec cities.
✔ D L ater civilizations were influenced by Olmec art
and religious practices.
3 How did the Olmec and Zapotec civilizations end?
A They were attacked by rival groups.
B Major volcanic eruptions destroyed their villages.
C There was a severe drought.
✔ D No one knows for sure.
7 W
 hat were the Maya able to accomplish using
their mathematical skills?
A T
 hey traded with people in both North and
South America.
B They traveled across the Atlantic Ocean.
✔ C They created a 365-day calendar.
D They fought off European explorers.
8 Why were the chinampas vital to the Aztec?
A They allowed the Aztecs to travel long distances.
B T
 hey offered housing and shelter for people
such as farmers.
✔ C They provided fields for growing food.
D T
 he Aztecs believed the gods lived in the
chinampas.
9 Why was Teotihuacán important to the Aztec?
✔ A It was the largest trading center.
B The Aztec believed the gods were born there.
C It was the first city that the Spanish conquered.
D I t was positioned at the center of the Aztec
Empire.

4 H
 ow was Monte Albán different from San José 10 What happened in 1519?
Mogote? A Moctezuma II became emperor.
✔ A Monte Albán was built on a mountaintop. B Teotihuacán was established.
B M
 onte Albán had temples, but San José Mogote ✔ C The conquistadors arrived in the Aztec Empire.
did not.
D The Aztec Empire reached the Pacific Ocean.
C The two cities were built by different cultures.
D San José Mogote was on the Pacific Ocean.

5 W
 ho were above the priests in the Maya class
structure?
A merchants
✔ B king
C merchants and king
D no one

6 In Maya culture, what was the purpose of stelae?

✔ A to honor a king and record his actions
B to provide sacrifices to the gods
C to assure a good harvest
D to record crop surpluses

Chapter 16 CHAPTER TEST A © National Geographic Learning, Cengage Learning

Name Regina Castillo Class 8A Date 09/23/22

FORMAL ASSESSMENT Continued

Part 2: Interpret Maps  se the map and your knowledge of early Mesoamerican
U
civilizations to answer the questions below.

The Aztec Empire, 1503–1519

Aztec Empire, 1503

Moctezuma II’s conquests
TEXCOCO Triple Alliance
Moctezuma II’s offensives
Route of Hernán Cortés, 1519

11 W
 hich of the following cities did Moctezuma II 13 I n which of the following cities did farmers build
conquer? chinampas on Lake Texcoco?
✔ A Ayutla A Cholula
B Tehuantepec ✔ B Tlatelolco
C Tototepec C El Tajín
D Xocotla D Oxitipán

12 W
 here did Hernán Cortés first land when he
came to Mesoamerica?
A Zempoala
✔ B Tenochtitlán
C Cholula
D Veracruz

Constructed Response Use a complete sentence to write the answer in the space provided.

14 Why do you think the conquistadors took the route shown on this map to Tenochtitlán?
Maybe in the row they gather more peaople to conquer, as salves too. ALso maybe since its an easy
route to Tenochtitlán...

© National Geographic Learning, Cengage Learning Chapter 16 CHAPTER TEST A

Name Regina Castillo Class 8A Date 09/23/22

FORMAL ASSESSMENT Continued

Part 3: Interpret Time Lines  se the time line and your knowledge of the
U
Maya to answer the questions below.

Three Time Periods of the Maya

The Maya people The Maya spread

Preclassic Public centers
come to across the
(2000 B.C.– A.D. 250) are built.
Mesoamerica. lowlands.

Public areas and The Maya

Classic The Maya begin
religious centers civilization
(250–900) to decline.
grow larger. reaches its height.

Dramatic decrease
The Maya people Conflict grows
in population
Postclassic no longer continue among
and rapid spread
(900–1521) to thrive. Maya groups.
of disease occur.

15 W
 hich of the following occurred during the 17 W
 hat happened in the last part of the Preclassic
Classic Period? Period?
A Public centers were built. ✔ A Public centers were built.
✔ B The Maya civilization reached its height. B The Classic Period began to decline.
C The Maya no longer thrived. C Disease spread rapidly.
D The Maya spread across the lowlands. D People spread to the lowlands.

16 W
 hen did the population of the Maya
dramatically decrease?
A at the beginning of the Classic Period
B at the end of the Classic Period
C at the beginning of the Postclassic Period
✔ D at the end of the Postclassic Period

Constructed Response Use a complete sentence to write the answer in the space provided.

18 During which period did the Maya civilization reach its peak? Explain why.
During the classic period, it show how does the public areas and religious grew and its
civilizationreaches its height.

Chapter 16 CHAPTER TEST A © National Geographic Learning, Cengage Learning

Name Regina Castillo Class 8A Date 09/23/22

FORMAL ASSESSMENT Continued

Part 4: Document-Based Question  se the documents and your knowledge of early

U
Mesoamerican civilizations to answer the questions below.
Introduction  Many early Mesoamerican civilizations developed calendars to record
time and predict certain events. They were also used in religious rituals. Both the Maya and
the Aztec established a two-calendar system. The 365-day calendar followed the solar year
and was used to keep track of time and seasons. The 260-day calendar was a ritual calendar
used to determine the time of religious festivals.

Objective: Explain the importance of calendars to all social classes in early Mesoamerican civilizations.

DOCUMENT 1 Excerpt from Ancient Mexico and Central America. This excerpt discusses some of the
ways in which the Maya used their 365-day calendar.

The yearly agrarian [agricultural] cycle of field preparation and planting and
harvesting would have been of foremost [main] concern to the common people,
who would have looked to their ruler and his trained calendar priests for
guidance as to the proper—and most auspicious [favorable]—timing of these
events. But beyond those undertakings lay others of more urgent concern
to royals and nobles, matters such as the best time to make war, or offer
sacrifices, or erect a building.
Source: Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History, Susan Toby
Evans, 2008, Thames & Hudson

Constructed Response Use a complete sentence to write the answer in the space provided.

19 Who was mostly concerned with the agricultural cycle of the Maya calendar?
the Common people

20 What details in this excerpt suggest that the Maya calendar was highly detailed?
They tell how people had exact days to special events, such as 365 followed the solar year and was
used to keep track of time and seasons.260-day calendar for rituals, used to determine the time of
religious festivals and their agricultural cycle.

© National Geographic Learning, Cengage Learning Chapter 16 CHAPTER TEST A