Unit Review Answers
What were the geographic characteristics of Mayan, Aztec, and Incan lands?
Possible response: The Maya lived in the dense rain forest of Central America. The Aztec were located in the highland basin of the Valley of Mexico. The Inca lived in the rugged Andes Mountains of South America.
What were the religious practices of the Maya, the Aztec, and the Inca?
Possible response: The Maya worshiped many gods often associated with forces of nature. The Maya believed their kings and priests could communicate with the gods. The Maya practiced human sacrifice. The Aztec also believed in more than one god. They built large temples where they also practiced human sacrifice. The Inca worshipped many gods. The most important Incan god was the sun god Inti. The Inca believed they were descendants of Inti.
What were the achievements of the Mesoamerican cultures?
Possible response: The Maya developed an advanced numeral system with a representation of zero. They built stone cities and used farming techniques like slash-and-burn to adapt to the dense rainforest. They were gifted astronomers and had a writing system. The Aztec were gifted architects and engineers. They built canals, causeways, and aqueducts. They also were gifted artists known for feather work. They had no writing system but were gifted public speakers. The Inca were such precise stone masons that they did not use mortar between stone building blocks. They were noted gold and silver artists. Like the Maya and the Aztec, they were gifted astronomers who plotted the path of the sun and moon to produce calendars.
What were some of the different cultures of North America? What types of physical environments did they live in?
Possible response: North America was inhabited by a number of cultures. In the Great Plains, nomadic tribes hunted bison or buffalo and lived in cone-shaped homes called tepees. The Ancestral Pueblos inhabited the North American Southwest. They had permanent settlements built of adobe brick or carved into the sides of cliffs.
Which of the North American cultures developed a complex social structure?
Possible response: The cultures of the Northwest developed a complex social structure. The social ranks meant that some individuals or families were higher-ranking than other members of the tribe.
What were some of the Inuit’s religious beliefs ?
Possible response: The Inuit believe in animism, the belief that all things have a spirit. They believe shamans, their religious leaders, can communicate with these spirits. Because they believe all animals have spirits, shamans performed rituals when animals were killed for food to appease the spirits that were released. Shamans would also perform rituals to bless a hunt, heal the sick, and advise the people. Inuit people sometimes use a special charm or ornament called an amulet for protection, luck with hunting, and for support from the spirits.
What are some aspects of North American Indigenous culture that survive today ?
Possible response: Southwestern-themed design, the legend of Kokopelli, canoe journeys, potlatches