Test your knowledge of pre-Columbian peoples.
Below are 12 questions about the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs!
Question 01
"These peoples lived in the region where we currently have northern Mexico." The excerpt refers to:
a) Maya.
b) Incas.
c) Olmecs.
d) Aztecs.
e) None of the above.
a) FALSE. The Mayan peoples inhabited the territory of the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico.
b) FALSE. The Inca peoples inhabited part of the territory of present-day Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
c) FALSE. The Olmec peoples inhabited the territory of the current border between Mexico and the United States.
d) TRUE. The northern region of Mexico was inhabited by the Aztecs.
e) FALSE. Option D is the correct one.
Question 02
Discuss the role of the emperor in Aztec society.
Answer: In Aztec society, the emperor was the most powerful individual. Furthermore, he was seen as an incarnation of a god.
Question 03
About the Mayan peoples, mark the correct alternative:
a) They constituted a unified empire, all commanded by the same king and divided into small cities commanded by governors elected by the monarch.
b) They had a calendar based on lunar cycles and another based on the chronology of their gods.
c) They were a civilization that demonstrably managed to build most of its empire with the help of extraterrestrials.
d) They did not manage to constitute a unified empire, unlike the Aztecs and Incas.
e) None of the above.
a) FALSE. The Maya peoples did not form a unified kingdom.
b) FALSE. O haab was a solar calendar and the Tzolkin was based on human gestation.
c) FALSE. This is a clearly prejudiced and derogatory view of the Maya peoples.
d) TRUE. The Maya peoples had several city-states, which did not depend on the command of a central government.
e) FALSE. Option D is the correct one.
Question 04
About the end of the Mayan Empire, explain the main difference compared to the Incas and Aztecs.
Answer: Unlike the Incas and Aztecs, the Mayan people saw their end before the arrival of the Spaniards, not having their decline and extermination caused by the Europeans.
Question 05
About the Inca gods, check the alternative INCORRECT:
a) Inti, considered the sun god, has Mama Quilla as his companion.
b) Mama Quilla is the goddess related to the moon and considered the greatest female deity of the Incas.
c) Viracocha is considered a creator and functional god. According to tradition, he emerged in human form in the waters of Lake Titicaca to order lawless men.
d) Pachamama is understood as a myth throughout America, as it is about the land itself, the crops and the pastures.
e) Wacon was seen as a kind and benevolent god, praised throughout the American continent.
Assuming the question command wants to know about the offending item:
a) The statement is correct. In the Inca narrative, these two kings were companions.
b) The statement is correct. This goddess was also considered responsible for regulating menstrual cycles.
c) The statement is correct. Lake Titicaca was of vital importance to the Incas.
d) The statement is correct. Pachamama was considered the highest deity of the indigenous people of the central Andes.
e) The statement is wrong. "Evil and cruel God, was responsible for the drought on the coast of Peru. The Incas believed that this god was a devourer of children."
Question 06
Explain how Inca society was organized.
Inca society was organized in a hierarchical manner with respect to the scale of power, starting with the emperor, followed by his family, nobles, civil servants and specialized workers. At the base were the farmers.
Question 07
(UNESP) Between the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Maya and the Aztec, there were significant cultural similarities. By the time they were conquered,
a) The Mayans had their religious beliefs and their written documents preserved and accepted by the Spaniards, while the Aztec civilization was destroyed.
b) The Aztecs and Mayans had pacified relations between the different peoples who inhabited the current regions of Mexico and Guatemala.
c) Their populations were decimated by the Spaniards, who militarily took over the cities of Palenque, Tikal and Copan.
d) The Aztecs dominated a territory that stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, but the Mayans no longer had magnificent cities, which disappeared under the forests.
e) They were nomadic hunters, unaware of agriculture and used the wheel and metals for military purposes.
a) WRONG. This statement is incorrect, as the Maya also suffered many cultural losses and destruction of their religious and written monuments.
b) WRONG. This statement is incorrect, as both civilizations were involved in wars and conflicts with other cultures and peoples.
c) WRONG. This statement is incorrect, as Palenque, Tikal and Copan were Mayan cities that were already in decline at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. d) CORRECT. The Aztec peoples developed a great civilization from the Atlantic to the Pacific.e) WRONG. This claim is incorrect, as both civilizations had advanced agricultural systems and sophisticated metallurgy techniques.
Questions 08
Explain how the complex hieroglyphic writing of the Maya peoples influenced their society and culture, and how its decline has affected the preservation and interpretation of the written records that left?
The hieroglyphic writing of the Maya peoples influenced their society and culture by allowing the recording of history, mythology, scientific knowledge, among other important aspects of life everyday. However, the decline of the Maya affected the preservation and interpretation of the written records that remain, requiring decades of dedicated scholarly work to unravel them. Despite this, hieroglyphic writing remains an important source of knowledge about the ancient Maya peoples.
Question 09
(ENEM) The Inca Empire, which corresponds mainly to the territories of Bolivia and Peru, came to encompass a huge population contingent. Cuzco, the holy city, was the administrative center, with a strongly stratified society and composed of emperors, nobles, priests, government officials, artisans, peasants, slaves and soldiers. The religion had several gods, and the basis of the economy was agriculture, mainly the cultivation of potatoes and corn. The main characteristic of Inca society was
a) Theocratic dictatorship, which made everyone equal.
b) Existence of social equality and collectivization of land.
c) Unequal social structure compensated by the collectivization of all goods.
d) Existence of social mobility, which led to the composition of the elite by merit.
e) Impossibility of changing social strata and the existence of a hereditary aristocracy.
a) WRONG. Theocratic power did not equal everyone.
b) WRONG. Despite the collectivization of land and goods, Inca society was not egalitarian.
c) WRONG. Although there was a collectivization of assets in some areas, this was not enough to compensate for the existing social and economic inequality. d) WRONG. A person's social position was determined by birth, with a hereditary aristocracy that controlled most positions of power and prestige.e) CORRECT. Despite aspects that sought to equate peoples, Inca society did not have full equality.question 10
What was the role of religion and rituals in Inca society, and how did these aspects influence the government and administration of the empire?
Religion and rituals played a fundamental role in Inca society, being used to justify and reinforce the power of rulers, maintain social cohesion and promote prosperity economical. Through rituals such as Capacocha and Inti Raymi, Inca rulers sought to legitimize their power and establish your connection with the deities, while promoting social cohesion and strengthening the economy of the empire. Furthermore, religion and rituals directly influenced the administration of the empire, as many aspects of everyday life were linked to religious practices and priests played an important role in administering cities and maintaining order Social.
question 11
When Bernal Díaz first saw the Aztec capital, he was speechless. Years later, the words would come: he wrote a lengthy account of his experiences as a member of the Spanish expedition led by Hernán Cortés towards the Aztec Empire. On that November afternoon of 1519, however, when Díaz and his companions in the conquest emerged from the pass and first encountered the Valley of Mexico there below, they saw a scenario that, years later, they described as follows: “we glimpsed such marvels that we did not know what to say, nor if what was before our eyes it was real”.
Matthew Restall. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Civilization, 2006, p. 15-16. Adapted.
The text shows an important aspect of the conquest of America by the Spaniards, namely,
a) The cultural superiority of Native Americans over Europeans.
b) The friendly character of the first encounter and subsequent coexistence between conquerors and conquered.
c) The surprise of the conquerors before the cultural manifestations of the Native Americans.
d) The recognition, by the natives, of the importance of cultural and commercial contacts with the Europeans.
e) The rapid disappearance of the native cultures of Spanish America.
a) WRONG. The text does not mention any cultural superiority of Native Americans over Europeans. On the contrary, the text's description suggests that the Spaniards were impressed by the wonders they saw in the capital. Aztec, which indicates that Native Americans had a rich and impressive culture, but not superior to the culture European.
b) WRONG. The text does not mention any friendly character in the first meeting between conquerors and conquered. On the contrary, the text only reports the surprise of the Spaniards at the wonders they saw in the Aztec capital.
c) CORRECT. The text clearly shows that the conquerors were surprised by the cultural manifestations of the Native Americans.
d) WRONG. The text does not mention any recognition, by the natives, of the importance of cultural and commercial contacts with the Europeans.
e) WRONG. The text does not talk about the disappearance of the native cultures of Spanish America.
question 12
What was the impact of the tax system and the territorial expansion of the Aztecs on the organization political, social, and economic empire, and how these factors contributed to its rise and subsequent fall?
The tributary system and territorial expansion of the Aztecs had a significant impact on the political, social and economic organization of the empire. The tributary system allowed the accumulation of wealth and the centralization of power in the ruler's hands, while territorial expansion brought new resources and labor to the empire's economy. However, this system also generated tensions and resentments among the subjugated peoples, and contributed to their eventual rebellion and fall of the empire to the Spaniards.
Read more:
- pre-Columbian peoples
- Incas, Mayans and Aztecs
- Inca peoples
- Aztec peoples
- Mayan peoples
SOUZA, Thiago. Questions about Pre-Columbian Civilizations with Answers and Comments.All Matter, [n.d.]. Available in: https://www.todamateria.com.br/questoes-pre-colombianos/. Access at:
See too
- pre-Columbian peoples
- Exercises on Brazilian indigenous peoples (with feedback)
- Aztecs
- Incas, Aztecs and Mayans
- Questions about Absolutism
- Questions about Mesopotamia
- Simple Past: exercises with commented feedback (easy level)
- Exercises on Baroque
