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The First Americans: Guided Reading Lesson 2: Cities and Empires
Lesson 2 Cities and Empires
Guided Reading
Essential Question
How do civilizations rise and fall?
Great Civilizations of Mexico, Central America, and South America
Answering Questions: As you read the section, answer the questions below.
1.Listing Name four great ancient civilizations, or highly developed societies, of Mexico, Central America, and South America.
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2.Explaining Give three reasons why the great civilizations of Mexico, Central America, and South America were considered advanced.
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3.Paraphrasing Give a short summary of what you read about the Olmec culture.
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4.Listing Name three types of food that Maya farmers cultivated.
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5.Describing Explain the political structure of Maya society, including what type of leaders it had.
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6.Identifying List some of the advances and accomplishments made in Maya society.
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7.Specifying The Maya civilization carried on an extensive trade network. Name several specific types of goods that the Maya traded.
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8.Summarizing Briefly explain why the Aztec decided to build their capital city of Tenochtitlán in the middle of Lake Texcoco.
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9.Explaining Explain why Tenochtitlán was an amazing feat of engineering.
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10.Speculating How do you think the Aztec Empire became so large and powerful?
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The Great Inca Civilization
Identifying: Fill in the missing information to complete the chart about the Inca Empire.
Category / Answer
Location / ______
Area covered / ______
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/ Cuzco
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/ Clubs, spears, spiked copper balls on ropes, slings and stones
Eligible for army draft / ______
Types of crops / ______
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/ religious site hidden up in the Andes Mountains
Transportation system / ______
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/ Quechua
System of record keeping / ______
11.Location: ______
12.Area covered: ______
13.Cuzco category: ______
14.Clubs, spears, spiked copper balls on ropes, slings and stones category:
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15.Eligible for army draft: ______
16.Types of crops: ______
17.religious site hidden up in the Andes Mountains category:
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18.Transportation system: ______
19.Quechua category: ______
20.System of recordkeeping: ______
Answer Key
2.Answers may include any three of the following: they were large in population and widespread in geographical area; their people built grand cities in difficult locations; they created spectacular works of art, built fantastic structures, and developed advanced tools; they came up with complex methods for tracking time, counting, and writing.
3.Answers will vary, but could include that the Olmec flourished between 1200 B.C. and 800 B.C.; lived along the Gulf Coast; built huge stone roads and drainage systems; farmed enough to feed thousands of people; the culture died out for unknown reasons.
4.maize, beans, squash
5.Maya society was a theocracy, or a society ruled by religious leaders.
6.The Maya had knowledge about astronomy and advanced mathematics that helped them predict eclipses and create a 365-day calendar. They also developed a system of writing that used hieroglyphics.
7.Answers will vary, but may include any of the following: maize, vegetables, cotton cloth, pottery, deer meat, salt, jade statues, turquoise jewelry, and cacao beans.
8.Answers will vary, but should show an understanding of the Aztec mythology: Hunters were looking for a home for their people. On an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, they saw an eagle with a snake in its beak sitting on a cactus. They believed this was a sign from their god that this should be their home.
9.It was built on an island in the middle of a lake. Workers pulled soil from the lake bottom to build causeways to link the island and shore. They also used earth to fill in parts of the lake so they could farm.
10.Answers will vary, but should show understanding that the Aztec were a military culture that conquered neighboring communities and enslaved their enemies.
11.in the western highlands of South America
12.from present-day Colombia to northern Argentina and Chile
13.Capital city
14.Types of weapons
15.all men between 25 and 50
16.maize, squash, tomatoes, peanuts, chili peppers, cotton, and potatoes
17.Machu Picchu
18.10,000 miles of stone-paved roads and rope bridges
19.Inca language
20.quipus
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