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Chapter 11 Guided Reading (Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas)


Name: Shaloma McDonald
A.P. History
Guided Reading Chapter 11
Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas
600 1500

ATTN: YOU MUST USE THIS FORM


Directions: You must answer who, what, where, when and why important for the vocabulary
that are labeled with an asterisk and answer ALL of the questions. Answers should be in a
different color font and should be turned in to turnitin.com and to the class crate when due
Terms:

1. Stelae
2. **Quetzalcoatl
This was a religious god who possessed a clan; the followers accepted an exile to the land of the rising
sun. This Mesoamerican god is the god of intelligence and self reflection. His name means
Feathered serpent preferred animal sacrifice to human sacrifice. Compared to Jesus.
3. **Chinampas
Raised fields constructed along lakeshores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.
4. **Tribute system
A system in which defeated peoples were to pay a tax in the form of goods and labor. This forced transfer
of food, cloth, and other goods subsidized the development of large cities. An important component of the
Aztec and Inca economies.
5. **Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli was the chief god of Mexica. He was also known as the southern hummingbird. He was
originally associated with war, but later shifted to being associated with the Sun. Sacrifices were made in
honor of Huitzilopochtli because the people who worshiped him believed that he required a diet of human
hearts.
6. **Maize
Maize is corn.
7. Chiefdom
8. Mounds
9. Khipus
10. Ayllu
11. **Mita
Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of the ruler and
religious organizations.
12. Llamas and alpaca
13. Verticality (vertical integration)
14. **Waru waru agricultural techniques
Waru waru agricultural teqniquies were raised beds and iggigation systems that lead to the increase of crop
yield.
Places
15. Mesoamerica
16. **Tenochtitlan
Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on
the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.
17. Cahokia
18. **Cuzco

Chapter 11 Guided Reading (Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas)


Cuzco is a valley where the Incas were originally organized and chiefdom based on reciprocal gift giving
and the redistribution of food and textiles. Cuzco was also the imperial capital and the provincial cities, the
royal court, imperial armies, and state religious cults that rested upon efforts of the mit'a workers.
Empires / Kingdoms
19. **Teotihuacan
Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on
the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins
20. Mayan Empire
21. **Toltecs
Powerful post classic empire in central Mexico (900-1175 CE). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs
claimed ties to this earlier civilization.
22. Aztecs
23. Moche
24. Chimu
25. Incas
26. Tiwanaku
27. Wari
Individuals / People
28. Anasazi
29. Mississippian culture
30. **Montezuma II
Montezuma II was an Aztec ruler from 1502 to 1520. People would sweep under his feet so he would not
touch the earth and the chieftains would not once look him in the face.
Questions to Outline:
1. What are the characteristics of a Mayan city-state (include its architecture)?
The Mayans shared a single structure but was never a lone unified state. Kingdoms were led by
hereditary rulers that have fought each other for dominance of their region. In Terms of architecture
high yields were received by draining swamps and building elevated fields. Architects were also
responsible for managing forests and promoting the conservation of deer and other animals that they
hunted.
2. How was the Mayan cosmos divided?
The Mayans divided the cosmos into three layers that were connected on a vertical axis that traced the
way the sun moved.
3. What are the theories of the disappearance of the Mayan city-state?
Their cities were destroyed by violence
High levels of warfare weakened some areas
Teotihuacans long distance trade was disrupted
They could no longer support their population

4. How did the Aztecs conquer the peoples of Central Mexico?


The Aztecs gained central Mexico by having power in political alliances and military conquest and pushing
their way in. Once they capture the native people of Mexica they forced them to provide goods and labor
as a tax
5. Outline the Aztec urban plan and class system.
Monarchical system
Powerful Aristocrats that chose ruler
6. Outline the major parts of the Incan imperial bureaucracy.
Nobility played a major role- state bureaucracy
Ruler chosen based on who was closer to god
Local practices and local governors

Chapter 11 Guided Reading (Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas)

Conquests magnified the authority of the Incan ruler and led to the creation of an imperial
bureaucracy drawn from among his kinsmen.
The lives of the ruler and members of the royal family were dominated by political and religious
rituals that helped them legitimize their authority.
Each new ruler began his reign with conquest among many of the obligations associated with
kinship was the requirement to extend imperial boundaries by warfare.
mita laborers made the Inca imperial bureaucracy possible- Cuzco (capital), provincial cities,
royal court, imperial armies, and the states religious cults all rested on this foundation.

7. Develop a chart comparing the Aztec and Inca empires, emphasizing agriculture, politics, and the military.
Aztec Empire

Inca Empire

Agriculture

The tribute system and the


organization of the capoli
managed to feed the
burgeoning population. The
Aztecs cultivated maize, beans,
cacao, and cotton.

The Inca were initially pastoralists, but


they got access to corn, cotton, and other
agricultural goods later on.

Politics

Organized as an ethnic state


that is led by a tlatoani.
Tenochtitlan was the capital of
the Aztecs. Women and men
are pretty much equal;
however, men have some
privilege from warfare.

The empire was possible from mita


laborers and had its capital located in
Cuzco. Groups of males were drafted to
become soldiers, construction worker,
etc. chiefs of allus carried out local
administrative and judicial functions and
were generally remained in rule when
conquered.

Military

Soldiers command a lot of


respect from the empire and
from the general population.
Soldiers received a great
education and many other
privileges. Soldiers captured
foreign peoples to rise up in
ranks.

Soldiers were drawn from allus. These


soldiers helped extend the reach of the
empire.

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