Archaeology Chapter 8 Ancient Mesoamerica STUDENT

							Archaeology Chapter 8 Ancient Mesoamerica STUDENT

1. We are now beginning to understand that the Maya did all of the following except:
a. engaging in warfare frequently.
b. occupying cities supported by numerous farming villages.
c. maintaining long distance trade connections with Teotihuacan.
d. forging and casting iron
e. none of the above
2. The massive basalt heads found at La Venta are thought to represent
a. were-jaguars.
b. danzantes.
c. portraits of early rulers.
d. captives.
e. All of the above
3. “Barrios” with distinct artifact styles suggesting the presence of trade are found at
a. Cuicuilco.
b. Tehuacán.
c. Teotihuacán.
d. Pachuca.
e. All of the above
4. The calendar round in Mesoamerica did NOT
a. comprise a 52-year cycle.
b. include the ritual calendar of 260 days.
c. include the solar calendar.
d. feature the twelve constellations of the zodiac
e. none of the above
5. The study of the distribution of ancient communities on a landscape falls under the domain of
a. stratigraphic excavation.
b. provenience.
c. physical anthropology.
d. settlement pattern analysis.
e. None of the above
6. Which is true of Monte Albán?
a. It had more temples than any other prehispanic Mesoamerican site.
b. It had a residential pattern of houses built on terraces.
c. It had several large round temples.
d. The first chinampas are found there.
e. It was founded by peoples from Teotihuacán.
7. One of the most important economic activities carried out at Teotihuacán was
a. obsidian working, as shown by the remains of possible obsidian workshops.
b. slash-and-burn agriculture, as shown by the remains of hundreds of chinampas.
c. the carving of jade ceremonial objects, as shown by jade debris and hundreds of broken jade
    figurines.
d. the production and distribution of fine earthenware ceramics
e. all of the above
8. The system of agricultural production used by the Aztecs, which involved the creation of fields
    in swampy areas, is called
a. slash-and-burn.
b. well irrigation.
c. agricultural terracing.
d. chinampa farming.

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e. canal irrigation.
9. Which of the following statements best characterizes Teotihuacán?
a. a highly nucleated city built on a grid plan with wide avenues, a market, many temples, and
    apartment-style dwellings
b. a large urban settlement in central Mexico buried by a volcanic eruption around 1 A.D.
c. a Triple Alliance capital city on an island in Lake Texcoco, surrounded by chinampas
d. a large hilltop settlement with defensive walls and separate neighborhoods, which may have
    been founded by competing groups who decided to form a confederacy
e. All of the above
10. The talud-tablero style of architecture is typical of the site of
a. San José Mogote.
b. Cuicuilco.
c. Palenque.
d. Teotihuacán.
e. La Venta.
11. The following is NOT associated with the Zapotecs:
a. tombs
b. funerary urns
c. conquest glyphs
d. the Street of the Dead
e. none of the above
12. During the period from A.D. 950–1160, the most powerful city in central Mexico was
a. Teotihuacán.
b. Tula.
c. Cuicuilco.
d. Tikal.
e. None of the above
13. The Ambassador Monument is
a. the tomb of a ruler at the site of Palenque which Von Daniken claimed was actually the
    portrait of an ambassador from outer space.
b. one of the oldest known examples of writing in Mesoamerica, found at an Olmec site.
c. a Zapotec stela found at Teotihuacan.
d. a Mayan calendrical stela now on display in Washington, DC.
e. None of the above
14. La Venta is
a. an Olmec ceremonial center on Mexico’s Gulf Coast with a principal occupation from 800–
    400 B.C.
b. a site in central Mexico with rare examples of round architecture.
c. the source of valuable green obsidian.
d. the largest site in the Valley of Oaxaca before the establishment of Monte Albán.
e. None of the above
15. Danzantes are
a. elaborate serpentine masks, which were buried beneath Olmec architecture.
b. Mixtec stone carvings, which probably represent ritual dancing.
c. Maya hieroglyphs related to maize festivals.
d. Monte Albán stone carvings that probably represent captives.
e. All of the above
16. The Culhua Mexica, or ____, inhabited the Basin of Mexico in the last years before the
    Spanish conquest.
a. Maya
b. Zapotec

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c. Olmec
d. Aztec
e. None of the above
17. The Aztec practiced human sacrifice
a. in order to obtain much needed protein.
b. because hearts and blood were needed to maintain the order of the Universe.
c. because they were ordered to by Tlaloc, the goggle-eyed god.
d. as a means of population control
e. this is a fallacy
18. Prior to the establishment of Monte Albán, the largest site in the Valley of Oaxaca with a
    danzante was
a. San José Mogote.
b. Cuicuilco.
c. San Lorenzo.
d. Tikal.
e. None of the above
19. The Aztec pochteca were specialists in
a. religion.
b. long-distance exchange.
c. human sacrifice.
d. chinampa farming.
e. The first attempts of flight
20. The dietary trinity of Mesoamerica consisted of
a. maize, beans, and squash.
b. potatoes, lima beans, and chili.
c. wheat, barley, and lentils.
d. acorn, mesquite pods, and maguey.
e. Oven baked ham, carrots and celery
21. Giant stone columns of warriors were found at which site:
a. Teotihuacán
b. Tenochtitlán
c. Tlatilolco
d. Tula
none of the above
22. San José Mogote was situated
a. on the Gulf Coast.
b. in the Basin of Mexico.
c. in the Petén.
d. in the Valley of Oaxaca.
e. None of the above
23. Three Gulf Coast sites were
a. San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes.
b. Tikal, Palenque, and Copán.
c. El Mirador, San José Mogote, and Monte Albán.
d. Teotihuacán, Tenochtitlán, and Cuicuilco.
e. None of the above
24. To date, no ball court is known from the site of
a. Chichén Itzá.
b. Monte Albán.
c. Tenochtitlán.
d. Teotihuacán.

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e. All of the above
25. The principal theme of Maya inscriptions on carved stone monuments appears to have been
a. accounting.
b. political/dynastic.
c. foretelling the future.
d. keeping accurate track of time.
e. Outcomes of the ball games
26. In the nineteenth century, the ancient Maya were brought to the attention of the English-
    speaking world by
a. the writings of Stephens and Catherwood.
b. excavations at El Mirador.
c. the return of Quetzalcoatl.
d. the writings of Thompson and Morley.
e. None of the above
An27. Although exchange linked most Mesoamerican cities with their hinterland, marketing has
    an especially crucial role at
a. Teotihuacán.
b. Tenochtitlán.
c. Monte Albán.
d. San Lorenzo
e. Tikal
28. Mural art at Teotihuacán
a. glorified past rulers.
b. depicted ritual feasts and offerings.
c. portrayed major military battles.
d. helped predict eclipses.
e. None of the above
29. Fired clay funerary urns are associated with which Mesoamerican peoples?
a. Aztec
b. Maya
c. Olmec
d. Zapotec
e. Chichimec
30. Comals are used to make
a. funerary urns.
b. pottery.
c. tortillas.
d. stone tools.
e. rice
31. The Mesoamerican group with the most and longest written inscriptions are the
a. Maya.
b. Aztec.
c. Olmec.
d. Zapotec.
e. Mexica.




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