Name:_______________________
Date:___________________
Ch 11 Map Activity – American Civilizations
Map A – Mesoamerican Civilizations
1. What two bodies of water directly bordered Mesoamerica?
2. What city, situated between Lake Texcoco and the Sierra Madre Oriental, was the largest in the Americas from 450 to 600 CE?
3. Which people left the most evidence of the political and religious history on the Yucatan Peninsula?
4. The Toltecs had their capital in which northern city?
5. After the collapse of Teotihuacán and many Mayan centers, which civilization created the strongest and longest-lasting empire?
6. What four rivers provided the Aztecs with the much needed moisture for their soil?
7. The Aztec Empire extended as far south as which province?
8. On which body of water did the Aztecs establish their twin capitals?
9. When European explorers first arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, they found a sprawling urban center with markets, canals, and
temples, and wrote of it with admiration. Which city is this?
Name:_______________________
Ch 11 Map Activity – American Civilizations
Map B – The Maya World, 300-900 CE
1. This site is the largest noble palace complex discovered by archaeologists to date.
2. These mountains were a barrier to invasion of the Maya civilization from central Mexico.
3. These rivers were important links in the Mayan trading networks.
4. Why did the Spaniards find it relatively difficult to subdue the Yucatan?
Map C – The Aztec Empire in 1519 CE
1. Cortés began his voyage to the Aztec Empire from this Caribbean island.
2. This city was the capital of the Aztec Empire.
3. The empire stretched as far north as this city.
4. The empire was bounded by these two large bodies of water.
5. Cortés landed in Mexico at this site.
6. Cortés journey to Mexico took him through these two bodies of water.
7. This peninsula was the center of the Maya civilization.
Date:___________________
Name:_______________________
Ch 11 Map Activity – American Civilizations
Map D – The Inca Empire, 1463-1532 CE
1. Pizarro landed at this town in April 1528.
2. This was the Inca capital, which the Spanish entered in November, 1533.
3. Pizarro founded this city in 1535.
4. Atahualpa was captured in this city.
Map E – Mound-Building Cultures
1. This is the site of the earliest mound, built around 1300 BC:
2. The Great Serpent Mound is located here.
3. These lakes marked the northern boundary of mound-building cultures.
4. These mountains marked the eastern boundary of mound-building cultures:
5. Mound-building cultures reached as far as this coast:
Date:___________________