Name __________________________________________________ Date ______________________________
Assessment: The Mayas
Mastering the Content
Circle the letter next to the best answer.
1. Which of these modern countries is in the area where Mayan civilization developed and is home to large
numbers of Mayas today?
A. Panama
B. Venezuela
C. Guatemala
D. Costa Rica
2. The structures found by archaeologists in Mayan cities like Tikal, built more than a thousand years ago, are
made of
A. mud.
B. stone.
C. wood.
D. thatch.
3. What made it possible for the Olmecs and the Mayas to create permanent settlements?
A. sailing
B. farming
C. metal tools
D. wild animals
4. Mayas who lived in many different communities over a wide area shared the same
A. army.
B. calendar.
C. landscape.
D. government.
5. One skill that the Mayas adapted from the Olmecs was a way to
A. make tools out of metal.
B. build carts that had wheels.
C. use horses or oxen to pull plows.
D. write by using pictures as symbols.
6. One group is missing from this social pyramid. What is true for only that group?
A. They read the calendar.
B. They imported rare products.
C. They ruled the Mayas.
D. They might someday be free.
7. Mayan priests led rituals and offered sacrifices. What was another role of the priests?
A. to foretell the future
B. to lead peasant armies
C. to carve temple sculptures
D. to conduct long-distance trade
8. Which of these foods would have been new to the Mayas when it was introduced from Europe after 1500?
A. beans
B. squash
C. sugar
D. chocolate
9. When did the Mayas first give a girl tools for spinning and weaving?
A. when she was three-months old
B. at her coming-of-age ceremony
C. when she was ready to marry
D. about a month after her wedding
10. When a Mayan couple first married, where did they go to live?
A. to a faraway city, where they could have some independence
B. to the husband's childhood home, where his wife helped cook
C. to a farm a few miles away, where they raised their own food
D. to the wife's parents, where her husband would work for them
11. How was the jaguar important to the Mayas?
A. Warriors trained it to fight.
B. It provided meat for their diet.
C. It was a feature of their religion.
D. Peasants wore its fur to keep warm.
12. What was an important use of the Sacred Round?
A. to choose a bride or groom
B. to visit other cities for trade
C. to get water for the community
D. to determine when to plant crops
13. Which agricultural technique did the Mayas use to farm in the mountains?
A. terraces
B. crop rotation
C. raised-earth platforms
D. slash-and-burn agriculture
14. What was the biggest problem with slash-and-burn agriculture?
A. It wore out the soil.
B. It injured the cattle.
C. It drained the swamps.
D. It destroyed the temples.
15. When the cities of the southern lowlands collapsed, what took their place?
A. desert
B. jungle
C. swamp
D. grassland
16. Which time period does this list best describe?
•The Mayas abandoned many of their cities.
•The Mayas carried out larger and larger wars.
•Mayan civilization produced few great cultural achievements.
A. time period A
B. time period B
C. time period C
D. time period D
Applying Social Studies Skills
Use the map and your knowledge of history to answer the questions below.
17. Suppose you are visiting Chichén Itzá today. After you leave the parking lot and walk into the entrance, you
come to a space between two walls in front of the Temple of the Bearded Men. How did the Mayas use that
space?
18. As you continue walking in the same direction, you come to the structure
known today as the Castle. Find its shape on the map. Based on that shape
and what you know of Mayan buildings, circle the drawing below that the
Castle most resembles as you see it from where you stand.
19. Next, you walk to a building that lies between the House of the Deer and the Akab Dzib. It has a central
tower. What was that building and how was it used?
Exploring the Essential Question: What led to the rise, flourishing, and fall of the Mayan
civilization?
20. Scholars are not sure why Classic Mayan civilization collapsed. Three theories are outlined below.
•For each theory, suggest one argument or piece of evidence that might support the theory.
•For each theory, suggest one question historians or archaeologists could research that would help them
decide whether the theory is likely to be correct.
Theory 1: City populations grew too fast for the farms to produce enough food.
1a. One supporting argument or piece of supporting evidence:
1b. One question for further research to test this theory:
Theory 2: Warfare among Mayan city-states increased until it was out of control.
2a. One supporting argument or piece or piece of supporting evidence:
2b. One question for further research to test this theory:
Theory 3: Outside invaders from central Mexico helped to destroy Classic Mayan civilization:
3a. One supporting argument or piece or piece of supporting evidence:
3b. One question for further research to test this theory: