MEXICAN HISTORY EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Pre-Columbian - ANSWER-Period of North and South American history before the
arrival of the Europeans in the late 15th century.
Olmec - ANSWER-The first Mesoamerican civilization. Between ca. 1200 and 400
B.C.E., these people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included
intensive agriculture, wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental
construction.
Maya - ANSWER-Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's Yucatan
Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire.
Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the
calendar.
Teotihuacan - ANSWER-first major metropolis in Mesoamerica, collapsed around
800 CE. It is most remembered for the gigantic "pyramid of the sun".
Toltec - ANSWER-a member of an American Indian people that flourished in Mexico
before the Aztecs.
Aztec - ANSWER-(1200-1521) 1300, they settled in the valley of Mexico. Grew corn.
Engaged in frequent warfare to conquer others of the region. Worshipped many gods
(polytheistic). Believed the sun god needed human blood to continue his journeys
across the sky. Practiced human sacrifices and those sacrificed were captured
warriors from other tribes and those who volunteered for the honor.
Aztec Empire - ANSWER-Major state that developed in what is now Mexico in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; dominated by the seminomadic Mexica, who had
migrated into the region from northern Mexico.
Maya civilization (300-900 CE) - ANSWER-Classical Mesoamerican civilization
located on the Yucatan Peninsula, used slash and burn farming, organized into city-
states
Tikal - ANSWER-the largest ancient Mayan city in the northern part of Guatemala
Basin of Mexico - ANSWER-- Housed Teotihuacan (modern Mexico City), Tula, and
Tenochtitlan
- Arid/semiarid climate
- "Highland"
Mesoamerica - ANSWER-"Middle America" the region extending from modern-day
Mexico through Central America
, Toltec Empire - ANSWER-An empire that preceded the Aztecs in the Valley of
Mexico. It is not clear whether the Toltec controlled areas beyond their capital city.
Chichen Itza - ANSWER-an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula
Aztec Empire - ANSWER-Central American empire constructed by the Mexica and
expanded greatly during the fifteenth century during the reigns of Itzcoatl and
Motecuzoma I.
Azcapotzalco - ANSWER-A town on the west side of the lake, occupied by Nahuatl-
speaking people called Tepanecs, noted as a bird- and slave-trading center and
known for its silverwork. It was one of the two most powerful polities around the lake
until destroyed by the Triple Alliance.
Tenochtitlan - ANSWER-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.
Spanish conquest of Mexico - ANSWER-1519-1521
Mectezuma II - ANSWER-Aztec ruler when Cortes and his army conquered the
empire
Hernan Cortes - ANSWER-Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and
conquered Mexico (1485-1547)
Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba - ANSWER-Spanish explorer who left Santiago de
Cuba to explore shores of Southern Mexico
Old World - ANSWER-the regions of the world that were known to Europeans before
the discovery of the Americas
Veracruz, Mexico - ANSWER-Where did Hernan Cortez arrive at in the Americas?
Fall of Aztec Empire - ANSWER-The Spanish took over the Aztec Empire, in hope of
discovering gold in 1519.
Yucatan - ANSWER-Peninsula in Central America, home of the Maya.
Huitzilopochtli - ANSWER-Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of cult of human
sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god
Smallpox - ANSWER-The overall deadliest known disease in the history of the world.
In the 20th century alone there were approximately 500,000,000 people who died of
this disease.
Cuauhtemoc - ANSWER-The Aztec military leader defeated by the Spanish
conquerors.
AND ANSWERS
Pre-Columbian - ANSWER-Period of North and South American history before the
arrival of the Europeans in the late 15th century.
Olmec - ANSWER-The first Mesoamerican civilization. Between ca. 1200 and 400
B.C.E., these people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included
intensive agriculture, wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental
construction.
Maya - ANSWER-Mesoamerican civilization concentrated in Mexico's Yucatan
Peninsula and in Guatemala and Honduras but never unified into a single empire.
Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the
calendar.
Teotihuacan - ANSWER-first major metropolis in Mesoamerica, collapsed around
800 CE. It is most remembered for the gigantic "pyramid of the sun".
Toltec - ANSWER-a member of an American Indian people that flourished in Mexico
before the Aztecs.
Aztec - ANSWER-(1200-1521) 1300, they settled in the valley of Mexico. Grew corn.
Engaged in frequent warfare to conquer others of the region. Worshipped many gods
(polytheistic). Believed the sun god needed human blood to continue his journeys
across the sky. Practiced human sacrifices and those sacrificed were captured
warriors from other tribes and those who volunteered for the honor.
Aztec Empire - ANSWER-Major state that developed in what is now Mexico in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; dominated by the seminomadic Mexica, who had
migrated into the region from northern Mexico.
Maya civilization (300-900 CE) - ANSWER-Classical Mesoamerican civilization
located on the Yucatan Peninsula, used slash and burn farming, organized into city-
states
Tikal - ANSWER-the largest ancient Mayan city in the northern part of Guatemala
Basin of Mexico - ANSWER-- Housed Teotihuacan (modern Mexico City), Tula, and
Tenochtitlan
- Arid/semiarid climate
- "Highland"
Mesoamerica - ANSWER-"Middle America" the region extending from modern-day
Mexico through Central America
, Toltec Empire - ANSWER-An empire that preceded the Aztecs in the Valley of
Mexico. It is not clear whether the Toltec controlled areas beyond their capital city.
Chichen Itza - ANSWER-an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula
Aztec Empire - ANSWER-Central American empire constructed by the Mexica and
expanded greatly during the fifteenth century during the reigns of Itzcoatl and
Motecuzoma I.
Azcapotzalco - ANSWER-A town on the west side of the lake, occupied by Nahuatl-
speaking people called Tepanecs, noted as a bird- and slave-trading center and
known for its silverwork. It was one of the two most powerful polities around the lake
until destroyed by the Triple Alliance.
Tenochtitlan - ANSWER-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.
Spanish conquest of Mexico - ANSWER-1519-1521
Mectezuma II - ANSWER-Aztec ruler when Cortes and his army conquered the
empire
Hernan Cortes - ANSWER-Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs and
conquered Mexico (1485-1547)
Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba - ANSWER-Spanish explorer who left Santiago de
Cuba to explore shores of Southern Mexico
Old World - ANSWER-the regions of the world that were known to Europeans before
the discovery of the Americas
Veracruz, Mexico - ANSWER-Where did Hernan Cortez arrive at in the Americas?
Fall of Aztec Empire - ANSWER-The Spanish took over the Aztec Empire, in hope of
discovering gold in 1519.
Yucatan - ANSWER-Peninsula in Central America, home of the Maya.
Huitzilopochtli - ANSWER-Aztec tribal patron god; central figure of cult of human
sacrifice and warfare; identified with old sun god
Smallpox - ANSWER-The overall deadliest known disease in the history of the world.
In the 20th century alone there were approximately 500,000,000 people who died of
this disease.
Cuauhtemoc - ANSWER-The Aztec military leader defeated by the Spanish
conquerors.
