A History Of World Societies Combined Volume 10th Edition By John P. McKay – Test Bank

Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. The term Mesoamerica refers to what region?
A) The region stretching from present-day Nicaragua to southern California
B) Central and South America
C) The region stretching from the Great Lakes of North America to South America
D) Present-day Central America

2. The isolation of the Americas until 1492 means that
A) we can never know much about the premodern societies of the Americas.
B) the peoples in the Western Hemisphere were backward and stagnant compared to those in Europe and Asia.
C) their civilization was not corrupted by wealth or greed.
D) by studying the early peoples of the Americas we can determine universal aspects of the human experience.

3. Why did people in the early Americas not use the wheel?
A) They failed to invent the wheel.
B) Boats were preferred for transportation.
C) There were no large animals to pull wagons.
D) Anything circular was viewed as an omen of bad luck.

4. Khipu, a method for recording information, was made out of what?
A) Stone
B) Strings
C) Animal bones
D) Obsidian

5. The Mesoamerican calendar used
A) 52-day months.
B) 13-day months.
C) agricultural seasons.
D) solar and lunar years.

6. What have increasing numbers of archeologists concluded about the earliest migrants to the Americas?
A) That the first peoples traveled by both foot and boat
B) That humans did not cross the Bering Strait at all
C) That peoples could not have arrived any earlier than 9000 B.C.E.
D) That humans were primarily hunters of big game

7. Where was maize, the most important American food crop, first grown?
A) The Andes
B) The Caribbean
C) Mexico
D) Alaska

8. The process of nixtamalization, boiling the maize with lime, did what?
A) Rendered maize kernels digestible
B) Hardened maize for use in tools and cookware
C) Increased the nutritional value of maize
D) Provided a medicine for common ailments

9. What was the central food crop in the high altitude of the Andes?
A) Maize
B) Squash
C) Potatoes
D) Beans

10. Which pack animal was used to bring in crops in the Andes?
A) Horses
B) Humans
C) Alpacas
D) Oxen

Answer Key

1. A
2. D
3. C
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. C
8. C
9. C
10. C