Grade 6 Social Studies Practice Test: Ancient Americas: Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca
- Ancient Americas: Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca
- 10 questions
- 13 minutes
Four great civilizations grew in Mesoamerica and the Andes long before Europeans arrived. Tip: Olmec, Maya and Aztec are in Mexico and Central America; the Inca are in the Andes of South America.
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Question 1
Which civilization is known for carving giant stone heads and is often called the earliest major civilization of Mesoamerica?
Correct answer: C
The Olmec lived along the Gulf coast of Mexico and influenced later peoples such as the Maya. The Inca lived far to the south in the Andes.
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Question 2
The Maya were skilled mathematicians and astronomers. Which idea did they use in their number system?
Correct answer: A
The Maya used a symbol for zero in their base-20 system, which helped them keep precise calendars. Roman numerals have no zero.
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Question 3
Which of these was a Maya city?
Correct answer: D
Tikal, in present-day Guatemala, was a large Maya city with tall stone temples. Tenochtitlan was Aztec, and Cusco and Machu Picchu were Inca.
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Question 4
The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was built
Correct answer: B
Tenochtitlan stood on an island in Lake Texcoco and was linked to land by causeways. Mexico City is built on the same site today.
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Question 5
How did the Aztecs grow food on the shallow lake around their capital?
Correct answer: C
Chinampas were raised beds built up in the lake. Mountain terraces were more typical of the Inca in the Andes.
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Question 6
Where was the Inca Empire located?
Correct answer: B
The Inca ruled a long empire along the Andes, with its capital at Cusco in present-day Peru. The Yucatán was a Maya region.
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Question 7
The Inca had no written alphabet. How did officials keep records of numbers such as taxes and crops?
Correct answer: D
The position and type of knots on a quipu stood for numbers. Cuneiform came from Mesopotamia, not the Americas.
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Question 8
Which crop was the most important food for the Maya and the Aztecs?
Correct answer: A
Maize was first grown in Mexico thousands of years ago. Wheat, rice and oats came from Asia and Europe and were not grown in Mesoamerica before 1492.
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Question 9
The Inca built a huge network of roads and rope bridges. Why was it so important?
Correct answer: C
Runners carried messages in relays along the roads. The Inca did not use wheeled wagons on them.
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Question 10
Which Spanish conquistador led the conquest of the Aztec Empire, which fell in 1521?
Correct answer: A
Cortés allied with enemies of the Aztecs, and smallpox weakened the city. Pizarro later conquered the Inca.
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