Assignment Twelve - Solutions
File name: 8ss12
Marks: /40 marks
Section
Section
Section
Section
A:
B:
C:
D:
Multiple Choice Definitions True or False Short Answers TOTAL:
______/10 marks
_______/5 marks
_______/10 marks
______/15 marks
_______/40 marks
Section A - Multiple Choice (10 marks)
Show your choice of the best answer by highlighting your choice. Each question is
worth one mark.
1. What are the two existing worlds according to the Aztec beliefs and values system?
 The physical world and the sacred world (page 158)
 The holy world and the people world
 The land masses and the oceans of the world
 The religious world and the world of the gods
2. Which of the following statements is true the belief of the Aztec people about their
gods?
 All the Aztec gods ruled only the sacred landscape of the Aztec culture.
 All the Aztec gods ruled everything except a person’s individual decisions.
 All the Aztec gods influenced every aspect of their world. (page 158)
 All the Aztec gods were equal and had similar strong powers.
3. The god _____ was responsible for encouraging the Aztec people to leave their
original homeland and to settle and adapt to life in Tenochtitlan.
 Tlaloc
 Huitzilopochtli (page 159)
 Quetzalcoatl
 Tezcatlipoca
4. Why were the codices so important in Aztec culture?
 They were dedicated to the idols that the Aztec people worshipped.
 They provided the people with a constant supply of clean water.
 They helped the people adjust to living in Tenochtitlan.
 They were primary sources for understanding of the Aztec society.
(page 160)
1. How was the traditional Aztec calendar different from the calendars we use today in
our North American culture?
 Aztec calendars included 730 days to make up the year; our calendars have
365 days.
 Aztec calendars were written upon parchment using wax letters and symbols;
our calendars are printed on paper using ink.
 Aztec calendars were published and distributed by the Aztec priests; our
calendars are published by print companies and sold in stores.
 Aztec calendars were made of stone and were based on solar and
sacred dates; our calendars are made of paper and reflect one set of
dates. (pages 160 and 161)
6. What traditional practise was encouraged in the Aztec world and was also related to
Aztec calendars and their design?
 New Fire Ceremony
 Human sacrifice (page 161)
 Animal sacrifice
 Old Fire Ceremony
7. In Workbook 12, you read two accounts, one by Hernan Cortes, the Spanish
conquistador, and the other by Moctezuma, the Aztec ruler. What issue were the two
debating?
 The relevance of Aztec gods in Aztec culture (page 162)
 The issue of land ownership in Aztec culture
 The idea of Spanish imperialism in Tenochtitlan
 The location of natural resources in Aztec territory
8. Why was becoming an effective and successful trader such an important part of Aztec
culture?
 Being a good trader meant that an Aztec citizen could obtain goods
that could not be grown or made in Tenochtitlan. (page 165)
 Being a good trader meant that an Aztec citizen could barter and haggle about
the best price for a desired product.
 Being a good trader meant that it was impossible to grow or make certain
restricted products in Tenochtitlan.
 Being a good trader meant that it was important to build a friendly
relationship with cultures around the Aztec territory.
9. Which of the following is the best example of a tribute?




“We have conquered you, so now we control every aspect of your government
and your economy.”
“We have conquered you, so now we control the aqueducts that supply you
with clean water.
“We have conquered you, so now we demand that you pay us 200
pieces of gold before every lunar moon.” (page 168)
“We have conquered you, so now we demand that you send all your children
to Aztec schools.
10. Aztec merchants not only traded with other peoples and cultures, but they also acted
as _____, providing maps of military strongholds and warrior camps.
 spies (page 168)
 generals
 priests
 cartographers
Section B - Definitions (5 marks)
Using your own words, write definitions for the terms and phrases in the spaces provided.
Each definition is worth one mark. An example is given.
Example: clergy – people ordained to perform religious services for their communities
1. compulsory - mandatory; required by law (page 167 or workbook vocabulary)
2. geography - the study of people and places (page 158 or workbook
vocabulary)
3. artifact – an historical archaeological object such as a tool, jewellery, shelter,
weapon, or personal item from a particular culture (page 161 or workbook
vocabulary)
4. codex – an Aztec reference book that contained only images about Aztec
society(page 160 or workbook vocabulary)
5. tribute - the riches, gifts, and taxes that the Aztecs collected from a
conquered territory or culture (page 168 or workbook vocabulary)
Section C - True or False (10 marks)
If the statement is true, type T in the space. If it is false, type F in the space and then
rewrite the statement to make it true. Each statement is worth one mark. An example
is given.
Example: The Aztecs invaded the newly found territory, demanded riches, and treated
the Spanish people very badly.
< F - The Spanish annexed new territories and treated the
Aztec people very badly. >
1. The main weapon of the Aztec soldier was a primitive single-shot rifle that had to be
loaded with gunpowder that had to be tamped.
< F - The main weapon of the Aztec soldier was a wooden club edged
with sharp obsidian blades.> (page 167)
2. The worst insult an Aztec could give was to call another man a coward.
< T > (page 167)
3. ‘Food miles’ are calculated when trading and they estimate the costs and drawbacks
involved in importing and exporting food. This was a concept that was equally as
important to the Aztecs as it is to us today.
< T > (page 166)
4. At the age of sixteen, every Aztec young man had to join the priesthood for two
years. In this way, he served both his community and his gods.
< F - This statement is false because military service was compulsory in
Aztec culture, not service to the priesthood. > (page 167)
5. Although the prophecies of Huitzilopochtli were important to the Aztec religion, the
people considered this god’s words to be ‘guidelines of behaviour.’ Therefore, the
people did not take the prophecies very seriously.
< F - The prophecies of Huitzilopochtli were considered religious
commands that every Aztec citizen dutifully obeyed. > (pages 158 and
159)
6. Scientists were thrilled to find that Aztec codices were written using the Cyrillic
alphabet, which was common among the Slavic and ancient Asian peoples. This
made their research efforts much easier.
< F - The Aztec codices were written using symbols; they had no written
alphabet. > (page 160)
7. According to Aztec tradition, human sacrifice was an established tradition that
fulfilled the requirement of nourishing the gods.
< T > (page 161)
8. Although the Aztec calendars were different from our calendars, they used the most
accurate and complex astronomical and mathematical calculations in the world.
< T > (pages 160 and 161)
9. The New Fire Ceremony was conducted every 100 years, during which the people
invited the priests into their homes to light the sacred flames. These flames were
allowed then to burn for six months. It was a way that the people could honour their
priests for the religious work they did in Aztec society.
< F - The New Fire Ceremony occurred every 52 years. The people
fasted and let their home fires go out, to be relit by a courier who
travelled from home to home with a sacred flame taken from the temple
in Tenochtitlan. This honoured the Aztec gods. > (page 161)
10. Moctezuma was pleased to hear that Cortes and the Spanish contingent admired the
way the Aztecs built religion into every aspect of their lives. The Spanish praised
them for this and wanted to adopt this practice themselves.
< F - Cortes offended Moctezuma by belittling the Aztec religious beliefs.
Predictably, Moctezuma was angry and insulted.> (page 162)
Section D – Short Answer (15 marks)
Answer the questions below using complete sentences (½ mark will be deducted for
every answer that uses incomplete sentences). The value for each is listed at the end of
the question.
1. The Aztecs were very good farmers, yet they still found a need to trade with the
peoples around them. Explain why. (1 mark)
< Trading was the only way the Aztecs could obtain products that could
not be grown or produced in Tenochtitaln or other areas of Aztec territory.
> (page 165)
2. In what two ways did the Aztec Empire expand? (2 marks)
< The Aztec empire expanded through both trade and warfare. > (pages
165 and 167)
3. What was the significance of the ‘New Fire Ceremony?’ (1 mark)
< The New Fire Ceremony took place every 52 years. The people fasted
and let their home fires go out, to be relit by a courier who travelled from
home to home with a sacred flame taken from the temple in Tenochtitlan.
This was a way for the people to honour their Aztec gods. > (page 161)
4. List any two goods that the Aztecs obtained by trading with other peoples. (1 mark)
< Suggested responses: (page 165)
 tropical fruits such as papayas, mangos, avocados, and cacao
 tropical animals (birds)
 riches such as gold and silver >
5. Explain why military service was compulsory among the Aztecs. (1 mark)
< Military service for Aztec youth was compulsory because they could
display their courage and bravery as well as serve the collective good of
everyone in society by promising to protect Aztec society as a whole. >
(page 167)
6. Define ‘bias’ and provide one example. (1 mark)
< A bias is a pre-existing attitude or prejudice in a person’s mind that
prevents him or her from being objective. Examples will vary. For
example, if a coach chooses his child to play on a team when other
players that tried were clearly better players, that coach would be
exhibiting a bias. > (page 164)
7. Aztec poetry was used to praise the Aztec military, gods, mountains, and other
aspects of society. Why was this art form so important in Aztec culture? (1 mark)
< Aztec poetry was a way to honour the Aztec culture. The poetry
became part of the Aztec identity, and this helped to make the culture
unique. > (page 167)
8. In what way did the Aztecs believe that Huitzilopochtli influenced the location of
their new home? (1 mark)
< The Aztecs believed that it was Huitzilopochtli who commanded them to
abandon the northern desert lands and migrate south to a place where
they should settle and build a tremendous city (Tenochtitlan). This
religious belief established the location of the Aztec capital. The sacred
world had a significant role in the Aztec culture and influenced their
worldview. > (pages 151 and 159)
9. Why did the Aztecs believe that an individual’s most important duty was to serve
society as a whole? (1 mark)
< Aztecs believed that if every individual was committed to serving the
greater good of society, then everyone in society would be taken care of
and it would make building a great city and empire easier. > (page 167)
10. In Aztec culture, the people valued their roles as farmers, traders, and warriors. In
what ways did geography influence each of these roles? (3 marks)
< Answers will vary.
 Geography influenced the Aztec role of farmer because the
physical landscape of Tenochtitlan, with its high mountains and
drier climate, made farming more difficult. Farmers had to be
especially skilled to expand their plots of land (chinampas) and
grow various crops successfully.
 Geography influenced the Aztec role of trader because the
geography limited the products that could be grown or produced in
Aztec territory. As a result, to obtain those products, Aztecs had to
become skilled traders to provide these goods for their families and
communities.
 Geography influenced the Aztec role of warrior because, to fulfill
Huitzilopochtli’s prophecy of the Aztec conquests of all people in
the universe, it forced the Aztecs to venture beyond their
mountains, lakes, and other territories to wage war against other
cultures and grow wealthier from the annexed territories and
tribute. >
11. Explain how the Aztec religious views influenced the physical construction of
buildings. (1 mark)
< Aztec architecture and construction were influenced by the Aztec
religious views because the temples, the most important structures due to
religious beliefs, were the highest and most ornate (decorated). All other
buildings were built on a lesser scale because they were not as important
as any religious structures. > (page 158)
12. Define “worldview”. (1 mark)
< A worldview is the knowledge, values, and attitudes that influence how
a person interacts with the world. > (Workbook - vocabulary)