Early Americas Study Guide
1. Where was Incan civilization located?
Andes Mountains- modern day Peru
2. Where was Aztec civilization located?
A swampy island called Lake Texacoco
3. Where was Mayan civilization located?
Yucatan Peninsula
4. Who was Pachacuti?
Greatest Incan leader
5. How did the Mayans get their water source?
Sinkholes and swamps
6. Describe the way that the Aztecs farmed.
Chinampas- floating gardens
7. How were the Aztecs supposed to know when they had found the place
where they were supposed to settle?
They would find this place where an eagle “screams and spreads it’s wings and eats
the serpent”
8. Describe the Incan government.
Strong central government where local leaders were still in charge
9. Describe the achievements of the Aztec Empire.
Chinampas, bridges, mandatory, universal education, calendar, chocolate
10. How was the religion that the Incas practiced different from what the
Mayans and Aztecs practiced?
They practiced human sacrifice only in times of trouble
11. Describe the social structure of the Incas.
Royal couple, head priest and commander of the armies, regional army leaders,
temple priests/army commanders/skilled workers, farmers/herders/ordinary
soldiers
12. What was a command economy?
No money/credit, just small amounts of local bartering and the government made
decisions about distribution
13. Describe the fall of the Incas.
Pizarro captured the Incan emperor, Atahualpa, and defeated the Incas
14. What were the achievements of the Aztec Empire?
15. According to the beliefs of the Aztecs, who was worthy of an afterlife?
Soldiers who died in battle, women who died in childbirth, and captives who gave
their life for sacrifice
16. How could Aztec commoners join the noble class?
By performing an act of bravery in war
17. Describe the kings of the Aztec Empire.
Claimed to be descended from the gods, expected to prove themselves by leading
troops into battle
18. Describe the fall of the Mayan Empire.
Several theories; drought, peasants rebelled and overthrew the king, invasion from
enemies, over-farming
19. What did Mayan civilization consist of?
A group of city-states
20. Why did royal women often marry into families from other city-states?
Increased trade and created political alliances
21. Describe the Mayan social structure.
Priests, ruler, nobles, craftsman/merchants/traders, farmers/hunters/slaves
22. Why did the location of the Mayan Empire seem like a bad location at first?
Dense rainforest blocked out the sun