THE HISTORY OF MEXICO EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Mesoamerica - (ANSWER)A geographic region in the western hemisphere that was home of the Mayan
and Aztec civilizations.
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.
Teotihuacán - (ANSWER)Translates to mean "Place of the gods." The first major city in Mesoamerica.
Falls in 800 AD.
Chinampas - (ANSWER)floating farming islands made by the Aztec
tribute system - (ANSWER)A system in which defeated peoples were forced 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.
Aztecs - (ANSWER)Also known as Mexica, they created a powerful empire in central Mexico (1325-1521
C.E.). They forced defeated peoples to provide goods and labor as a tax.
Calpulli - (ANSWER)Clans in Aztec society, later expanded to include residential groups that distributed
land and provided labor and warriors.
Pochteca - (ANSWER)Special merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury
items
Human sacrifice (Aztecs) - (ANSWER)regularly offered live human sacrifices—captives, slaves,
women, and children—by the thousands.
, THE HISTORY OF MEXICO EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
-cut out the victims' beating hearts and offered
them to the sun god to strengthen him for his fight against the darkness of the
night. The victims' severed heads were displayed in the central plaza.
Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) - (ANSWER)Capital city of Mexica Empire, and was considered, by Cortés to
be just as sophisticated and maybe even larger than any European city.
Conquest of Mexico - (ANSWER)The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest
of Mexico, the Spanish-Aztec War, or the Conquest of Tenochtitlan was one of the primary events in the
Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Motivations for Spanish conquest - (ANSWER)European exploration and colonization in the New World:
God, gold, and glory.
Hernán Cortés - (ANSWER)Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused
the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule
of the king of Castile in the early 16th century.
Pedro Alvarado - (ANSWER)e is best known today for leading the conquistadors who defeated the
Quiché and Cakchiquel Maya. Alvarado was Hernán Cortés' second-in-command during the conquest of
the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1520.
Doña Marina/ Malintzin - (ANSWER)mistress, guide, and interpreter to Hernán Cortés during his
conquest of Mexico. The success of his ventures was often directly attributable to her services.
Montezuma II - (ANSWER)Montezuma II was one of the last Aztec emperors. Under his rule, the Aztec
empire had its peak, conquering other tribes and expanding their territories. However, he allowed the
Spanish to conquer them due to his religious superstition.
Cuauhtémoc - (ANSWER)Cuauhtémoc, also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the
Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor.
Mesoamerica - (ANSWER)A geographic region in the western hemisphere that was home of the Mayan
and Aztec civilizations.
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.
Teotihuacán - (ANSWER)Translates to mean "Place of the gods." The first major city in Mesoamerica.
Falls in 800 AD.
Chinampas - (ANSWER)floating farming islands made by the Aztec
tribute system - (ANSWER)A system in which defeated peoples were forced 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.
Aztecs - (ANSWER)Also known as Mexica, they created a powerful empire in central Mexico (1325-1521
C.E.). They forced defeated peoples to provide goods and labor as a tax.
Calpulli - (ANSWER)Clans in Aztec society, later expanded to include residential groups that distributed
land and provided labor and warriors.
Pochteca - (ANSWER)Special merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury
items
Human sacrifice (Aztecs) - (ANSWER)regularly offered live human sacrifices—captives, slaves,
women, and children—by the thousands.
, THE HISTORY OF MEXICO EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
-cut out the victims' beating hearts and offered
them to the sun god to strengthen him for his fight against the darkness of the
night. The victims' severed heads were displayed in the central plaza.
Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) - (ANSWER)Capital city of Mexica Empire, and was considered, by Cortés to
be just as sophisticated and maybe even larger than any European city.
Conquest of Mexico - (ANSWER)The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest
of Mexico, the Spanish-Aztec War, or the Conquest of Tenochtitlan was one of the primary events in the
Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Motivations for Spanish conquest - (ANSWER)European exploration and colonization in the New World:
God, gold, and glory.
Hernán Cortés - (ANSWER)Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused
the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule
of the king of Castile in the early 16th century.
Pedro Alvarado - (ANSWER)e is best known today for leading the conquistadors who defeated the
Quiché and Cakchiquel Maya. Alvarado was Hernán Cortés' second-in-command during the conquest of
the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1520.
Doña Marina/ Malintzin - (ANSWER)mistress, guide, and interpreter to Hernán Cortés during his
conquest of Mexico. The success of his ventures was often directly attributable to her services.
Montezuma II - (ANSWER)Montezuma II was one of the last Aztec emperors. Under his rule, the Aztec
empire had its peak, conquering other tribes and expanding their territories. However, he allowed the
Spanish to conquer them due to his religious superstition.
Cuauhtémoc - (ANSWER)Cuauhtémoc, also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the
Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor.
