MesoAmerican Exam Flashcards
(69 cards)
What are the 5 core features that define a civilization?
Advanced cities, organized institutions (government & religion), record keeping, technology, and specialized workers.
How was the Maya government organized?
Independent city-states were ruled by hereditary kings (seen as semi-divine), with assistance from priests and nobles.
What type of religious beliefs did the Maya practice?
They were polytheistic, worshipping gods of war, corn, rain, and death; rituals included offerings of food, flowers, incense, and blood, plus some human sacrifices.
What are two key elements of Maya architecture?
They built pyramid temples (e.g., El Castillo at Chichen Itza) and ball courts that held religious significance.
How did the Maya record history and manage time?
They used glyphs (pictographs and syllables) and codexes (bark boods) for record keeping and developed complex calendars, including a 260-day religious calendar, as well as astronomy observatories aligned with celestial events (e.g., Venus).
What agricultural practices did the Maya use?
Farmers adapted to diverse terrains by using raised beds in swampy areas and terrace farming in highlands.
What goods and trade items were important in Maya commerce?
Their trade included stone, jade, obsidian, salt, feathers, textiles, paper, and jewelry; gold, copper, and cacao beans were sometimes used as currency.
What factors are believed to have contributed to the decline of the Maya?
Theories include civil wars, famine, and ultimately, the impact of Spanish conquest.
During which period did the Aztec civilization exist?
Approximately 1200–1500 CE.
What is Teotihuacan and why is it important to the Aztecs?
Teotihuacan was an influential ancient city in the Valley of Mexico whose architecture and layout influenced the Aztecs.
How and where was the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, built?
It was built on a lake in the Valley of Mexico, with buildings stabilized by driving tree trunks into the swampy ground.
How did the Aztecs expand their empire?
They expanded through fierce military conquests, establishing a tribute system wherein conquered provinces had to supply luxury goods.
What was the tribute system in the Aztec Empire?
Conquered regions provided tributes such as jade, feathers, leopard skins, amber, cocoa beans, and drinking cups; failure to pay had deadly consequences.
How did the Aztecs maintain communication across their empire?
A courier system with runners (messengers) enabled rapid message delivery between provinces.
What innovative farming technique did the Aztecs develop?
They built chinampas, artificial islands that allowed for 4 or more harvests per year.
What were the social classes in Aztec society?
They included supreme rulers/emperors, priests and nobles, merchants and artisans, peasants, and slaves.
What educational system did the Aztecs have?
They established public vocational schools for all young people—the first public schools in the Americas.
What was central to the Aztec religious system?
The worship of multiple gods, especially the Sun God Huitzilopochtli, and the practice of human sacrifice, partly to provide prisoners for ritual offerings as seen in the ‘Flower Wars.’
How did the Incan Empire begin and expand?
It began as a small kingdom near Cuzco in the Andes and expanded through military conquest to rule a 2,500-mile-long empire of about 16 million people.
What was the foundation of the Incan economy?
Agriculture, boosted by terrace farming, with key crops including potatoes, corn, quinoa, and the raising of guinea pigs for protein.
How did the Incas manage their vast empire?
They used a centralized government that controlled farming, trade, and resources; they imposed a labor tax (mita) and maintained extensive road systems and population transfers.
What infrastructural achievements helped unify the Incan Empire?
They built a 14,000-mile network of stone roads (with rope bridges), and a messenger system (chasquis) for rapid communication.
What is an ‘ayllu’ in Incan society?
An ayllu was a cooperative family group that shared labor, resources, and supported community life.
How did Incan rulers legitimize their authority religiously?
Incan rulers were seen as descendants of the sun god Inti, and deceased emperors were mummified and revered.
