U.S. history, explorers, Olmecs, Aztecs, and Mayans
Where did the Aztecs settle in the 1200s?
Valley of Mexico
What Italian city benefited most from trade with the East?
Venice
What did the Mayas develop in the classical era?
advanced mathematics, astronomy and writing
What items did the Europeans want from the East?
cotton, silk, taffeta, muslin, damask, dye-stuff, medicine, spices, perfume, pearls
What is the great mystery of the Mayas?
disappeared
What caused Mayan farmers difficulty?
droughts
How did Mayas farm swampy regions?
dug soil into mounds, planted on top of mounds, dug ditches for irrigation
Why did Mayas tie objects from their infants' foreheads?
encourage their eyes to cross
What did early Mayas eat?
fish and crops
Why did Mayas tie boards to their children's head?
flatten their foreheads
What did the Mayas grow in addition to field crops?
fruit orchards and begetable gardens
What is hematite?
glass like substance created by volcanic eruptions
Why did Mayas worship Chac?
god of rain, believed he would send rain if celebrations pleased him
Describe the Sacred calendar.
had 260 days, only for religious events
Describe the other calendar.
had 365 days, based on the Earth's movement around the sun
Did Mayas grown anything that wasn't edible? If so, name any and tell how they were used.
hemp (rope) and cotten (cloth)
How did early Mayas get food?
hunter gathers
Describe the use of the important Mayan building still standing in the city of Chichen Itza.
large observatories were used to study the heavens
Name an important ruin of Chichen Itza.
large observatory tower
What did the Olmecs make from hematite?
mirrors
How big was the population of the largest Mayan city?
over 100000 people
What type of writing did the Aztecs use?
picture writing
Why did they start farming
population was increasing
List the three Mayan ears, including their beginning and ending dates.
pre classic (2500 BC to 250 AD), classic (250 AD to 900 AD), post classic (900 AD to 1500)
What does Olmec mean?
rubber people
What geographical features did the Mayan lands include?
rugged highlands and dense swamps
Why did the Spanish invade Mexico?
searching for gold
Give a description of what a Maya might have looked like.
short, straight black hair, tattoos, painted bodies black, red, or blue
What is one of the oldest methods of farming?
slash and burn
Describe the most famous ruin in Copan
the great staircase is 30 ft wide, has 63 steps and has picture writing the covers each step
What did priest study?
the movement of the sun, moon, planets, and stars
What did Mayas consider the five extra days at the end of the regular calendar?
unlucky
How were astronomy and mathematics useful to Mayan priests?
used it fo create accurate calendars
Name at least three things that we know about Olmecs' daily lives.
used picture writing, number system, and a calendar
What is the largest structure in the other Olmec city?
volcano shaped pyramid over 110 ft tall
What did a drawing of a shell represent?
zero
What is the name of the largest and perhaps oldest Mayan city?
Tikal
What was the largest Mayan city in the classical era? How large was its population?
Tikal, about 100000 or more
How many main plazas does Copan have?
5
When was the Olmec civilization at its peak?
700 to 400 BC
How many pyramid temples did the alrgest city have?
8
What was Columbus searching for?
Atlantic route to the Orient
Who gave the Olmecs their name?
Aztec Indians
Who based their calendar on the Mayan calendar?
Aztecs
Where does the word Aztec come from?
Aztlan, the territory the wandered through (north and northwest part of Mexico)
Who was the first European explorer to sail around the southern tip of Africa?
Bartholomeu Dias
What was an Aztec family group called?
Calpolli
What new invention smade the sea safer for sailors?
Caravel, Astrlabe
What were raised roads called?
Causeways
What were Mayan tools made of?
Stone
What was the name of the Aztec capital?
Tenochtitlan
When did the Olmec civilization begin?
1200 BC
What city contains the Well of Sacrifice?
Chichen Itza
Where did Marco Polo's travels take him?
China, Persia, Sumatra, India
Who met Mayan traders in 1502?
Christopher Columbus
What is the name of the second largest Mayan city?
Copan
What are the many invasions of the Middle East by Christian warriors called?
Crusades
What was the major discovery in the first Olmec city?
Giant carved stone heads
Who was the leader of the Spanish invasion?
Hernando Cortes
What is located where the Aztec capital once was?
Mexico city
Who was the greatest Aztec emperor?
Montezuma I
Who threatened Christian Europe in the fifteenth century?
Moslem, Islamic Warriors
What was the language of the Aztecs known as?
Nahuatl
What was the name of the mythical Christian kind who was supposed to live in Africa?
Prester John
Who was the main source for geographical knowledge?
Ptolemy
The two Olmec cities discovered by archaeologists are...
San Lorenzo and La venta
