Archaeology and Humanity’s Story:

A Brief Introduction to World Prehistory

Chapter 14 Test Bank—Andean South America and the Inka Empire

Multiple-Choice Questions (30)

1. Who is generally considered the first king of the Inka Empire?

A) Viracocha

B) Xibalba

C) Hun Hunapu

D) Pachakuti

2. Chavín de Huántar’s Lánzon Gallery featured a pillar depicting _________________.

A) the fanged deity

B) Quetzalcoatl

C) a mummy

D) the goddess Kali

3. ________________ is the approximate beginning of the Late Preceramic period.

A) 10,000 cal BC

B) 7600 cal BC

C) 3300 cal BC

D) AD 221

4. __________________ was a Valdiva period site in coastal Ecuador.

A) Real Alto

B) Mesa Verde

C) Tikal

D) Sima de los Huesos

5. _________________ are a globally significant crop first domesticated in South America.

A) Potatoes

B) Bananas

C) Sunflowers

D) Carrots

6. The Andes mountain range runs along the ___________ coast of South America.

A) east

B) Amazon

C) west

D) south

7. The _________________ was the most powerful and widespread empire in South America.

A) Aztec

B) Inka

C) Chimú

D) Tiwanaku

8. _________________ was the capital of the mighty Chimú Empire.

A) Thebes

B) Cuzco

C) Harappa

D) Chan Chan

9. The Kotosh Religious Tradition is named after the ________________site.

A) Cerro Sechin

B) Kotosh

C) Casma Valley

D) El Paraíso

10. Chavín art depicts many fierce tropical predators like ____________________.

A) jaguars, alligators, and rhinos

B) jaguars, leopards, and sharks

C) jaguars, crocodiles, and snakes

D) jaguars, jackrabbits, and llamas

11. The Chavín Horizon dates to _______________.

A) 1350 cal BC

B) 500 cal B–AD 700

C) 900–200 cal BC

D) AD 1200

12. Chica was a beer made from _______________.

A) maize

B) barley and hops

C) cacao and chilies

D) oats and maize

13. Which of these would most likely be served at an Andean feast?

A) Sea bass

B) Zebu cattle meat

C) Camelid meat

D) Peacock

14. The term huacas means _______________________.

A) mudbrick pyramids

B) adobe terraced platforms

C) granite pools

D) cotton textiles

15. Chan Chan featured palace compounds called ________________.

A) chullpas

B) ciudadelas

C) Spondylus

D) huevos

16. The Inkas spoke a variety of ____________________.

A) Quinoa

B) Quercus

C) Portuguese

D) Quechua

17. Inka prince Atawallpa first encountered Pizarro in _______________.

A) AD 1532

B) AD 1572

C) AD 1664

D) AD 1836

18. Groups of Inka east of Cuzco resisted the Spanish for decades, eventually falling in the year _________________.

A) AD 1532

B) AD 1572

C) AD 1664

D) AD 1836

19. Many Andean rituals involved the sacrifice of _________________.

A) children

B) adults

C) llamas

D) All of the above

20. On Moché vessels, the captives of warriors are depicted _________________.

A) naked

B) as alpacas to be ridden

C) about one-quarter the size of the warriors

D) upside-down

21. The city of ____________ includes the Akapana Pyramid and Pumapunka Temple Complex.

A) El Mirador

B) Tenochtitlan

C) Tiwanaku

D) Real Alto

22. The Wari Empire dates to AD 600–1000 during the _____________ period.

A) PPNA

B) Basketmaker III

C) Middle Horizon

D) Terminal Classic

23. In the Inka religious system, who was the Sun god’s wife?

A) Mars

B) Venus

C) Sekhmet

D) The Moon

24. _________________ was an Initial Period in the Casma Valley of Peru.

A) Casma 1

B) Xinglonggou

C) Pampas de las Llamas-Moxeke

D) Gran Dolina

25. ______________ was the capital of the Inka Empire.

A) Inka

B) Machu Picchu

C) Yupanqui

D) Cuzco

26. El Paraíso had a series of structures that formed a ___- shape with a plaza in the center.

A) U

B) O

C) S

D) T

27. Moché pottery vessels depicted naturalistic scenes of ________________.

A) sex

B) violence

C) gods

D) All of the above

28. A chullpa is a _______________________.

A) corded weapon

B) intoxicating pepper

C) small freshwater lake

D) funerary structure

29. The Inka were efficient managers of trade, as evidenced by:

A) Their vast network of roadways.

B) Clay tablets with inventory and sales lists.

C) The rise of the pochteca class.

D) An oral tradition of Quechua language accounting songs.

30. Cuzco had a fortress compound called __________________.

A) the Citadel

B) Saqsawaman

C) ciudadela

D) Pyramid of the Moon

/Questions (10)

1. Maize was introduced to South America from Mesoamerica. (

2. Lake Titicaca was considered to be the mythical birthplace of the Inka. (

3. If you want to visit Andean archaeological sites, you should travel to Guatemala. (

4. The Andean system of knotted record keeping was called khipu. (

5. Wari may have had as many as 1,000,000 residents. (

6. Huánaco Pampa held ritual feasts for commoners. (

7. Machu Picchu was an engineering feat because of its location on an island. (

8. Inka royalty sometimes allowed outsider’s to be “Inka by privilege.” (

9. The Tiwanaku Empire ended after the Inka empire. (

10. The Inka Empire lasted for only around 100 years. (

1. Approximately how many kilometers (or miles) of Inka roads have been identified? Which directions did they run?

2. What are some of the accomplishments of Inca ruler Pachakuti?

3. What happened to Inka rulers after their deaths?

4. Religiously speaking, what was the source of an Inka ruler’s power? Why were they considered special?

5. How did the nature of the Inka military change throughout the course of the Empire?

6. How did the Inka Empire expand by combining military force with diplomacy?

7. The Inka Empire was “Inka-centric,” but composed of many different ethnicities. Why did people dress according to ethnic identification?

8. What were some common monumental architectural features from the Late Preceramic and later?

9. The Inka referred to their Empire as Tawantinsuyu. What is an approximate translation of this?

10. How was the geography of the Tiwanaku Empire different from other South American empires?

1. Describe the Inka record-keeping system. How did it differ from the world’s other systems, and what did it record?

2. Archaeologists debate whether Chavín was a unified state or more loosely connected series of polities with a shared artistic style. What evidence supports each position?

3. There were a number of strange interpretations of Machu Picchu after it was revealed to the world. How do modern archaeologists interpret the role of places like Machu Picchu in Inka life?

4. What archaeological evidence supports the conclusion that the “Lord of Sipán” was a unique individual in Moché society?

5. How were the greatly outnumbered Pizarro and his Spanish conquistadors able to defeat the Inka Empire? What factors contributed?